GLASGOW, Scotland, July 12 (UPI) -- Fredrik Jacobson made five straight birdies at Loch Lomond Friday and jumped four shots in front midway through the Scottish Open, the annual prelude to the British Open.
The 27-year-old Swede shot a 65 that left him at 11-under 131 for 36 holes.
The resurgent Sandy Lyle was at 135 while Richard Johnson, Carl Pettersson, Justin Rose and recent winner Miles Tunnicliff were at 136.
Jacobson was in the next-to-last group off the tee on Thursday and he finished his opening-round 66 in near darkness.
"I wasn't really paying that much attention, but I assume there weren't too many people around on Thursday night," he said. "I think even the scoreboard people had gone home by the time I finished. Today was a lot different."
Jacobson began his run at the short fifth, where he rolled in a 12-foot putt for a birdie. He holed birdie putts of seven, 15, 10 and 25 feet over the next four holes to make the turn in 31.
He cooled off on the back nine, but birdies at the 15th and 18th more than made up for a bogey at the 12th and put Jacobson in position to challenge for his first European Tour victory. He has finished second five times.
One of those second-place finishes came at the Irish Open two years ago, when he lost a one-shot lead with two holes to go.
"At that stage I thought I was as close to winning as anybody," Jacobson said. "When I went into that week I thought I was going to win, but it just fell away over the last couple of holes and that took a lot out of me."
Lyle continues to show a return to form. He has had four top-20 finishes over the past two months.
"Playing at weekends is a nice habit to have," said Lyle, who has both a Masters and British Open victories to his credit. "I recommend it to most professional golfers."
Lyle's round of 68 was highlighted Friday by a 9-iron that found the cut from 135 yards out for an eagle at the par-4 12th.
