Byeong Hun An 1 Shot behind Leader Rory McIlroy at Scottish Open

Former Cal golfer Byeong Hun An could not match his course-record-tying round of Thursday, but he is still just one stroke off the lead of the Scottish Open after Friday’s second round.

After shooting a 9-under-par 61 in the first round at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, An fired an even-round 70 in the second round. That leaves him at 10-under for the tournament and tied with two other golfers in second place, one stroke behind leader Rory McIlroy.

It keeps An in contention to claim his first title since turning pro in 2011 following his one year of college golf at Cal.

With impending weather in the forecast, tee times @ScottishOpen have been moved up to 2 a.m. - 4 a.m. ET in threesomes.

Coverage will begin at 2 a.m. ET on @PGATOURLIVE and 4 a.m. ET on @GolfChannel.

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— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 14, 2023

An held a two-shot lead on the field after one round, and was still ahead by one stroke after seven holes on Friday, when he was 11-under for the tournament and 2-under for the day. But he bogeyed the eighth and 10th holes to get back to even for the round at 9-under overall, falling behind McIlroy. A birdie on the 11th was followed by a bogey on the 12th, and An parred the remaining holes.

It leaves An tied for second place with Tom Kim and Tyrrell Hatton, who had the best round of the day, an 8-under par 62, All three are a stroke behind McIlroy, who carded a 4-under round of 66. McIlroy was at 11-under for the event before bogeying the 17th hole.

Another former Cal golfer, Max Homa, is very much in contention too after shooting a 2-under-par 68 Friday that put him at 6-under for the tournament, four shots off the lead heading into the weekend. He bogeyed the third hole but made up for it with birdies on the 12th, 14th and 16th holes to get back in the hunt.

Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, is lurking just two shots behind An and three strokes off the lead after carding a 5-under par 65 on Friday that put him at 7-under for the event.

A third ex-Golden Bears golfer, Michael Kim, had a good round Friday with a 2-under 68, but he was only at even par for the first two days and missed the cut. He was in good company as Jordan Spieth and Justin Rose also missed the cut.

Cover photo of Byeong Hun An by Marc Lebryk, USA TODAY Sports

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