Jason

Scrivener

The Aussies found themselves outside of the top 25 after a ho-hum 65 in four-ball action on day one. They didn’t need that added security of a second ball in play today as they scraped together the same score while alternating shots. Highlights included a 28'10" birdie at the 4th followed by a 19'4" splash at the next hole and a 12'3" eagle conversion just two holes later. “Sometimes in a foursome you obviously are kind of feeding off your partner and your partner hits it down the middle, he hits it on the green, you roll in a good putt. I feel like we’re gelling really, really well together on the greens and we’re very similar in regards to how we read the putt and how we like to see the putt go in the hole, so that helps a lot.” Scrivener has just six previous PGA TOUR starts, spending most of his time on the DP World circuit, but could walk away with some nice Non-Member points this week if they can maintain this momentum over the weekend.

A regular participant in the Zurich Classic the first three years, Day decided to forgo last season’s tournament. It may have been a good call as the 34-year-old has been unable to figure out the team format, collecting finishes of MC, T-34, and MC in his three appearances. Employing a new partner this time around, Day may need to lean on Jason Scrivener as the former world No. 1 arrives having missed his last three cuts on the PGA Tour. After a tough start to his year, missing both cuts in the desert, Scrivener has since rebounded with five consecutive made cuts on the DP World Tour. With his best finish coming as a T-9 at the Ras al Khaimah Classic in mid-February, the Australian duo may not have enough fire power to repeat what their fellow countrymen accomplished in 2021.

After opening with rounds of 70-67, the 32-year-old Scrivener posted a pair of back-to-back 66s and was bogey free on Sunday. Perhaps he found some momentum thanks to a T-23 finish at the PGA Championship two weeks prior. Scrivener finished 1-over 289 at Kiawah Island, seven strokes behind winner Phil Mickelson. This week marks his third appearance in Hamburg, where he’s made the cut both times (T-20 in 2016, T-88 in 2015). Scrivener clearly has an eye on capturing one of the 10 spots up for grabs for European Tour qualifying for the upcoming U.S. Open, as Germany marks the third of three tournaments that make up a qualifying series based on aggregate Race to Dubai points. Despite missing the cut at the Betfred British Masters, the first event of series, he currently stands in eighth place. On the season he’s 5-for-7 in cuts made, with his best result coming in Abu Dhabi, where he finished solo second in his first start in 2021. Scrivener also made the cut in one other PGA Tour start this season, finishing T-41 at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession in February.

Scrivener, the 30-year-old World No. 148, has a sneaky-good record in the United Arab Emirates with 10-7-16-6 in his last four starts in the country. He also played some impressive golf in the final few months of 2019 so this comes as no real surprise. Three birdies out of the gate set the Aussie on his way and he added three more at 6, 13 and 18 whilst keeping his card clean. “It was pretty much stress-free. I played nicely the whole day,” said Scrivener, who shot a second-round 65 when T16 here last year. “Wind picked up a little bit but not much. It was still perfect conditions out there. I knew it was playing as easy as it’s going to play, so wanted to take advantage of it. Nice way to start. I love it here. It’s perfect, great conditions and great golf course.”

A huge week for the Aussie who entered it ranked 59th in the Race to Dubai and ends it 35th. Therefore, not only does he earn the big bucks this week but is guaranteed more dough in the DP World Tour Championship next week at Jumeirah. It will also be a huge boost to his world ranking (which was 231 last Monday). He started with birdies at the first, second and fifth. Then he more or less eased his way home and coped with the pressure as it became apparent that many of those ahead of him were going backwards at some rate. He made bogey at 16 but it was his only error. A sixth top ten of the 2019 season, yet just a third top five. The 30-year-old will be happy to return to Dubai because he was T3 in the Desert Classic ten months ago.

The Aussie does appear to enjoy this Sun City examination. Indeed for the first 11 holes he looked set to find himself even closer to the halfway lead as he made birdies at the second, ninth and tenth with no dropped shots. However he had to square the 12th, but was thereafter smart enough, scratching six pars on the scorecard to the close. The 30-year-old made his tournament debut last year and broke par three times in the week on his way to T16; now he has made if five from six. He is also projected to rise from 59th to 49th in the Race to Dubai, thus pinching a spot in the DP World Tour Championship; that will remain a weekend aim.

The Aussie made his debut in this tournament at Carya last year and shot 67-67 ahead of the weekend; this year’s he’s gone 68-66 and on Friday he was flawless. He made four front nine birdies (at the first, fourth, sixth and ninth), then added another two par breakers on the way home (at the tenth and 15th) to make stealthy progress through the field and into the top ten. When he signed his card he was just one swing back of clubhouse leader Ross Fisher, with Alex Noren and Matthias Schwab tied for the lead and still out on the course. “I did some work after my round yesterday with my coach, kind of figured a couple things out and hit it nicely today,” he explained afterward. “That was key and holed some nice putts, too.”

That’s four back from unlikley leader Kristian Krogh Johannessen. Scrivner started his morning round at No. 10 and set the tone for a hot opening nine with birdie-3. He quickly followed it with red circles at 12, 14, 15 and 18 to turn in just 30. But it was a different story coming home. The Aussie birdied both par 5s at 4 and 7 but dropped shots at 3, 5 and 6 in a rollercoaster five holes. Scrivener is 57th on the Race to Dubai but has missed his last three cuts. This is his first start in the Open de Espana.

The Aussie has always struggled in Sweden, missing his first three cuts in this tournament and then managing nothing better than T61 when it visited this course, the Hills Golf & Sports Club, Gothenburg, last year. He struggled on the greens that week, needing 31.50 putts per round and averaging 1.84 when he hit the greens in regulation. But in round two he reduced those numbers to 27.00 and 1.50. Everything he achieved this Friday came in a rush. On the front nine he claimed a hat-trick of red at the fifth, sixth and seventh. Then on the way home he made birdies at 12 and 13, dropped a shot at 14, then retrieved it immediately at 15. The final move came with a birdie brace at 17 and 18. The 30-year-old made a move of 34 spots on the live leaderboard and can now take aim a first European Tour win.

The Aussie was down the field in T61 but that marked an improvement on his three previous bids in the event which resulted in missed cuts at PGA Sweden National, Barseback and Bro Hof Slott. The European Tour winds around the globe each year but this season it’s worth noting that Scrivener has been at his most consistent in Continental Europe. He posted T25 at the Made In Denmark, T26 at the BMW International Open in Germany, T26 at the Andalucia Masters in Spain and, after missed cuts on the links in Ireland and Scotland, he came back with T30 in last week’s Czech Masters.