Four-time PGA Tour winner Lucas Glover leads the pack after the second day of the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky with Englishman Daniel Brown in second, two strokes behind the lead.

Glover continued his hot run of form which resulted in his 10th consecutive round in the 60s as he shot a four under par for 68 on Friday at Keene Trace.

“Uncharacteristically drove it very poorly,” Glover said after the day’s play.

“I just didn’t hit enough fairways to hit the ball close and take it low again. Happy the way I finished and happy the way I rolled it, just not many of them were very close today.”

The 43-year-old hit five birdies and just the one bogey to leave him 13 under par.

Brown, 28, also hit a 68 with six birdies and two bogeys as he hopes to earn a PGA Tour card by winning the tournament.

“I’ll try and stay as calm as I can until back nine Sunday, hopefully, and we’ve got a chance, fingers crossed,” Brown said after the day’s play.

Tied in second with Brown on 11 under par are American Adam Long and Swedish player Vincent Norman.

Four more players are one stroke behind, tied in fifth place

Rory McIlroy vowed to handle whatever the weather could throw at him after claiming a narrow lead at the halfway stage of the £7million Genesis Scottish Open.

McIlroy added a second round of 66 to his opening 64 at the Renaissance Club to reach 10 under par, a shot ahead of Ryder Cup team-mate Tyrrell Hatton and South Korea’s Tom Kim.

It is the fifth time in his PGA Tour career – the event is co-sanctioned with the DP World Tour – that McIlroy has started a tournament with two scores of 66 or better.

The world number three has a runners-up finish and three wins from those previous four occasions, the most recent being his 2014 Open triumph at Royal Liverpool, venue for the final major of the year next week.

“I hit the ball really well tee to green, gave myself a ton of looks (at birdie),” McIlroy said. “Honestly it felt like four under was probably the worst I could have shot out there.

“But you know, it’s swings in roundabouts. I holed a couple of long ones on Thursday to shoot a good score and then missed a couple today, but overall really pleased with how the last two days have went.”

Saturday’s tee times have been brought forward by several hours due to the forecast for afternoon thunderstorms, with winds gusting up to 40mph predicted for Sunday.

“I don’t really have any expectations,” McIlroy added. “It would be silly of me to try to pick a potential target score to get to.

“So really just embrace the conditions and just sort of make the best of them.

“I know that I’m playing well enough tee to green to give myself some looks and hang in there, so I’m pretty confident going into the next two days, no matter what the weather throws at us.

“I keep saying that yes, we are all looking forward to next week, but I want to go and win this tournament over the weekend.”

Hatton had earlier surged into contention for a first victory in two-and-a-half years with a “stressful” second round of 62.

Asked if his round was as easy as he made it look, Hatton said: “No, it was stressful at times, as most of my rounds are.

“But very happy with the chances I gave myself. I feel I hit a lot of good iron shots today, especially compared to Thursday. Very happy with how that was and nice to see some putts drop, too.

“I had three weeks off after the US Open and you probably saw a little bit on Thursday, I was fatting a few shots.

“I was hitting balls off mats last week and, even though I got here Monday night, I still had not managed to get the ball first. We managed to do that today and hopefully that continues this weekend.”

World number one Scottie Scheffler and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington lie three shots off the lead after rounds of 65 and 66 respectively, Harrington overcoming wet and windy conditions in the first group out at 7.15am.

“I hit a great drive off my first hole of the day, 80 yards short of where I hit it yesterday,” the 51-year-old said.

“The marshals were a full 50 yards away from where they should have been for the first three, four holes because they had no idea how short the ball was going.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been out first and I was hoping that I might turn up and get a break with the weather, but we kind of got the opposite.

“Then it lightened up obviously after six or seven holes. The ball started going a bit and it got a little easier then.”

Harrington has not won on the DP World Tour since 2016, but has won five times on the Champions Tour in the last 13 months, including successfully defending his title in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open last month.

“I feel I can challenge anybody on a links golf course without a doubt,” Harrington said. “From years of playing, it comes natural to me.

“And I don’t have a problem coming back and playing with the young guys on any golf course, but obviously links makes it a little easier for me.”

Former captain Padraig Harrington believes he has two chances to prove he is worthy of becoming the oldest ever Ryder Cup player, 13 years after the last of his six appearances in the biennial event.

Harrington has not won on the DP World Tour since 2016 but has claimed five victories on the Champions Tour in the last 13 months, including successfully defending his title in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open last month.

