Alex Smalley Hangs Onto British Open Chance After Three Rounds of Genesis Scottish Open
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – Just one more round. That’s what Alex Smalley has between getting on a plane and going back to Greensboro, N.C., or traveling over the Forth Bridge from the Renaissance Club to St. Andrews and the British Open.
After a 3-under 67 in the third round at the Genesis Scottish Open, Smalley had hope of getting into next week’s Open. He is currently tied for 6th and would need to finish among the top three players not already qualified for the Open to earn a trip to the Old Course.
Smalley, a Duke graduate, posted one of the better rounds in the field on a day when the wind continued to cause problems for the best players in the world, despite two consecutive bogeys to start his round. Smalley would fight back with six birdies and one more bogey over the remaining 16 holes.
“I just got a couple unlucky bounces and rolled into some bunkers on (No.)1 and (No.) 2,” Smalley said of his early troubles. “On 2, I didn't have (either foot) in the bunker and on 1, I had one foot in the bunker, so just got some unlucky bounces.”
Smalley is holding on to the last qualifying spot after the third round, at 3-under for the championship, four shots off behind leader Xander Schauffele, who stands at 7-under.
Knowing he was in the Scottish Open field, Smalley, 25, was unsure if he wanted to experience an eight-hour plane flight and make the trip for just one week if he wasn’t the Open.
“I knew the field was going to be strong and I knew that obviously, if you play you have a chance, but that was still kind of a long shot,” Smalley said of getting into the Open. “But I feel like if I kept another good day tomorrow, then it might be a possibility.”
Oddly, Smalley has had his best success to date outside of the United States with a second-place finish at the Corales Puntacana Championship in the Dominican Republic in the end of March and then a sixth at the Mexico Open in May.
Smalley played links golf just one other time, in the 2017 Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool, going 3-1-0 as a 22-year-old. He says he is comfortable playing in the wind and feels that he has a good ability to flight the ball under the wind when he wants to.
“I know links golf has a learning curve,” Smalley said. “I mean, we're playing for 20-30 yards of help or hurt depending on where the winds coming from just one hole, I hit pitching wedge, I was in the rough so it released a little bit but it probably went 190 yards and then I had four iron on the 18th that went 195 yards. It's just really difficult to figure out you know how far you're going to hit the ball and how far the winds going to affect it.”
Has Smalley envisioned a trip to the Home of Golf?
“I’ll tell you after tomorrow,” Smalley said, knowing he still has work to do before that dream can become reality.