Fitzpatrick and Thorbjornsen atop leaderboard when fog delays Scottish Open

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — The notorious Scottish haar off the North Sea brought two fog delays Saturday, leaving Matt Fitzpatrick and Michael Thorbjornsen atop the leaderboard with a long final day ahead to finish the Scottish Open and move south to England for the final major of the year.

Thorbjornsen birdied his last two holes to reach 11-under par through 13 holes, while Fitzpatrick missed the green on No. 8 and failed to save par before play was stopped.

At stake Sunday for Thorbjornsen and perhaps a dozen other players is getting one of three spots left for the British Open for leading finishers not already exempt.

The third round was scheduled to resume at 7 a.m., followed by the final round of threesomes off the first tee. Given the extended summer daylight, finishing is not expected to be an issue.

Sorting out the contenders, however, was as unpredictable as the weather.

Fifteen players were separated by three shots, a group that did not include Rory McIlroy. He went the opposite direction with bogeys by missing a tap-in par, duffing a wedge off the tee at a par 3 and hacking only a few feet out of a bush when he missed the fairway on the par-5 seventh.

McIlroy had to make a 20-foot par putt on No. 8, his final hole, to stay 3 over for his round and five shots behind the co-leaders. He began the round with a share of the lead.

Johnny Keefer was among the fortunate who finished his round of 64, posting at 10-under 200.

“I think I had the mindset this week that anything can change,” Keefer said. “I knew that it was going to be a little colder, so I could kind of prep a little bit. Yeah, the wind has gotten up. It’s switched directions three times in the week that we’ve been here.”

He would love to put that to practice next week at Royal Birkdale. Keefer is the third alternate for the British Open.

Also at 10 under with the third round to complete were defending champion Chris Gotterup (through 10 holes), U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (15 holes), Min Woo Lee (8 holes), Jordan Smith (7 holes) and Kevin Roy, whose final hole was a bogey on the 16th.

Of those players, Roy is not in the British Open and is eager to get a spot.

“I know there’s some spots to get into The Open, so I’ve got really nothing to lose,” Roy said. “Got to go out there and keep trying to make a bunch of birdies and see where we end up.”

Karl Vilips was at 8 under through 12 holes and suddenly a sentimental favorite to at least get one of The Open spots. Vilips was in Kentucky for the opposite-field ISCO Championship on Monday when he received notice there was a spot for him at The Renaissance Club. Nine players ahead of him on the Scottish Open alternate list chose to stay in Kentucky.

It’s a big trip on short notice with no guarantees.

“The upside here is a spot in The Open next week. That’s really what I’m playing for. I would love to play in The Open next week,” Vilips said. “A good week here goes a long way for my season, as well, considering it’s coming to an end pretty soon.”

Robert MacIntyre of Scotland had a pair of birdies and was two shots behind. Tom Kim, who shared the 36-hole lead with McIlroy and Smith, had all pars on the seven holes he played and was two shots behind.

Sudarshan Yellamaraju of Mississauga, Ont., was the leading Canadian by Saturday’s end, going even par through 11 holes to sit four shots back of the lead. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., finished the round with a 69 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., had a 71.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Doug Ferguson, The Associated Press