The 51-year-old also started this season with fourth place in Abu Dhabi and finished 27th in the US Open last month, sparking speculation that he could be in the frame for one of captain Luke Donald’s six wild cards.

Raymond Floyd was 51 when he played in the 1993 Ryder Cup at The Belfry, but Harrington will celebrate his 52nd birthday a month before this year’s contest in Rome.

“I don’t think we should take the Seniors Tour into account, it’s different golf,” Harrington said after a second round of 66 left him high on the leaderboard in the £7million Genesis Scottish Open.

“I should be judged on how I play in DP World Tour and PGA Tour events. That’s it. I’ve seen some nice form and I’m gradually getting better and better.

“I played well in Abu Dhabi there but that was a good round with my back to the wall. This has been better in terms of being stress-free. I like what I see this week.

“With regards to the Ryder Cup, I’ve got these two events. I’ll see at the end of the Open. I’ll talk to Luke and see where I stand and, if necessary, I’ll change my schedule and come and play over here.

“I’m meant to be playing a few Senior events in the middle of the summer. But I will change that and play European Tour events if I have a genuine chance. If it’s real.”

Asked if he had already been in contact with Donald, Harrington said: “Luke rang me a couple of weeks ago. He was actually on to congratulate me for my win, but he also said that it would be remiss of him to say he wasn’t watching.

“He asked about my schedule. I said how I play in Scotland and at the Open will determine everything. If I don’t have good weeks it won’t be enough.

“The team looks good. I have to say that. The good players are playing well. The young guys are coming through. And older guys like Justin (Rose) have come back into form.

“I don’t think they are scrambling to need me in the team. They are very solid. Every week in the States we see a European winning or contending. It’s turned a nice corner for Europe.

“It’s nice to have experience, but they are not crying out for it. Although I don’t want to talk myself out if it. But they’re not desperate to have me in the team.”

England’s Tyrrell Hatton surged into contention for a first victory in two and a half years with a “stressful” second round of 62 in the Genesis Scottish Open.

Hatton, who began the day eight shots off the lead, carded nine birdies and a solitary bogey at the Renaissance Club to set an early clubhouse target of nine under par which was matched by South Korea’s Tom Kim.

World number one Scottie Scheffler and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington were two strokes off the pace following rounds of 65 and 66 respectively as the field battled changeable conditions in East Lothian.

Asked if his round was as easy as he made it look, Hatton said: “No, it was stressful at times, as most of my rounds are.

“But very happy with the chances I gave myself. I feel I hit a lot of good iron shots today, especially compared to Thursday. Very happy with how that was and nice to see some putts drop, too.

“I had three weeks off after the US Open and you probably saw a little bit on Thursday I was fatting a few shots.

“I was hitting balls off mats last week and, even though I got here Monday night I still had not managed to get the ball first. We managed to do that today and hopefully that continues this weekend.”

In contrast to Hatton, Harrington felt driving the ball well led to a stress-free 66, despite facing the worst of the wet and windy conditions in the first group out at 7.15am.

“I hit a great drive off my first hole of the day, 80 yards short of where I hit it yesterday,” the 51-year-old said.

“The marshals were a full 50 yards away from where they should have been for the first three, four holes because they had no idea how short the ball was going.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been out first and I was hoping that I might turn up and get a break with the weather, but we kind of got the opposite. Then it lightened up obviously after six or seven holes. The ball started going a bit and it got a little easier then.”

Harrington has not won on the DP World Tour since 2016, but has won five times on the Champions Tour in the last 13 months, including successfully defending his title in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open last month.

“I feel I can challenge anybody on a links golf course without a doubt,” Harrington said. “From years of playing it comes natural to me.

“And I don’t have a problem coming back and playing with the young guys on any golf course, but obviously links makes it a little easier for me.”

Eight years and 11 months. 3,266 days. 78,384 hours.

Whichever way you look at it, by the time the 151st Open Championship gets underway the length of time since Rory McIlroy’s last major victory is truly remarkable.

Since McIlroy followed his Open triumph at Royal Liverpool in 2014 by winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and US PGA Championship in his next two starts, 34 majors have been staged and the 34-year-old Northern Irishman has won none of them.

Brooks Koepka has racked up all five of his victories in that spell, Jordan Spieth three, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa and Dustin Johnson two each, while 18 different players have tasted victory once, including a 50-year-old Phil Mickelson and an injury-ravaged Tiger Woods.

