Chris Gotterup pounds his way to a 61 and leads the Scottish Open

NORTH BERWICK, Scotland (AP) — The hardest task for Chris Gotterup was waking up Friday. Once he got going, he never really stopped until he tied the course record with a 9-under 61 and wound up with a two-shot lead going into the weekend at the Scottish Open.

Gotterup rolled in three long putts and was long as ever off the tee, seizing on a spectacular day of sunshine and very little wind in the morning at The Renaissance Club.

Harry Hall (64) was two shots behind, and a refreshed Ludvig Aberg (65) led a group that was three shots back.

Aberg is coming off just the break he needed — a trip home to Sweden for the first time in a year, a chance to see friends and eat his mother’s special sausage and get refreshed.

He overcame a bogey-bogey start with eight birdies over his next 15 holes. That made him the only player from among the top five who played in the afternoon, when the wind kicked up along the Firth of Forth and the course became firm and bouncy enough to frustrate Scottie Scheffler and plenty of others.

Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player, had a pair of three-putts and at one point after watching a putt bounce off line he extended his arm with his thumb up in mock celebration. It wasn't all that bad. He still shot 68 and was six shots behind.

Gotterup, the Rutgers star who finished his final season at Oklahoma, was at 11-under 129.

Rory McIlroy had five birdies on the back nine (he started on No. 10) and turned that into a 65 to join the group at 7-under 133. Xander Schauffele, who defends his title next week in the British Open, was five shots back after a 66.

Schauffele rarely gets frustrated by anything, much less a score like 66. This was different. The weather was as ideal as it can get in these parts, not so much a full blue sky and a bright sun, but only a wee breeze.

“It was there for the taking,” Schauffele said.

That's exactly what Gotterup did. He's still a little jet-lagged and struggled to deal with a 5:15 a.m. alarm when he would have rather slept in. But then he saw a 45-foot birdie putt drop on the second hole. He hit it close for a few more birdies. He made a 30-footer on the tough seventh hole. And he closed out the front nine at 29 after making birdie from 20 feet.

Three more birdies over the next five holes got him to 9 under. Two more birdies — one hole was a par 5 — would have allowed him to break 60.

“That didn't cross my brain at all,” Gotterup said. “I thought 10 (under) would be cool. I think it's still my lowest round in tournament golf. I have no complaints.”

Gotterup, along with leading the tournament, is leading the way to grab one of three spots available for the British Open. It would be nice to stay an extra week — he played the last two weeks and is scheduled for a flight to California on Monday to play the PGA Tour event in Lake Tahoe — but that's not why he came over.

He loves coming to Scotland, even for one week, as he did last year (and missed the cut). Plus, he happened to see the forecast and it was ideal all week. The fans have picked up on it, too, as Saturday already is a sellout and Sunday tickets are going fast.

“There's probably not too many better places to be,” Gotterup said, not making it clear if he was speaking entirely about Scotland or his spot on the leaderboard.

He won the Myrtle Beach Classic last year, an opposite-field event. He looks and plays like a pure athlete, and that comes form 12 years playing lacrosse as a kid in New Jersey before he decided to invest more time in golf.

“Lacrosse helps with my speed. It's a similarish motion," he said. “When you're shooting lacrosse, I try to rip it as hard as I can. When I grew up, I hit the ball as hard as I could. It's just how I grew up playing. Maybe if I grew up here, it would be different.”

He's not aware of the rough-and-tumble Scottish game of shinty, the favorite sport of defending champion Robert MacIntyre. By the look of Gotterup, he would fit right in.

MacIntyre was simply happy to make it to the weekend. The wind blew hard enough in the afternoon, and the sun baked the greens and turned them bouncy, that good scores were hard to find. The cut settled on 1-under 139. MacIntyre made a late birdie, and Justin Thomas made a 6-foot birdie on the 18th hole to make it on the number.

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

Norway's Viktor Hovland on day two of the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland, Friday July 11, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

Norway's Viktor Hovland on day two of the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland, Friday July 11, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy on day two of the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland, Friday July 11, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. on day two of the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland, Friday July 11, 2025. (Andrew Milligan/PA via AP)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a Swiss Alps bar during a New Year’s celebration, police said Thursday.

“Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure," Gisler said.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

Officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.

Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

“We are devastated,” Frédéric Gisler, commander of the Valais Cantonal police, said during a news conference.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, according to regional councilor Mathias Rénard.

The municipality had banned New Year’s Eve fireworks due to lack of rainfall in the past month, according to its website.

In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Zurich.

The highest point of Crans-Montana, with a population of 10,000 residents, sits at an elevation of nearly 3,000 meters (1.86 miles), according to the municipality’s website, which says officials are seeking to move away from a tourist culture and attract high-tech research and development.

The municipality was formed only nine years ago, on Jan. 1, 2017, when multiple towns merged. It extends over 590 hectares (2.3 square miles) from the Rhône Valley to the Plaine Morte glacier.

Crans-Montana is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.

In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open Feb. 6.

Crans-Montana also is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountains views.

From left, Mathias Reynard, State Councillor and president of the Council of State of the Canton of Valais, Stephane Ganzer, State Councillor and head of the Department of Security, Institutions and Sport of the Canton of Valais, Frederic Gisler, Commander of the Valais Cantonal Police, Beatrice Pilloud, Attorney General of the Canton of Valais and Nicole Bonvin-Clivaz, Vice-President of the Municipal Council of Crans-Montana during a press conference in Lens, following a fire that broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

A skier walks in the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

A banner stating that fireworks are prohibited due to the risk of fire is pictured near the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)

Police officers inspect the area where a fire broke out at the Le Constellation bar and lounge leaving people dead and injured, during New Year’s celebration, in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. (Alessandro della Valle/Keystone via AP)