Mike Aitken: Scottish Open seals its place in affections of elite

Published on Wednesday 8 July 2009 22:49

THE increase in stature of the Barclays Scottish Open from relatively humble origins at Downfield in 1972, when Neil Coles collected a winner's cheque for £1,950, to the summer blockbuster which starts today at Loch Lomond – on Sunday the victor takes home £500,000 – is perhaps best captured by the strength of a field which features 25 of the world's top 60 golfers.

According to Geoff Ogilvy, the world No6 and former US Open champion, who mostly competes on the PGA Tour in America these days and is back competing at Loch Lomond for the first time in eight years, the lure of teeing up in Scotland's national championship is less about prize money and more about prestige. "This is a better field than you get for normal US Tour events, for sure," observed the Australian.

"It's a great tournament on a better golf course than we play most weeks on the US Tour. Everyone worldwide has great respect for this tournament. It's pretty high up there and it seems like it gets a better field every year.

"I have been here two or three days and I am already thinking that I should do this more often. Walking through the locker room, I've seen about 15 people I haven't seen in months and it's really nice. I am playing well enough to think about winning."

The presence of ten major winners as well as exceptional young talents such as Camilo Villegas, Adam Scott, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer lends the Scottish Open an air of international distinction which remains the exception rather than the rule on the European Tour.

For Ernie Els, a two time winner of the title as well as a past Open champion at Muirfield, the appreciation for the game at the home of golf is heightened by the passing of time. "To be honest, it's probably my favourite two weeks on the golfing calendar," he said. "No, make that definitely my favourite two weeks."

As well as the high calibre of entrant, the championship's rising stock can be attributed to both an attractive date in the diary before the Open and a scenically beautiful golf course which is meticulously presented and sets a fair test.

Colin Montgomerie, the champion in 1999, has long regarded Loch Lomond as a second shot golf course. The emphasis on distance control and placement of iron shots played to his strengths as well as those of Els, Retief Goosen, Lee Westwood, Thomas Bjorn, Tim Clark, Thomas Levet and all the other notables who have triumphed here. This notion also sits well with

Graeme McDowell, who also executed his iron shots with flair and authority when signing for the winning total of 271 last year.

"You shouldn't be missing fairways out there," observed the Ulsterman. "You don't necessarily have to be massively long off the tee. It helps in certain areas, but I'm not a massive hitter – middle of the pack maybe. Certainly last year was all about second shots for me. Any time I got a 7 or 8 iron in my hand, I was giving myself a shot at birdie."

The main reason Tiger Woods hasn't played in the Scottish Open since Carnoustie in 1995,of course, is that he sees no merit in competing on an inland course the week before a major championship staged on a links.

It's an argument which Ogilvy, the highest ranked player in the field, understands but doesn't necessarily endorse from his own experience. "The last two years I've spent the week before the Open practising on links courses. Last year I went to Formby and West Lancs. The year before I was playing around St Andrews and Carnoustie and I played rubbish in both Opens.

"So I decided to do something else this year. I'd always wanted to play here again but I used to think it was bad for Open preparation. However, I don't think it actually is.

"It's not that different. We've all done it before and after the first nine holes you're kind of back into the mode again. I lacked the competitive play before the Open last year, so I'm trying that this year.

"I've played at Loch Lomond two or three times and 2001 was the last time. I actually got into the Open at Lytham via this tournament. I could win the Order of Merit here (he's played five events and is second behind Paul Casey] which is bizarre. I'm interested in the Race To Dubai and joined the tour to do that. I wanted to come back a bit more in Europe but it's so hard when you are playing in the US."

With so many of the international elite capable of challenging, it's tough to make a case for a home winner. Since Montgomerie was third in 2000, no Scot has finished in the top five. True, Stephen Gallacher, who signed off with 64 last year, and Alastair Forsyth, who carded 64 in the second round in 2005, have touched the heights, but have yet to find the consistency of shot making required here.

While John Daly, who withdrew from the pro-am yesterday to safeguard a back injury, has the length to emulate long hitting past champions such as Eduardo Romero and Johan Edfors, the record book suggests another pure ball striker will be smiling here on Sunday.

Bookies go 16-1 the field

BOOKMAKERS Ladbrokes report sustained support for Tim Clark ahead of the Scottish Open.

The South African – a previous winner – is a 25-1 chance, whilst Geoff Ogilvy, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy lead the way on 16-1.

Ladbrokes spokesman, Nick Weinberg, said: "Clark has been the best backed player over the course of the last 24 hours. And Westwood is still attracting interest too."

Bookies offer 5-2 that the title is decided by a play off and 33-1 that the winner at Loch Lomond goes on to add the Open crown to his collection. The firm go 5-6 about a hole in one, and 12-1 that it rains on all four days of the tournament.