McIlroy has had to settle for commendable consistency, recording 19 top-10s and finishing no worse than eighth in all four majors in 2022, yet genuine chances to win on the back nine on Sunday have been relatively scarce.

In the 2018 Masters – the only major he has not won – McIlroy began the day three behind leader Patrick Reed but had a short eagle putt on the par-five second to draw level with the American. He missed, bogeyed the third to Reed’s birdie and that was effectively that.

At the 2022 US PGA, McIlroy roared into contention with four straight birdies early in the final round and was one shot off the eventual score required for a play-off, only to fade to eighth.

It was a different story two months later as McIlroy shared the lead with Viktor Hovland heading into the final round of the Open at St Andrews, four shots clear of Cameron Smith and Cameron Young.

Two ahead at the turn, McIlroy made his second birdie of the day on the 10th but was overhauled by a surging Smith, the Australian making five birdies in a row to start the back nine and another on the last to complete a stunning 64.

Last month’s US Open offered McIlroy another great chance to end his drought as he moved into a share of the lead with a birdie on the first hole of the final round at Los Angeles Country Club.

However, that proved to be his only one of a frustrating day and it was no surprise that he was overheard muttering “St Andrews all over again” to his manager after a level-par 70 which left him one shot behind winner Wyndham Clark.

Of course “Hoylake all over again” would be a very welcome sense of deja vu for McIlroy following his 2014 triumph, when he led from start to finish and held off a charging Sergio Garcia on the final day to lift the Claret Jug.

It made McIlroy the first European player to win three different majors since the Masters was founded in 1934 and gave him the third leg of a career grand slam completed by just five players in the history of the game.

When another major title followed a month later it was almost inconceivable that McIlroy would be stuck on the same tally nine years later, but there are precedents for ending even lengthier droughts.

Julius Boros and Hale Irwin both won the US Open 11 years apart, while Ben Crenshaw’s Masters victories in 1984 and 1995 came in just six days shy of that mark.

Tiger Woods memorably won the 2019 Masters almost 11 years on from his 2008 US Open win, with Lee Trevino and Ernie Els also cracking the 10-year barrier.

A keen student of the game, chances are McIlroy will be well aware of such facts. Whether he can do anything about adding his name to the list remains to be seen.

Royal Liverpool member Matthew Jordan admits there will be no excuses when he tees it up in his second major on the home course he has played for 20 years.

The 27-year-old, who grew up in nearby West Kirby and lives in Hoylake, followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps by becoming a member at the club while he was still at primary school.

Jordan has played the Wirral links in every conceivable weather and course condition and, while the most significant change for the Open is the switch of routing which means players tee off at what is the members’ 17th hole, he knows he has to take advantage of that knowledge after coming through final qualifying for the second successive year.

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“I would be amazed if there is something I don’t know. I’ve experienced it in all kinds of conditions so I guess there is no kind of excuse now.

“I know pretty much every pin position, I’ve seen it soft, I’ve seen it hard, I’ve seen it with rough up and down.

“I’ll probably play it exactly how I know how to play it but in terms of practice it is going to be a bit strange.”

Royal Liverpool is hosting its third Open in 18 years – after a hiatus of 39 years – and after weeks of primarily dry weather it seems likely conditions will be similar to 2006 when baked hard, fast-running fairways saw Tiger Woods use his driver just once in winning his third Claret Jug.

A major change to the course for this edition has seen the creation of a new 17th hole overlooking the Dee Estuary, a 140-yard par-three with an exposed green surrounded by bunkers which usually plays into the prevailing wind, which has become something of a talking point.

As a member, Jordan remained admirably diplomatic on the subject.

“I think it depends on individual opinion. Me personally, it will depend on conditions and how windy it is, how firm it is as well, as that will make a massive difference into how easy or difficult it will play,” he said.

“My reservations about it are if it will be a good hole for the Open, which will require it being into the wind and not soft and straightforward.

“I’ll have to ask the other pros what they think.”

Royal Liverpool will host the Open Championship for the 13th time in its history from July 20-23.

Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy are the most recent winners at Hoylake, but the course also boasts a rich history of staging the game’s oldest major.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the most memorable moments at the venue.

1907 – Arnaud Massy becomes first overseas winner

Qualifying was introduced for the first time, with players split into two sections and each contesting 36 holes in one day. Massy led the qualifiers from day one and benefited from a day off before the Championship got under way. Rounds of 76 and 81 on Thursday gave the Frenchman a one-shot lead and after falling behind JH Taylor due to a 78 on Friday morning, Massy carded a closing 77 to win by two and become the first overseas winner. He later named his daughter Margot Hoylake Massy.

1930 – Bobby Jones remains on course for historic feat

Jones had already won the Open in 1926 and 1927, but his 1930 victory at Hoylake was part of an unmatched clean sweep of the era’s biggest four championships. After winning the Amateur Championship at St Andrews at the end of May, Jones lifted the Claret Jug for a third time three weeks later as a closing 75 proved enough for a two-shot victory. He returned home to win the US Open in July and the US Amateur in September, completing what became known as the ‘Impregnable Quadrilateral’, before retiring from competitive golf at the age of 28.

1956 – Peter Thomson completes hat-trick

After finishing sixth on his debut at Royal Portrush in 1951, Thomson went on to produce an incredible run of results in the Open and lifted the Claret Jug a total of five times. Despite winning the title in 1954 and 1955, the Australian still had to come through qualifying at Hoylake and Wallasey, but led after 36 and 54 holes and won by three shots from Belgium’s Flory van Donck to become the only player to win a hat-trick of titles in the modern era.

2006 – Tiger Woods bounces back

Woods had missed the cut in a major for the first time as a professional in June’s US Open at Winged Foot, which came after an unprecedented nine-week lay-off following the death of his father Earl. However, the defending champion was in imperious form at a bone-dry Hoylake, hitting driver just once and finding only three bunkers all week as he held off the challenge of Chris DiMarco to win by two shots before breaking down in tears in the arms of caddie Steve Williams.

2014 – Rory McIlroy claims third major title

McIlroy led from start to finish as he completed the third leg of a career grand slam, although he had to hold off a spirited challenge from Ryder Cup team-mate Sergio Garcia in the final round. The two-shot victory made McIlroy the first European player to win three different majors since the Masters was founded in 1934, while it also made his father Gerry and three of his friends £50,000 each after they bet £100 on the 15-year-old at 500-1 a decade ago to lift the Claret Jug before his 26th birthday.

Australia’s Cameron Smith will defend his title when the 151st Open Championship takes place at Royal Liverpool Golf Club from July 20-23.

Smith is bidding to become the first player to retain the Claret Jug since Padraig Harrington (2007-08) as the Open returns to Hoylake, nine years after Rory McIlroy’s wire-to-wire victory.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main contenders for the year’s final major championship.

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy enjoyed a purple patch of form the last time Hoylake staged the Open in 2014, holding off Sergio Garcia to claim a wire-to-wire victory and then winning his next two starts for good measure. The last of those, the US PGA Championship at Valhalla, remains his most recent major title and he was unable to convert a share of the 54-hole lead at St Andrews last year. McIlroy also finished second in the US Open, muttering “St Andrews all over again” to his manager after a closing round containing a solitary birdie at the opening hole.

Scottie Scheffler

Scheffler has been consistency personified in 2023, winning twice and finishing no worse than 12th in any event. A share of 10th in his title defence in the Masters is also his worst result in a major, the world number one finishing second in the US PGA and third in the US Open. Leads the PGA Tour in numerous statistical categories off the tee and into the green, but ranks a lowly 131st in putting and is contesting just his third Open at Hoylake.

Cameron Smith

Smith had already won twice in 2022, including the prestigious Players Championship, before securing his first major title thanks to a brilliant final round of 64 in the 150th Open at St Andrews. The Australian joined LIV Golf the following month but despite being unable to earn ranking points on the Saudi-funded breakaway, remains in the world’s top 10 thanks to finishing ninth in the US PGA and fourth in the US Open. Won his second LIV event in Hertfordshire 10 days before the start of the Open.

Rickie Fowler

Fowler was joint second behind McIlroy in 2014, a year in which he finished in the top five in all four majors, and won on a links course in 2015 when the Scottish Open was stage at Gullane. Suffered a loss of form in recent years but equalled the lowest round in major history last month with an opening 62 in the US Open at Los Angeles Country and ended a four-year winless drought on the PGA Tour two weeks later.

Tommy Fleetwood

Fleetwood came agonisingly close to winning his maiden PGA Tour title in last month’s Canadian Open, with home favourite Nick Taylor holing from 72 feet for an eagle on the fourth play-off hole. A week later the Ryder Cup star carded a final round of 63 in the US Open for the second time, earning him a tie for fifth. Runner-up to Shane Lowry in the 2019 Open and fourth last year, albeit having never been in contention at St Andrews. The Southport native will have plenty of support at nearby Hoylake.

