Otaegui out front at St Andrews

Spain’s Adrian Otaegui takes a three shot lead into the second round of the inaugural Scottish Championship presented by AXA after an impressive bogey-free opening round of 62.

A hat trick of birdies at the beginning of both nines helped the two-time European Tour winner set a target of ten under par at Fairmont St Andrews, with Englishman Matt Wallace and Bryce Easton of South Africa his closest challengers at seven under par.
The venue is hosting a European Tour event for the first time, but Easton, in particular, is feeling positive vibes, having spent his wedding night at the resort overlooking the famous town of St Andrews.
“Almost everything worked today. I started with three birdies and I played very well from tee to green, felt confident and relaxed. Almost everything went well today. 62 is really, really good." said Otaegui.
“I felt like a good round could come, I didn’t know how good but the last two weeks, even if the results were not very good, I was playing very well from tee to green and feeling good. But the putting wasn’t there. Today the putting did go well. Same putter, just changed my stance and my grip a little bit."

European Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington and English trio Garrick Porteous, Chris Paisley and Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open champion Aaron Rai are a shot further back after opening rounds of 66.
Ewen Ferguson, Scott Jamieson and Marc Warren are the leading Scots, joining former World Number One Lee Westwood in a group of eight players at five-under-par.