Aaron Rai Beats Tommy Fleetwood In Scottish Open Playoff

A week after a runner-up finish at the Irish Open, Aaron Rai went one better at The Renaissance Club to win the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open in a playoff over Tommy Fleetwood.

The Englishman shot a final-round 64 to get to 11-under, a score matched by Fleetwood who birdied the last with a long putt. Another Englishman, Robert Rock, looked to have made it into the playoff as well however he bogeyed the final hole to fall back to 10-under.

It was a final day of excellent scoring for many players in the field with the big movers being Lucas Herbert and Marc Warren who shot 65 and 66 respectively to get into the clubhouse on nine-under before they were overtaken by the players mentioned above.

Watch: Aaron Rai reflects on his 64

During the playoff, off the tee it was advantage Fleetwood who managed to find the fairway whereas Rai didn’t. Rai could only managed to get his second shot just short of the green but managed to pull off a clutch up and down to par.

Fleetwood however three-putted on a frustrating day with the putter as he missed several putts throughout regulation and then in the playoff.

As such he gifted Rai his first Rolex Series win and second European Tour title.

Speaking after Rai said; “Yeah it’s incredible. It’s a dream come true. If I’m honest, to win any event on The European Tour is amazing. You have to play some world-class golf. But for it to be a Rolex Series with the class of field that was this week is deeply satisfying, and yeah, incredibly pleased.

“I think it was beneficial obviously being a few shots behind going into today. Being in that position, you’ve always got to move forwards and be aggressive at the right points but not overly aggressive and drop shots, because it’s easily done around this kind of course. But then being able to play well, hitting fairways and greens, made a big difference in being able to create opportunities.

“I guess things kind of fell my way in regulation play to then get into the playoff, and then the playoff ended in a bit of a disappointing fashion, certainly, for Tommy. It kind of went by so quick, I wasn’t expecting it to be one hole. I thought it was going to take someone really winning it, especially with someone of Tommy’s class. But yeah, it’s just incredible to be in this position round.

Rai’s caddie spoke after about the incredible preparation the 25-year-old put into the week. Rai himself spoke about this in his press conference saying;

“I try and see the course a couple of times during the week, nine holes on one day, nine holes on the other, just to get a feel for how it’s playing, how the fairways are releasing, the speeds of the chips around the greens, the speeds of the putts and I just try and calibrate myself based on what’s happening that given week.

“I have a load of numbers, and if you looked at it, it probably wouldn’t correlate to anything, but it’s my way of just calibrating speed and calibrating how the course plays. And during the four days of the tournament, I think just doing the pins the night before, seeing the right areas, the right spots, times you can be aggressive, times to back off, it’s a really important part for me with the way that I play.”

For all the latest golf news, check the Golf Monthly website and follow our social media channels @golfmonthlymagazine on Facebook and @golfmonthly on Twitter and Instagram