Rory McIlroy set his sights on heading to Hoylake on the back of victory in the Genesis Scottish Open after enjoying a superb start to the £7million event.

McIlroy recorded an eagle and six birdies in an opening six-under-par 64 at The Renaissance Club that left him three shots off the lead held by South Korea’s Ben An, whose flawless 61 equalled the course record.

“It’s a really good start,” McIlroy said. “I’ve not had particularly great results around this course the last couple of times but I feel like my game is definitely in better shape now.

“I feel like I’m coming in here playing really good golf, producing good results and getting myself in contention and I’m just really trying to do the same things and adapt to the different conditions we’re going to face over the next couple of weeks.”

Next week is, of course, the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where McIlroy won the third of his four major titles nine years ago.

“My mind is pretty much on this week,” the 34-year-old added. “I’ve got myself off to a great start and I would love to win the Scottish Open.

“That’s a massive deal in its own right and what that could give me going into the summer… look we’ve got the Open Championship next week but thinking ahead to FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai and all that, it’s an important week.

“I’m focused on this week but it’s great that by playing this week I should be getting a little bit more prepared for links golf again next week as well.

“I didn’t touch my clubs for 10 days after the Travelers but I’ve got some really good feelings in my swing that I think are quite consistent and even if I do take a bit of time away I feel really comfortable getting back into it.

“It was a nice reset but after today it feels like I came back where I left off.”

An, who was the youngest ever winner of the US Amateur as a 17-year-old in 2009, carded nine birdies to enjoy a two-shot lead over American Davis Riley, with Thomas Detry alongside McIlroy on six under.

“I feel like I’m back home,” said An, who won the 2015 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth by six shots but now plays primarily on the PGA Tour.

“This is the Tour I started my professional career. It’s been great coming back and playing links golf. I couldn’t play any better today, I drove it well and hit it well and chipped it well and putted well. That’s a clean scorecard.”

Detry came agonisingly close to winning one of the sponsor’s cars for himself and his caddie with a hole-in-one on the 17th, but was delighted to be back at one of his favourite venues.

“It was inches away so I’m looking forward to seeing the highlights of that shot,” said Detry, who finished 10th last year and lost out in a play-off with Matt Fitzpatrick and eventual winner Min Woo Lee in 2021.

“It’s my playground here. I always play well. I have a lovely little cottage out here on the golf course. I’m staying here with my family and everybody is happy. I feel good.”

Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson led the home challenge following a four-under-par 66, with world number one Scottie Scheffler two strokes further back.

Defending champion Xander Schauffele had to birdie two of his last four holes to return a level-par 70.

Rory McIlroy has his sights set on heading into the Open Championship on the back of victory in the Genesis Scottish Open after enjoying a superb start to the £7million event.

McIlroy recorded an eagle and six birdies in an opening six-under-par 64 at The Renaissance Club that left him three shots off the lead held by South Korea’s Ben An, whose flawless 61 equalled the course record.

“It’s a really good start,” McIlroy said. “I’ve not had particularly great results around this course the last couple of times but I feel like my game is definitely in better shape now.

“I feel like I’m coming in here playing really good golf, producing good results and getting myself in contention and I’m just really trying to do the same things and adapt to the different conditions we’re going to face over the next couple of weeks.”

Next week is, of course, the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where McIlroy won the third of his four major titles nine years ago.

“My mind is pretty much on this week,” the 34-year-old added. “I’ve got myself off to a great start and I would love to win the Scottish Open.

“That’s a massive deal in its own right and what that could give me going into the summer… look we’ve got the Open Championship next week but thinking ahead to FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai and all that, it’s an important week.

“I’m focused on this week but it’s great that by playing this week I should be getting a little bit more prepared for links golf again next week as well.

“I didn’t touch my clubs for 10 days after the Travelers but I’ve got some really good feelings in my swing that I think are quite consistent and even if I do take a bit of time away I feel really comfortable getting back into it.

“It was a nice reset but after today it feels like I came back where I left off.”

Rory McIlroy is confident he will bear no mental scars from his latest near-miss in a major championship as he prepares to return to the scene of his Open triumph.

