Scott, McIlroy and three Open spots up for grabs

Adam Scott leads Rory McIlroy by two shots going into the weekend at the Australian Open.

It has turned into another golf promoters dream at Royal Sydney with Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy to be paired together for the third round of the 2013 Emirates Australian Open.

In wet conditions, McIlroy went out early shot a 7-under par round which included 10 birdies to finish at 10-under for the tournament and in outright second place.

Watch Rory McIlroy’s second round interview.

Adam Scott went out in slightly wetter, windier afternoon conditions and struggled to maintain his lead. Through his opening three holes Scott held a four shot lead, before a double-bogey, bogey at the 4th and 5th holes saw him drop a shot behind McIlroy.

Scott steadied to post five birdies mixed with two bogeys to end the day with a two shot lead going into the weekend.

“It was a tough afternoon.  There was plenty of good stuff in there but made a few mistakes in the tricky conditions but overall it was pretty good.  It was at times really difficult and I think I held it together pretty well,” Scott said after his round.

While all the attention has been on Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy, there is also a big incentive for the rest of the field to finish as high as possible.

Three spots in The 2014 Open Championship are on the line this week as part of an overhaul of the qualification process. The top three players not already exempt for The Open will be assured of a spot at Royal Liverpool next July.

As it stands Richard Green, Matt Jones and Alistair Presnell are position to earn a berth at The 2014 Open sitting directly behind Scott and McIlroy who not surprisingly have already secured their spots in the field.

Presnell is currently in a tie for the third spot at 6-under par along with Josh Younger, Leigh McKechnie and Brady Watt; however in the case of a tie, The Open spots will go to the higher ranked golfer.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *