Chris Robb keeps Saltire flying high on European Tour

Chris Robb plays his second shot on the 14th hole during the second round of the Euram Bank Open at Golf Club Adamstal. Picture: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

Chris Robb produced the lowest round of his career on one of golf's main tours to keep the Saltire flying high since the European Tour restart following a four-month coronavirus shutdown.

The 29-year-old Aberdonian carded seven birdies as he posted a six-under-par 64 in the second round of the Euram Bank Open at Adamstal Golf Club in Ramsau in Austria.

Robb, who marked the circuit's return when hitting the opening shot in last week's Austrian Open, started with three birdies as he moved to eight-under, four behind Dutchman Joost Luiten, at the halfway stage in the event, co-sanctioned with the Challenge Tour.

"It was an ideal start," admitted the 2014 Scottish Amateur champion, who sits joint-fifth. "I had 90 yards from the fairway and hit it in a bunker for my only dropped shot at the ninth, but the rest of the game was really solid today. I tried to play a little more conservatively than I did last week."

Robb missed the cut in that event, won, of course, by compatriot Marc Warren, with Connor Syme and Craig Howie adding to a strong retstart by the Scottish contingent as they shared fourth spot at Diamond Country Club, near Vienna.

"There seems to be a lot of Scottish guys playing well at the moment," added Robb, who is in his second season on the Challenge Tour after graduating from the ProGolf Tour.

"It certainly pushes you on a little bit, especially guys you play with back home and you compete with them when you’re knocking it about but then all of a sudden a tournament is a little different.

"It’s great to see the Scottish flag up there quite a bit and it seems to have been up there a lot over the last few years."

Robb's best round in his rookie campaign on the second-tier circuit last year was a 67 in the final round of the Open de Portugal at Morgado Golf Resort.

He'd started brightly after finding himself in the spotlight on the first tee in the Austrian Open last Thursday but missed the cut following a brace of 73s.

"I wasn’t too disappointed with the way I played last week," insisted Robb, who beat Glenbervie's Graeme Robertson to claim his Scottish title triumph at Downfield. "Diamond is a fantastic course and I didn’t feel like I did a whole lot wrong.

"I’ve played here several times before, the walk is tricky, but the course is class. I was looking forward to coming back."

Referring to the shutdown, he said: "Having not hit a club for 12 weeks, you almost don’t want to analyse anything and just see how it goes.

"That’s what I’ve been trying to do – not too much technical work. I find I play much better after a break because I’m thinking about less things.

"Last week I was relatively happy, though I felt like I was playing at home, lashing at flags, and forgot how to play tournament golf.

"This week I'm trying to be a bit more conservative into the greens. I gave myself a lot of chances and the putter was pretty hot today. I didn’t leave much out there at all.

"I struck the ball pretty nicely and plotted my way round. That was one of the goals going into this week.

"You can get a low score going here, but any hole can trip you up pretty fast as there’s cliffs either side on any hole. You need to be focused throughout."

Robb's effort left him sitting two shots off the clubhouse lead, held by Frenchman Joel Stalter after he signed for a second successive 65.

It was a disappointing morning for the rest of the Scots in the field, including Scott Henry.

He started the day just two shots off the lead but crashed to an error-strewn 80 - 15 shots more than his opening effort.

That left him alongside Howie (77) on five-over, with Ewen Ferguson (72 for two-over) and Craig Ross (77) for four-over also heading for early exits.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.Subscribe to scotsman.com and enjoy unlimited access to Scottish news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.scotsman.com/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Joy YatesEditorial Director