McIlroy held a share of the lead when he birdied the first hole in the final round of last month’s US Open, but failed to make another and finished a shot behind American Wyndham Clark at Los Angeles Country Club.

The 34-year-old has now recorded 19 top-10 finishes since winning the last of his four major titles in the 2014 US PGA, a month after also winning the Open at this year’s venue of Royal Liverpool.

McIlroy declined to speak to the written press ahead of this week’s £7million Genesis Scottish Open, but gave two short television interviews in which he would only speak about on-course matters.

Asked if there were any mental scars from the US Open, McIlroy said: “I don’t think so.

“The one nice thing about the US Open a few weeks ago is I had to play golf the week after. Well, I didn’t have to, but it was nice to play the week after at the Travelers because then you’re not really dwelling on it, right.

“You have to get right back in the saddle and go all over again. There has not been much dwelling on anything.

“I was really happy with my performance (in Los Angeles). I thought I stuck to my game plan really well. I know my game is in good shape so, I’m excited about that.

“I’m as close as I’ve ever been (to winning), really. My consistency in performances, especially in the majors over the last couple years, is way better than it has been over the last few years.

“Having had a really good chance at St Andrews last year, having a really good chance in LA a few weeks ago, I need to keep putting myself in those positions obviously and the more times I go through them, even though I’m not getting the wins, it’s going to stand by me for whenever I get myself in that position again.”

McIlroy was bullish about his chances of winning the Masters in April to complete the career grand slam only to miss the cut at Augusta, but feels he has learnt from that experience.

“I felt like my game was in really good shape, I didn’t produce what I needed to produce the first two days and that was disappointing,” he said.

“I think I learned a lot from that and just about playing a golf tournament…72 holes is a long time. A lot can happen. It’s a journey to get yourself into contention and to be there on Sunday afternoon and there’s a lot of golf shots to be hit and a lot of golf to be played.

“The worst thing you can do in this game is get ahead of yourself.”

World number one Scottie Scheffler insisted he was unsatisfied with a season which had produced two wins and an incredible run of consistent golf.

Scheffler successfully defended his title in the WM Phoenix Open in February and also won the prestigious Players Championship in March, while his worst finish in the whole of 2023 so far was a tie for 12th in the Genesis Invitational.

The former Masters champion has also not finished worse than fifth in his last six starts, a run which includes being runner-up in the US PGA Championship and third in the US Open.

“I’m very proud of how I’ve been so consistent,” Scheffler said ahead of the £7million Genesis Scottish Open at Renaissance Club, where he missed the cut 12 months ago.

“I would obviously like to win more. But if I win eight times, I want to win nine. If I win nine, I want to win 10. Golf is one of those games that you’re never really satisfied. You’re never really satisfied with the results of things and you always want more.

“I want to win every time I tee it up. You win once and you want to win twice. It’s funny, as a kid, if you think you win once on the PGA Tour you’ll be satisfied. And you win once and it’s pretty fun and you want to win again and the cycle continues.”

Scheffler is unsurprisingly ranked first in numerous categories on the PGA Tour this season, including strokes gained off the tee, approaching the green and greens in regulation, but he is ranked a lowly 131st in putting.

“I think that it’s all just perception,” the 27-year-old said. “I’m not going to let what you guys think about my golf game affect how I think of my golf game. I believe that I’m a very good putter and everything returns to the average.

“If you’re hitting the ball as good as I have been in the past year, it’s very, very difficult to make all the putts. I feel like the things I’ve been working on to improve have been working significantly.

“As my “putting struggles” have continued in y’alls’ minds, I’ve gotten back to number one in the world and I’ve had a bunch of top-five finishes. Granted, if I can make a few more putts, those would have been more wins.

“But at the end of the day, I’m proud of tournaments this year and playing solid golf and that’s what I’m working on.”

Eight of the world’s top 10 are in the field for the Scottish Open, including three-time major winner Jordan Spieth and defending champion Xander Schauffele, who equalled the lowest score in major history with an opening 62 in last month’s US Open.

Schauffele survived a rollercoaster final round 12 months ago to secure his third win in succession, with Spieth getting to within a shot of the lead in the final round before making a double bogey on the 14th.

“I really enjoyed this tournament last year,” Spieth said. “We had the wind blowing significantly all four days, including a tough final round where I had a chance to win.

“Something about the golf course fit my eye so I’m just trying to pick up where I left off here. I really enjoy coming to Scotland, it’s one of my favourite places in the world to play golf.

