Scottish Open returns

It's back. Five years on from its sad demise, when the title was sold by promoter Alan Callan to Mark McCormack’s International Management Group as part of a deal primarily about rights to the Rugby World Cup, the Scottish Open Championship makes a welcome return to the European Tour schedule this week.

Quite apart from the emotive nature of the words Scottish and Open, it is also nice to see an end to what was surely the silliest name for a golf tournament anywhere in the world. What started off innocuously enough as the Gulfstream Loch Lomond World Invitational had, by 1999, transformed itself into something called the Standard Life Loch Lomond. That sounded more like an insurance policy for non-swimmers than something the likes of Colin Montgomerie, Tom Lehman, Ernie Els and Thomas Bjorn have bust a gut to win.

So, yes, it is a definite pleasure to have our Open back. This week has a lot going for it, too. The field are impressive enough, even without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, both of whom will be tuning up in Ireland before facing the links of Royal Lytham. Indeed, that is perhaps Loch Lomond’s biggest irony. Almost universally hailed as one of the best courses in Europe, it is annually snubbed by the world’s best golfer simply because it is not situated hard by the sea.

Still, it is Tiger’s loss. Designed by the now defunct team of Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish, Loch Lomond is certainly one of Scotland’s top courses. Sadly, however, the quality of the venue is not matched by the prevailing ethos of the host club. Loch Lomond’s exclusivity - dare I say snobbishness - runs directly contrary to the historically-inclusive nature of golf in Scotland.

Owned by an American, Lyle Anderson, the club have made the classic error of copying all the worst aspects of the leading British clubs. It is safe to assume that the membership do not exactly represent a broad cross-section of society. Male, rich, middle-aged and white just about covers everyone. The showers in the clubhouse are nice, though.

Anyway, moving right along. Another factor drawing the likes of defending champion Els, Greg Norman and the new US Open champion, Retief Goosen, to the Bonnie Banks is, besides the proximity of the event to the impending Open Championship at Lytham, the fact that the prize-money of 2.2m is double that of last year. Not that any of the above-named is exactly crying out for cash, but rumour has it that Norman’s jet needs some petrol, hence his first appearance at Loch Lomond since 1997.

Still, facetiousness aside, it is to the event’s credit that such a field have been assembled without the need for the organisers to offer anything in the way of financial inducements to turn up. Unlike so many of its peers, the Scottish Open does not offer appearance money to anyone. Come to think of it, maybe that has something to do with the fact that Tiger isn’t coming to Scotland. Maybe he would rather waste time with his high-rolling chums in the Emerald Isle than get some non-remunerative competitive practice prior to his defence of the Open title he won so impressively at St Andrews a year ago.

Just a thought.

And competitive the championship promises to be. This is top-class stuff. One look at the list of winners over what Weiskopf has called "the best course I will ever build" is testimony enough to its ability to test and identify the very best in the game. All four of Loch Lomond’s past champions currently reside among the top-15 players on the world ranking list. Three - Monty, Lehman and Els - are in the top 10. So we can expect another collection of big names at the top of the leaderboard seven days hence.

Should that come to pass, one man assuredly not complaining will be European Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance. Montgomerie’s win in Ireland last week helped the situation, but the possibility of Torrance leading the "team from hell" out at the Belfry in September has not yet gone away. The next three weeks will go a long way to deciding just who is in, and who is out.

Just as important for Loch Lomond this week, however, will be the condition of the course itself. Long renowned for its Augusta National-like attention to detail, the venue fell some way short of the high standards it had previously set during last year’s Solheim Cup.

A greenkeeper’s error meant that the putting surfaces were a long way below of the quality expected in such an event. And poor weather leading up to the matches - there is a reason why Scotland’s biggest puddle is there in the first place - meant that Europe’s win over the US was, at times, little short of farcical.

