Calum Hill carded the lowest round of his European Tour career as he took a one stroke lead at the Hero Open. One of the day’s early starters, the 26-year-old made the most of benign conditions as he signed for a bogey free round of 63, setting a new course record in the process on the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews. Searching for a maiden European Tour victory, Hill is one of 17 players in the field bidding to become the first Scottish winner on home soil since Paul Lawrie in 2012. He sits one stroke ahead of Scandinavian Mixed winner Jonathan Caldwell of Northern Ireland. Caldwell carded seven birdies and an eagle as he signed for an eight under par 64, one stroke clear of Ross Fisher of England, American Chase Hanna and Robin Sciot-Siegrist of France. In a share of sixth on six under par are Chris Paisley, Alvaro Quiros and Nicolai von Dellingshausen. Player Quotes Calum Hill: “I putted well. I didn’t put it in places that caused me too much bother – I did make my fair share of putts. One really good 15-footer on number one to save par and a lot of mid-range putts for birdies. “We got the best part of (the weather) 100 per cent. Our front nine was relatively calm, probably half a club wind, then back nine picked up. We got three quarters of our day in quite pleasant conditions, I think it’s just getting worse from here – we took advantage. “I really enjoy it (playing at home). There’s a lot of family and friends who can come and watch, I always enjoy playing in front of people I know. It makes it good fun.” Jonathan Caldwell: “Delighted. Especially with recent form, it hasn’t been so good. Delighted that a bit of the work I’ve done over the last week or so with my coach at home is paying off. Hopefully I can keep going forward. “I played well in Sweden, I had the week off after and came straight back out and played Germany. I played okay but didn’t feel it was quite there. Then you’re always looking for something. It’s like a pendulum, you go one way with something and you’ve got to get back to where you were. “I’m not changing to get better, just to maintain. You work on one thing and it works for a week or two then you over-do that and have to find a way to get back. It’s a bit of a pendulum, you just have to find that medium, hopefully with the work I’ve done the last week or two it’s starting to turn a corner again.” Ross Fisher: “Solid play. I drove it nicely off the tee. I hit it in one fairway bunker but fortunately that was on a par five and I managed to get up and down for a five. Steady golf, gave myself plenty of looks at birdie and managed to hole a few putts, which is nice. “I did hear someone say you wanted an early-late. Looking at the forecast, we’ll get the better of the weather. But in Scotland in this little corner it can miss you. The forecast for the rest of the week doesn’t look too promising, but hopefully that’ll change. I’m delighted to go out and shoot a nice bogey-free seven under.”

Lucas Bjerregaard holds the halfway lead at a European Tour event for the first time in over three years after carding a ten under par 62 at the second round of the Hero Open. The Dane, whose last victory was on Scottish soil at the 2018 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, made the turn at Fairmont St Andrews in four under par, and produced a blistering back nine which saw him card six consecutive birdies from the third to the eighth as he signed for a 15 under par total and a two-stroke lead. Scotsman Calum Hill, who led after 18 holes, leads the home charge after carding a four under par 68 to move to 13 under. He’s one stroke ahead of Santiago Tarrio of Spain and South Africa’s Justin Walters. Walters carded an eight under par round of 64, with Tarrio signing for a seven under 65. Tarrio is currently the leader on the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca Rankings with two wins on the developmental circuit in 2021. Nine groups are still to complete their rounds after a delay of three hours and 20 minutes due to the threat of lightning on Friday morning. The second round will resume at 07:50 on Saturday, with round three starting no earlier than 10:20. Note to Editors: Bjerregaard’s ten under par 62 is not a course record as preferred lies were in use. Player Quotes Lucas Bjerregaard: “My putter might be the most valuable thing in Scotland right now. I’ve never putted like that and I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone putt like that. That was pretty special, I’m a happy man right now. “When I made the turn. I was four under and then hit a bad tee shot on one. Terrible second shot, not a good wedge shot in and holed that for par. Then I got to three, hit two good shots on the par five, just short of the green, hit a terrible chip shot and holed that and thought ‘this is going pretty good’. Then I had a terrible shot on eight and holed a 50-60 footer. “I hit my irons well, but didn’t hit it well off the tee. I hit about three or four fairways. I guess I got lucky and missed in the correct spots and managed to hit some good iron shots out of there and putted well. It was definitely the putter. I think I had about 20 putts today – that helps. “We’ve been very fortunate on our side of the draw. Conditions finishing up here were pretty good, not much wind and we saw the sun for a couple of holes. We’ve been very fortunate and the same story yesterday. I didn’t feel that comfortable yesterday, I played okay but I wasn’t thinking nine or ten under – you rarely are. That’s how the round progressed and I felt very confident. It seemed every time I lined the putter up I felt I could make it.”

Grant Forrest became the first Scotsman to win on home soil in nearly a decade as he triumphed at the Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews. The 28-year-old started the final round in a share of the lead with compatriot Calum Hill and the pair traded blows on the front nine as they both made the turn in 33 shots. The turning point of the afternoon came on the tenth hole as Hill double-bogeyed the par four, with Forrest making birdie for a three-shot swing. Forrest then birdied the 11th to move to 23 under par and he was joined on that number by Englishman James Morrison who made a late charge with a nine under par round of 63. Forrest lost the lead after a bogey on the 16th, but he recovered with a birdie on the 17th and left himself two feet for birdie - and victory - on the 18th. Forrest tapped in the putt in front of the home fans, signing for a six under par round and a 24 under par total, also securing the first Scottish win on home soil since Paul Lawrie triumphed at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in 2012. Morrison finished second, two strokes ahead of Spain’s Santiago Tarrio who continued his incredible recent form with a 21 under par round. Hill and compatriot David Law shared fourth place on 20 under. Player Quotes Grant Forrest: “So many emotions. To do it in front of everyone who has come up to support me, the last year and a half has been a real challenge on and off the course. I’m delighted, it’ll take a while to sink in. “I hit a poor shot into 16 and tried to be a bit too safe and three putted, I saw the scoreboard and knew what I needed to do. The big thing all day was one shot at a time, just keep hitting shots. I hit a great nine iron into 17, nice and close, that really helps. And two great shots into 18, it was a great way to finish. “It means so much. We’ve been through quite a lot as a family. To do it here, it’s what I’ve always dreamed of, winning a European Tour event. I can’t believe it. “It’s one thing doing well in amateur golf but turning pro and doing it week-in, week-out on different golf courses. I’ve had to make a lot of improvements and changes to my game to get to this point. It’s just really fulfilling to see it come off this week. “Golf’s a funny game, you never know when it’s going to click and when it’s going to be your week. Last week was the complete opposite – things didn’t go our way at all. You keep doing the right things, trusting that and fortunately this week was our week.”