“You can’t even count on two hands how many phenomenal golf courses there are. There’s four or five in a five-mile radius here, so I went out last night and played North Berwick just trying to have a lot of fun while we’re in the middle of working.

“My coach Cameron and his son were going to go out and play, I thought I would just go out there maybe with a few clubs and chip and putt and walk with them. I ended up taking my bag and played all 18 holes.

“Played the first few and was like, I can’t really quit on nine like you can in the States and I know that the last five, six holes are just incredible.

“It was just a fun evening to play golf. We don’t really get a lot of run, random rounds on the road and that was one to take advantage of.”

Rory McIlroy is confident he will bear no mental scars from his latest near-miss in a major championship as he prepares to return to the scene of his Open triumph.

McIlroy held a share of the lead when he birdied the first hole in the final round of last month’s US Open, but failed to make another and finished a shot behind American Wyndham Clark at Los Angeles Country Club.

The 34-year-old has now recorded 19 top-10 finishes since winning the last of his four major titles in the 2014 US PGA, a month after also winning the Open at this year’s venue of Royal Liverpool.

McIlroy declined to speak to the written press ahead of this week’s £7million Genesis Scottish Open, but gave two short television interviews in which he would only speak about on-course matters.

Asked if there were any mental scars from the US Open, McIlroy said: “I don’t think so.

“The one nice thing about the US Open a few weeks ago is I had to play golf the week after. Well, I didn’t have to, but it was nice to play the week after at the Travelers because then you’re not really dwelling on it, right.

“You have to get right back in the saddle and go all over again. There has not been much dwelling on anything.

“I was really happy with my performance (in Los Angeles). I thought I stuck to my game plan really well. I know my game is in good shape so, I’m excited about that.

“I’m as close as I’ve ever been (to winning), really. My consistency in performances, especially in the majors over the last couple years, is way better than it has been over the last few years.

“Having had a really good chance at St Andrews last year, having a really good chance in LA a few weeks ago, I need to keep putting myself in those positions obviously and the more times I go through them, even though I’m not getting the wins, it’s going to stand by me for whenever I get myself in that position again.”

McIlroy was bullish about his chances of winning the Masters in April to complete the career grand slam only to miss the cut at Augusta, but feels he has learnt from that experience.

“I felt like my game was in really good shape, I didn’t produce what I needed to produce the first two days and that was disappointing,” he said.

“I think I learned a lot from that and just about playing a golf tournament…72 holes is a long time. A lot can happen. It’s a journey to get yourself into contention and to be there on Sunday afternoon and there’s a lot of golf shots to be hit and a lot of golf to be played.

“The worst thing you can do in this game is get ahead of yourself.”

Alison Reid has renewed calls for more females to consider participating in golf to help drive growth and, by extension, prolong Jamaica’s success in the sport on the regional stage.

Reid’s comments follow another credible showing by the country’s young prospects at the just-concluded 35th Caribbean Amateur Junior Golf Championships, where they secure two individual trophies courtesy of Emily Mayne and Rocco Lopez.

The Jamaican team which placed third overall with 116 points behind Puerto Rico (161 points), who took the coveted Hank James trophy, while Dominican Republic was second on 131 points.

Reid, who served as manager for the team stressed the need to increase the number of girls who play the sport going forward.

“Even though we are losing two players, we will still have a good 18 and under Boys section. The girls are where we are weak. It's hard to find girls and so that's where we really have to put our emphasis in,” Reid said.

Mayne, who was the team’s captain, brought home the second-place trophy in the 18 and under girls. She scored 14 over par 227 to end the tournament 15 shots behind group winner Holly McLean (212) of host country Cayman Islands.

Jamaica's other representative in the category, Mattea Issa, ended sixth, after posting 28 over par 241. Jamaica placed second in the group.

Mayne expressed pride at the team’s performance, especially due to the tough conditions they had to endure.

“The conditions we faced, it was very, very windy and of course we are used to some wind in Jamaica, but we really had to adapt to the wind. The First day was not so bad, but the second day and the third the wind really did pick up, so we had the whole 18 holes for both days in the wind,” Mayne explained.

"I went into the tournament trying not to put too much pressure on myself as I won last year but of course in the back of your head you are always going to put a bit of pressure on yourself. The girl, who won Holly, it was her home course, but I just try to stick to my game plan. The first day I had a rough start, probably just due to some nerves but then I brought it back on the second day and the last day,” she added.

