KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Gavin Green revelled in testing links golf conditions on Friday to put himself in a good position heading into the weekend of the star-studded Genesis Scottish Open.
And he also contributed to the tournament's "Green Drive" initiative by successfully driving the fifth green during his second round of 4-under 66 at the Renaissance Golf Club, where organisers have pledged to plant 100 trees in Scotland for every successful effort. A total of 29 players hit the green on the designated hole during a blustery and rainy day.
Green, 29, sank seven birdies against three bogeys for tied 17th position on 5-under 135, five back of 36-hole leader Rory McIlroy, who carded a 66 for a one-shot lead in the US$9 million tournament.
South Korea's Tom Kim (65) and Byeong Hun An (70) shared second place with England's Tyrrell Hatton (62).
A strong weekend could offer Green some prized rewards, including a spot at The Open Championship next week or even a potential PGA TOUR card for next season.
"I'm pleased everything is coming together. It's been a rollercoaster this year. I've had swing changes, wrist problems and injuries. I think overall, I kept it together, it wasn't so wild. Bad shots were still playable and I made some putts," said Green.
The Malaysian was delighted to charge up the leaderboard as conditions switched continuously with rain and winds prevailing over the stunning par-70 links course in North Berwick, which bared its teeth.
"It was tough. I warmed up in the rain, first few holes were in the rain and then it kind of went away and the weather came back in our last hole," said Green.
"It made the greens even slower, which is tough. (I) just have to adapt, which is a big thing here."
There are three tickets on offer to next week's Open Championship, while the leading 10 players not otherwise exempt from the DP World Tour will earn PGA TOUR cards at the end of this season. Green has registered four top-10s to be ranked 67th in the Race to Dubai rankings.
He is making his fifth appearance in the Scottish Open, with a tied 19th being his best result in 2018. Green is enjoying the challenges of true Scottish links conditions.
"It's different. You don't know what kind of bounces you're going to get, what kind of lies you'll get. It's a bit of a guessing game and if you guess it right more than half the time, then you'll be okay. I do enjoy this challenge, as you have to hit different shots, especially around the greens. You have to trust the ground doing the work for you," said Green.
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