Thomas Aiken and Erik van Rooyen moved within one of the lead on a day of low scoring at the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club.
Starting on the back nine, Aiken made the turn in five under par as he turned without a blemish.
He may have made a par five on the first but was -8 after birdies at 4, 5 and 7 before his lone drop at the next which places him one back of Matt Kuchar, Romain Wattel and Italians Edoardo Molinari and Nino Bertasio.
Van Rooyen, who challenged strongly at last year’s Irish Open before finishing at SA’s best at the Open, was alongside Aiken in the group of seven at -7.
And what a start he made as he moved to the 7th tee five under par. A bogey four at the 9th had him drop back amid the blistering pace.
Van Rooyen quickly bounced back with two birdies in his next three holes before his final gain of the day came at the par-five 16th.
Jacques Kruyswijk, Darren Fichardt and Trevor Immelman were next best from a local point of view with 66s. Kruyswijk was flawless, Fichardt had two drops in his round with Immelman no doubt heading to the bar after his hole-in-one on the 15th.
Branden Grace and Brandon Stone were in the group sharing 54th after 68s.
Photo: Jan Kruger/Getty Images