Still, for all that, Loch Lomond is assuredly the place to be this week. Given reasonable weather, this is, with Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland, perhaps the most beautiful venue on the European Tour. Walking up the sixth fairway during one of Scotland’s sadly-infrequent calm and sunny days a couple of years ago, Lehman surely summed up the feelings of the field. Gazing out over the picturesque loch, he said (as much to himself as anyone else): "There is nowhere in the world I would rather be than here at this very moment."

Of course, had that very same thought occurred to the 1996 Open champion while he was seated at the side of the Country Club’s 17th green watching Justin Leonard hole that putt in the last Ryder Cup, he could have saved himself a lot of bother.

Just another thought.

A field of dreams: 10 names to savour

Darren Clarke

Age: 32

World ranking: 12

Clarke’s improving form is better than his 18th position on the Volvo Order of Merit suggests. After a poor start to the season, he tied for eighth at Wentworth, shared fifth at Forest of Arden and was runner-up in Cork last week. A respectable US Open performance was disguised by his controversial double-bogey in the dark. He is due a win.

John Daly

Age: 35

World ranking: 229

The big-hitting American, making his first appearance at Loch Lomond, is pure box-office. With alcohol and gambling stalling his career, he hasn’t won anything since the 1995 Open, but he still has an average drive of more than 302 yards, the longest on tour by, well, a long shot. Also in the field is Costantino Rocca, his play-off opponent at St Andrews six years ago.

Ernie Els

Age: 31

World ranking: 3

The defending champion is not in the kind of form that suggests a repeat performance. Amid claims that family life has distracted him, the big South African reached rock bottom at last month’s US Open when he admitted that he had lost enthusiasm for the fight. Perhaps a return to the scene of his triumph 12 months ago will recapture it.

Nick Faldo

Age: 43

World ranking: 81

Back with Fanny Sunesson, the caddie who partnered him during his halcyon days, Faldo is exuding new-found warmth and threatening to recapture some of his old form. Third at the PGA and 10th at the FedEx St Jude Classic in June, the man who includes three Open titles on his CV is a realistic contender at Loch Lomond.

Sergio Garcia

Age: 21

World ranking: 5

Although an erratic final round cost him at the US Open, victories in the MasterCard Colonial and the Buick Classic, as well as a joint second at the Memorial, have established him as the man most likely to challenge Tiger Woods in the long term. In 1999, his rookie year, the volatile Spaniard tied for second at Loch Lomond behind Colin Montgomerie.

Retief Goosen

Age: 32

World ranking: 26

The South African’s reputation was transformed overnight by that play-off victory against Mark Brooks in last month’s US Open. However, Loch Lomond galleries have known about his ability since he set the course record with a 62 four years ago. A second major, which would silence those who see his breakthrough as a fluke, is not beyond him.

Colin Montgomerie

Age: 38

World ranking: 9

After 13 months without a win on the European Tour, Montgomerie strolled to a five-stroke victory at the Murphy’s Irish Open last week. But let’s not get carried away. Although he took the first prize at Loch Lomond in 1999, he admits that the demand for a home winner in Scotland, and at the Open, can be hot to handle. Be gentle with the big man.

Greg Norman

Age: 46

World ranking: 59

Although he tied for fourth at the Bay Hill Invitational in March, Norman’s record this season is strewn with cricket scores and missed cuts as he edges ever closer to the Seniors’ Tour. With his attention increasingly focused on business interests, the former Open champion who played at Loch Lomond in 1997, is likely to have only celebrity value.

Jose Maria Olazabal

Age: 35

World ranking: 53

Standing 12th in the Ryder Cup rankings, the Spaniard is desperate to accumulate more points so that he does not require a wild card. Loch Lomond represents an ideal opportunity for the man who now plays much of his golf on the other side of the Atlantic. Although he won the French Open in May, he needs another high finish to secure breathing space.

Lee Westwood

Age: 28

World ranking: 7

The Englishman has been a sorry sight recently. He returned from a disappointing display at the US Open to shoot a first-round 81 at Slaley Hall and miss the cut in a mediocre field. He claims that he is revamping his swing to take his game to new heights. Those familiar with the 1998 Loch Lomond winner know that the effects could kick in any time now.