Lopez, who entered the final day joint third with Aman Dhiman, finished with a one under par 70, to end three over par 216 in third place in the 18 and under boys’ section. He was one of just three players to post under par score during the championship.

Puerto Rico’s Kelvin Hernandez finished tops with a 10 under par 203, while Dhiman (227) and Ryan Lue (230), collected enough points to bag third place in the group.

“The scores weren't too bad, but I felt like I could have played a lot better. I felt like I wasn't hitting the ball that great. I like the greens, but I couldn't make puts and I didn't make all birdies, but I managed to scramble very well and that kept me around par each day,” said Lopez.

 Meanwhile, the two 11-13 boys, Kemari Morris and Shasa Redlefsen were responsible for the third place in the group. Puerto Rico was the group winner.

The girls' 11-13 representatives, Alessandra Coe contributed the team's fourth place in the group won by The Bahamas, while the 15 & under girls, Samantha Azan and Anoushka Katri, also gave points to the group's fourth place finish. Puerto Rico won the category.

Aaron Ghosh and Davin Hogan closed the championship in sixth place in the 15 & under boys’ category, also won by Puerto Rico. 

Home favourites Richie Ramsay and Robert MacIntyre are relishing the chance to make immediate amends for a missed opportunity in a star-studded Genesis Scottish Open.

The Scottish pair were both in contention to win in Denmark last week, with Ramsay finishing a shot outside the eventual play-off after hitting his approach to the last into the water and making a double bogey.

MacIntyre held a two-shot lead at the turn but ran up a triple-bogey seven on the 13th after failing to move his second shot from waist-high rough and then having to take a penalty drop.

But after sharing a car to the airport on Sunday evening, MacIntyre and Ramsay were also singing from the same hymn-sheet in terms of focusing on the positives ahead of a £7million event on home soil which boasts eight of the world’s top 10.

“The past week was probably the best golf I’ve played in a long, long time,” MacIntyre said at the Renaissance Club.

“I had so much control of the golf ball. For 71 holes I was in absolute cruise control. When I sit back and look at it, for the first 12 holes (on Sunday) I played golf perfectly. I didn’t put a foot wrong.

“On 13 I hit a good shot, flushed it, but just pulled it 10 yards. My natural shape is a draw and with the wind off the left, it was curving the wrong direction.

“But my head’s in a good place. I feel like you’ve got to take a couple of punches before you can hold a trophy. OK we had such a good chance to win, but it was all preparation for these two weeks.

“I shared a car with Richie going to the airport on Sunday night and he was on the phone speaking to his family and friends, I was getting phone calls from my manager and I was hanging up.

“I wasn’t speaking to anybody, I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. Richie has been out here a lot longer than me. He was a bit calm and chatting away. Once he was on the phone calls, I sat in a huff in the front seat.

“I was sitting there in absolute silence thinking to myself, ‘What just went wrong? Why has it went wrong?’… But I’m here now and last week is last week.

“Once I spoke to people they just assured me that’s not going to be the last hiccup I’m going to have on the journey. It’s going to happen again. But if you keep putting yourself in positions like Kenya, Korea, last week, I can’t not lift a trophy at some point.

“I was one step shy last week and what better time to correct the wrong than one of these next two (Scottish Open or Open Championship)?”

Ramsay, who also double-bogeyed the 72nd hole of last year’s British Masters at The Belfry when needing a par to claim the clubhouse lead, promised to keep “shooting for the stars” when in contention.

“It hurt to lose,” Ramsay said. “Ever since I was a little kid I hate losing but it’s part and parcel of the journey these days and only makes you stronger and more determined to get a win.

“I spoke to my brother this morning and he said you’d have a problem if you weren’t putting yourself in that position and I took that on board and realised that the problem is not that I hit a bad shot at the wrong time, the problem would be if I wasn’t putting myself in that position.

“I mean, I was annoyed I didn’t win but for me, I didn’t do anything wrong. The shot I hit at The Belfry was because I was indecisive. I didn’t make a clear decision and that’s on me.

“That’s why it hurt a lot more but on this one last week, my viewpoint is that you’ve got to hit a great shot down the stretch to win a tournament.

“There’s an opportunity here. If you don’t take it, you’re going to regret it. I don’t regret taking it, because if I pulled it off, I feel that I left myself in a good position to get up and down or two-putt, and you win a tournament.

“You kind of shoot for the stars and I will hit one of those stars again sooner or later.”