Scottish golfer boosts PGA Tour card bid by signing off with career-best 60
Sandy Scott closes with career-best round as Stephen Gallacher and Gemma Dryburgh also shine in US
Rookie Sandy Scott recorded his best finish on the Korn Ferry Tour after signing off with a career-best 60 in the Memorial Health Championship presented by LRS in Illinois.
The Nairn man bagged 11 birdies, including six on the spin to storm to the turn in 28, as he signed for his sensational closing salvo in tying the course record at Panther Creek Country Club in Springfield.
The effort earned Scott a tie for third, finishing just two shots behind winner Austin Smotherman on 23 under par, in the $1 million event after a jump of 19 spots on the last day.
Scott’s previous best finish on the PGA Tour’s feeder circuit had been a tie for seventh in the Astara Chile Classic in March.
On the back of this performance, he’s up to 41st from 76th on the Korn Ferry Tour points list, with compatriot Russell Knox, who finished runner up in an event earlier in year, sitting 27th.
The top 20 at the end of the season will secure PGA Tour cards for the 2026 season, meaning Scott has teed up an exciting second half of the campaign.
He became the fourth player to shoot 60 at this event, the most recent having been Jackson Suber in the second round in 2024.
Scott’s effort, though, was the best final-round score in the tournament’s history, beating the previous best by a shot.
It was the second Sunday in a row that a Scottish player had signed off with a 60 after Daniel Young carded the same score the previous weekend on the HotelPlanner Tour in France.
Elsewhere, Stephen Gallacher secured a top-20 finish on his debut in the US Senior Open, won by his fellow Dunhill Links past champion Padraig Harrington.
Gallacher closed with a two-under-par 68 at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs to secure a tie for 18th spot as he finished with a two-over total.
Harrington landed his second win in this event as he held off 2009 Open champion Stewart Cink and fast-finishing Spaniard Miguel Jimenez to claim a one-shot victory with an 11-under total.
“It's all about winning,” said Harrington, who has now landed ten over-50s’ victories. “Every time you come back out and you win, the nerves are there, the tension's there, you don't want to mess up.
“But I think winning a US Senior Open or any tournament on the Champions Tour, it kind of validates your career. It validates the past in a lot of ways.”
On the LPGA Tour, Scottish No 1 Gemma Dryburgh and Australian Cassie Porter secured a tie for sixth spot in the Dow Championship at Midland Country Club in Michigan.
The ‘Kilted Koalas’ signed off with a seven-under-par 63 in the closing better-ball round to finish with a 16-under-par 264 total.
The event was won by Korean pair Jin Hee Im and Somi Lee in a play-off against American duo Meghan Khang and Lexi Thompson after a tie on 20 under.
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