Wimbledon, World Cup Hold Spotlight, But Pro Golf Has Plenty At Stake
Despite being overshadowed by Wimbledon and the World Cup, professional golf is delivering compelling narratives across three tournaments this weekend. The Genesis Scottish Open, a key tune-up for The Open Championship, sees Rory McIlroy, Jordan Smith, and Tom Kim tied for the lead, with a confident Matt Fitzpatrick just one shot behind after a strong season. Concurrently, the Amundi Evian Championship, an LPGA major, has Lottie Woad leading by one stroke over Akie Iwai, while World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul surged into contention. Stateside, Lucas Glover holds the lead at the ISCO Championship in Louisville, where Max Homa supplied one of the week's lighter moments with a humorous text exchange with Louisville native Justin Thomas.
With Wimbledon wrapping up and a pair of World Cup quarterfinals sucking up the sporting world's oxygen, when it comes to games played on manicured grass this weekend, professional golf has quietly been relegated to the shadows despite intriguing storylines across three tournaments.
Across the pond, at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, The Genesis Scottish Open, a co-sanctioned PGA Tour and DP World Tour event that serves as the amuse-bouche to next week’s Open Championship is brewing plenty of drama.
In the final tune-up before Royal Birkdale, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Smith and Tom Kim share the lead with Min Woo Lee and Matt Fitzpatrick one stroke back. The Englishman is enjoying a banner year and has a strong track record at the Renaissance Club, having finished fourth a year ago and T6 in 2022.
"I like this place from a confidence standpoint for sure," Fitzpatrick said after he carded a second-round 65 highlighted by successive birdies hole No. 11 through 15. "Somewhere I've played well before... I feel like I can take from that every time I arrive. Certainly gives me some good confidence.”
The world No. 4 has already won three times this season and made the cut in all 16 starts.
"This stretch of sort, February onwards to now, it’s definitely the best golf I've played in my career for sure," he added.
Meanwhile, while France remains transfixed by Kylian Mbappé and Les Bleus’ World Cup run, the $9.1 million purse Amundi Evian Championship has been unfolding quietly in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Lottie Woad leads the major championship into the weekend at 11-under, one stroke ahead of Japan’s Akie Iwai. Mao Saigo and Haeran Ryu are three back, while World No. 2 Jeeno Thitikul is very much in contention after bouncing back from an opening 72 with a sizzling bogey-free 64 that vaulted the Thai star from T69 into the top five.
"I definitely hit better than yesterday," Thitikul said after her round. "I hit more fairways, I hit more greens, and that gave me a lot more opportunities to make putts."
"I love the course, how it looks," she added. "It's so slopey, but it has room for you to kind of hit it and let it help you to get it to the hole or to the spot that you wanted.”
Back stateside at the opposite-field ISCO Championship in Louisville, Kentucky, Lucas Glover leads the charge heading into the weekend.
"I've been hitting it good for a couple weeks. I found a little something Sunday morning in Hartford before I played and took it to the Deere and brought it here, and it just seems to be clicking," Glover, a six-time tour winner, said.
Max Homa, who arrived with momentum after a runner-up finish at the John Deere Classic and opened with a 67, slid down the leaderboard after a clunky second round. But the fan favorite still managed to provide one of the week's more memorable quips. Asked whether Louisville native Justin Thomas had shared any local knowledge, Homa said the conversation veered away from course strategy.
"Been texting with Justin Thomas, who's from here, and he's jealous that we're here," Homa said. "I'm laughing because it's 12,000 degrees and he's in a short sleeve in Scotland."
"He told me if I wanted to go out to the bars on Sunday, his friends would take me.”