As the celebrations of a superb 100th Open de France settle down, the European Tour takes the party to the home of golf this week and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. Here is all you need to know…
Rewind
America’s Rickie Fowler birdied the last to snatch victory and deny compatriot Matt Kuchar in a thrilling finish to the 2015 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. Fowler produced his second brilliant finish of the season at Gullane, having fallen two shots off the lead when he bogeyed the 14th hole of the final round. Fowler responded with birdies at the 15th, 16th and 18th to finish 12 under par and snatch victory from Ryder Cup team-mate Kuchar and Raphal Jacquelin.
Bite-sized history
The first two Scottish Opens were played in 1935 and 1936, with the tournament not played between 1937 and 1971. It returned for another two editions as part of the European Tour in 1972 and 1973 before a 13-year gap. Since 1986, though, the tournament has been one of the biggest events on the European Tour and has been played over some of Scotland’s finest links and parkland courses over the years with a formidable list of past champions which includes Ian Woosnam, Thomas Bjørn, Tom Lehman, Colin Montgomerie, Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, Phil Mickelson, Luke Donald, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose.
The field
A field of extreme strength and diversity will be in action at Castle Stuart this week. Phil Mickelson returns to Inverness looking to repeat the glorious seven days he experienced in 2013 when he defeated Branden Grace in a play-off to claim the Scottish Open before driving south to Muirfield to lift the Claret Jug seven days later. The man he defeated in that play-off, which took all of Mickelson’s short game genius to determine a winner three years ago, is back to try and go one better, while the likes of Henrik Stenson, Luke Donald, Patrick Reed, Graeme McDowell, Russell Knox, Martin Kaymer and last week’s 100th Open de France Champion, Thongchai Jaidee, are just a few of the headline names which make up a brilliant field, which, all told, contains seven Major Champions, two former World Number Ones, seven European Tour Number Ones, eight WGC winners, 97 European Tour winners, 24 Ryder Cup players, 14 winners from the 2016 European Tour season and ten former Scottish Open champions.
The course
Castle Stuart Golf Course is at the heart of the highlands offering classic links golf that is beautifully complemented by spectacular views overlooking the Moray Firth and its dramatic coastal landscape. Opened in 2009 and designed by Mark Parsinen and Gill Hense, this is a truly magnificent course with a cleverly designed layout that boasts a varied mix of challenges, but the underlying philosophy behind Castle Stuart is simple: if you don’t have fun playing it then you are playing the wrong game.
Key stats
• When Phil Mickelson won at Castle Stuart in 2013 he went on to create history seven days later by becoming the first player to win the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, then go onto win The Open Championship.
• The co-designer of Castle Stuart Links, Gil Hanse, is also the architect for the golf course to be used for the Rio Olympic Games.
• The 2016 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open will be the 34th staging of the event, first played in 1972 and won by Neil Coles, beating Brian Huggett in a play-off.
• The Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open has produced 30 different winners from 14 different countries. Of those 30, eight have been Major Champions.
European Tour Release
