After opening with a 3-under 69 on Thursday in the first round of the FREED GROUP Women's Scottish Open presented by Trust Golf, Australian Sarah Kemp carded another round in the 60s on day two at Dundonald Links, firing a 4-under 68 to sit at 7-under overall. The 37-year-old had an up-and-down front nine, making two bogeys and three birdies to turn in 35, but settled down on the back nine, going bogey-free and recording three consecutive birdies on holes 12, 13 and 14 en route to her second-round 68. It's the first time she's opened with two rounds in the 60s since the 2022 Kroger Queen City Championship presented by P&G – Kemp finished eighth that week – and it's the second tournament in a row that the Aussie has recorded back-to-back rounds in the 60s, having also done so over the weekend at last week's Amundi Evian Championship.
Kemp has clearly carried the momentum she found in France with her to Ayrshire, Scotland, but she also knows how to handle this type of golf, having grown up playing windy, links-style courses in her native Australia, knowledge that is proving to be an advantage over some of her counterparts who may not be as familiar with these conditions.
"I grew up on a course that's links in Australia. I grew up playing in a lot of wind. It's hard, but it doesn't scare me," Kemp said. “(It was) nice and solid. I feel like I hit a lot of fairways. And if I missed it, it was just a yard or two off. Pretty sure I hit a lot of greens, and I definitely holed some putts. I was joking with my caddie, the longest putt I holed last week I think was like 15 or 16 feet, and I holed a 24-footer today, so pretty happy with that."
This is Kemp's sixth appearance at the FREED GROUP Women's Scottish Open, and in her five previous starts, she's missed four cuts and recorded a T28 finish in the 2018 edition of the event. This is her 14th start of the 2023 season, and so far this year, Kemp has earned three top-15 results: a T13 at the JM Eagle LA Championship presented by Plastpro, a T13 at the Cognizant Founders Cup, and a solo eighth at the Dow Great Lakes Bay Invitational alongside partner Alena Sharp.
As far as major championships go, Kemp hasn't fared too well, missing the cut in two of the three in which she's played and finishing T28 at The Amundi Evian Championship. But as it currently stands, she's on the outside looking in when it comes to playing the fifth and final major of the year at the AIG Women's Open. With the top three finishers this week not already qualified earning a spot in next week's field, Kemp's hot start could potentially mean more than a career-best finish in the FREED GROUP Women's Scottish Open come Sunday at Dundonald Links.
"That'd be a great bonus," said Kemp, who has played in 11 editions of the AIG Women's Open. "But I've got a long way to go until I can get one of those spots. If I can keep up what I'm doing, I might have a shot."
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