SCOTTISH OPEN: LADBROKES LATEST ODDS

G Ogilvy 16-1

I Poulter 16-1

L Westwood 16-1

R McIlroy 16-1

R Fisher 20-1

C Villegas 25-1

E Els 25-1

M Kaymer 25-1

R Goosen 25-1

T Clark 25-1

S Hansen 33-1

S Kjeldsen 33-1

A Cabrera 40-1

A Hansen 40-1

A Scott 40-1

B Weekley 40-1

G McDowell 40-1

MA Jimnez 40-1

R Allenby 40-1

R Green 40-1

50-1 and updwards any others

TEE TIMES

(GB & Ire unless stated, x denotes amateurs)

Starting at hole 1

0730 Graeme Storm, Tano Goya (Arg), Gareth Maybin

0740 Shane Lowry, Peter Lawrie, Mikko Ilonen (Fin)

0750 Daniel Vancsik (Arg), Anthony Wall, David Dixon

0800 Mikael Lundberg (Swe), Scott Drummond, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra)

0810 Wallace Booth, Phillip Price, Paul Waring

0820 Wen-chong Liang (Chn), Kenneth Ferrie, Richard Finch

0830 Danny Willett, Hennie Otto (Rsa), Anthony Kang (USA)

0840 Michael Campbell (Nzl), Stephen Dodd, Felipe Aguilar (Chi)

0850 Callum Macaulay, Thomas Aiken (Rsa), David Horsey

0900 Simon Dyson, Sam Little, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg)

0910 Markus Brier (Aut), Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra), Damien McGrane

0920 Alexander Noren (Swe), Alvaro Velasco (Spa), Jyoti Randhawa (Ind)

0930 Ignacio Garrido (Spa), Maarten Lafeber (Ned), Martin Erlandsson (Swe)

1230 Robert Allenby (Aus), Nick Watney (USA), Sandy Lyle

1240 Alvaro Quiros (Spa), Adam Scott (Aus), Darren Clarke

1250 Colin Montgomerie, Nick Dougherty, Ernie Els (Rsa)

1300 Paul Lawrie, Martin Kaymer (Ger), Camilo Villegas (Col)

1310 Geoff Ogilvy (Aus), Oliver Wilson, Retief Goosen (Rsa)

1320 Nick Faldo, Thongchai Jaidee (Tha), Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)

1330 Anders Hansen (Den), Tim Clark (Rsa), John Daly (USA)

1340 Michael Hoey, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa), Thomas Bjorn (Den)

1350 Steve Webster, Barry Lane, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind)

1400 Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den), Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Christian Nilsson (Swe)

1410 Andres Romero (Arg), Mark Brown (Nzl), Johan Edfors (Swe)

1420 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (Fra), Paul Broadhurst, Michael Jonzon (Swe)

1430 Robert Dinwiddie, Simon Khan, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus)

Starting at hole 10

0730 Robert Rock, Brian Gay (USA), Peter Hanson (Swe)

0740 Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Soren Hansen (Den), Alastair Forsyth

0750 Angel Cabrera (Arg), Graeme McDowell, Ross Fisher

0800 Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy

0810 Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa), Soren Kjeldsen (Den)

0820 Stuart Appleby (Aus), Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (Spa), David Drysdale

0830 Rory Sabbatini (Rsa), Prayad Marksaeng (Tha), James Kingston (Rsa)

0840 Thomas Levet (Fra), Jeppe Huldahl (Den), Niclas Fasth (Swe)

0850 Richard Green (Aus), Scott Strange (Aus), Boo Weekley (USA)

0900 Azuma Yano (Jpn), Jarmo Sandelin (Swe), Nick Ludwell

0910 Martin Laird, Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra), Gary Lockerbie

0920 Christopher Doak, Metteo Manassero (Ita), Mark Foster

0930 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned), Francesco Molinari (Ita), Stephen Gallacher

1230 Paul McGinley, Peter Hedblom (Swe), Rodney Pampling (Aus)

1240 Peter O'Malley (Aus), Alejandro Canizares (Spa), Marcus Fraser (Aus)

1250 Francois Delamontagne (Fra), Jamie Donaldson, Gary Orr

1300 Anton Haig (Rsa), David Howell, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa)

1310 Taco Remkes (Ned), Shiv Kapur (Ind), Magnus A Carlsson (Swe)

1320 Gary Murphy, Lee Slattery, Bradley Dredge

1330 David Lynn, Miles Tunnicliff, Simon Wakefield

1340 Oliver Fisher, Jason McCreadie, Marcel Siem (Ger)

1350 Gregory Bourdy (Fra), Brett Rumford (Aus), Chapchai Nirat (Tha)

1400 Pablo Martin (Spa), John Bickerton, Gregory Havret (Fra)

1410 Marc Warren, Richard Sterne (Rsa), Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe)

1420 Rafael Echenique (Arg), Benn Barham, Ross McGowan

1430 Phillip Archer, Andrew McLardy (Rsa), Pelle Edberg (Swe)