CASTLE PINES — The first time Adam Scott played Castle Pines Golf Club was in 2000. He was playing his first professional tournament.
Fast forward to Friday and Scott is a veteran of the PGA Tour and holding the second-round lead at the BMW Championship.
Scott's 63 set a course record at Castle Pines, according to the PGA Tour. The 44-year-old had nine birdies and no bogeys in the round.
"There's plenty of room off the tee," Scott said about the course, at 8,130 yards the longest in tour history. "The fairways are wide, and the greens are receiving. After the rain (Thursday), they're a bit softer. You can definitely attack. If you're on, guys should be going at pins."
The Australian was invited to play The International at the age of 20. To that point he had never played in a PGA event. The International would invite young players from other countries to showcase their skills at Castle Pines. Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, missed the cut in 2000.
"It was my first-ever invite to the PGA Tour," Scott said about 2000. "Obviously it was The International tournament, and they gave a lot of invites to foreign players. I was lucky enough to get one. I had only been a pro about a month, I think."
Scott wasn't the only player to go low on Friday. Ludvig Åberg put up a 63 as well to move into solo third place after the second round. The 24-year-old went 4-under through holes No. 11-14.
"It's fun to play good golf," Åberg said. "I'm going to keep being aggressive even though I shot even par (Thursday). I was still very aggressive, which I like. Yeah, I'm going to keep doing that and try to keep up and make a few birdies to catch Adam."
His aggressive style of play showed on the par-5 14th hole. After a 357-yard drive, he was still left with over 300 yards to the flag. Åberg went for the green and stuck it just over 6 inches. He made eagle.
"I didn't try to go left of that pin. I was just trying to take it middle of the green," he said about the second shot. "It came out ... It was a good number where I felt like if I hit it straight, it was going to stay short of that bunker, but if I tugged it, (it) was still going to cover the water, which it did. Obviously, I didn't try to go that far left, but every now and then you get away with those."
Even with the low score, Åberg is still four shots behind Scott. Keegan Bradley followed up his 66 with a 68 for solo second place, three shots behind Scott.
"Adam, for me, is an inspiration," Åberg said. "He's been there for a long time, and what he's doing with that longevity is amazing. I look up to him a lot. It'll be fun to try to catch him this weekend."
Åberg is firmly in the field for the Tour Championship, but Scott and Bradley have work to do. They both need strong finishes this week to advance to Atlanta. With a win, Scott would move up to fourth in the standings.
Bradley and Scott will tee off in the final group set to go off at 11:35 a.m. Saturday. Aberg plays with Alex Noren at 11:25 a.m.
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