Why I'm so lucky to have witnessed last three weeks of top-class golf in Scotland - and the big winners and losers

It’s the sort of run that reminds me I’ve got one of the best jobs in the world and, even though time continues to bring change and new challenges, I will treasure that until the day comes when I file my last report for this grand title.

Three straight weeks of top-class golf action in Scotland may take its toll in terms of tiredness, but, boy, does it give you a buzz, even when you’ve been around this particular block a few times.

Finally finding time to catch my breath last week, I worked out that this year’s Open at Royal Troon was my 35th in a working capacity while I’ve now covered the Genesis Scottish Open on 39 occasions.

Bob MacIntyre celebrates after becoming the first home plauer in 25 years to win the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

That, of course, only makes me realise that Old Father Time is catching up with me as a big birthday looms on the horizon, but I still reckon colleagues half my age would be hard pressed to enjoy the last three weeks as much as me.

For starters, it’s because, first and foremost, I love golf and always have. At times, I feel a bit jealous of my golfing buddies who play two or three times a week and rarely miss club competitions whereas I only manage the odd hit now and again and rarely have a card and pencil in my hand.

But, at the same time, I’ve learned to realise that my biggest kick will always come from being able to write about this great sport. Especially so when you are doing so in its cradle.

This year’s Genesis Scottish Open, of course, was certainly one to cherish as it produced a first home winner in 25 years and hats off to Bob MacIntyre for delivering his tartan triumph at The Renaissance Club, where he’d suffered heartbreak 12 months earlier after a brilliant birdie-birdie finish from Rory McIlroy.

Though a great event when it was sponsored by both Barclays and Aberdeen Standard Investments, there can be no denying that the bar has been raised in terms of the Scottish Open since Genesis came on board as the title sponsor and also through it now being co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour.

I’ve heard it mentioned that it would be good to see a qualifier reinstated that would give Scottish-based professionals in particular a genuine chance to play in their home Open and the fact a spot is currently allocated to the winner of a US college event certainly adds some fuel to that potential possibility moving forward.

It’s certainly not a game-changer, though, in terms of what the event delivers as a world-class sporting spectacle because it ticks every single box in that respect and there’s probably no other tournament that has produced such dramatic finishes over the past two years.

It’s just a pity that, in the case of MacIntyre at least, lots of fans had already headed home by the time he rolled in his winning birdie putt. The late finish on Saturday and Sunday, of course, is mainly down to US television and the importance of that certainly shouldn’t be underestimated, but the last putt even being holed an hour earlier would make a difference and, let’s face it, it’s going to be hard following Xander Schauffele, McIlroy and MacIntyre as the last three winners on the East Lothian coast.

No matter where it is held, The Open is always one of my favourite weeks of the year and this one was no different, helped, I must admit, by the fact I was staying in Ayr and absolutely loved seeing Royal Troon from the train en route to the course in particular but also heading home at night as what is almost a little temporary town due to the infrastructure that now comes with the Claret Jug event was litten up.

The Ayrshire course was probably the biggest winner of the week as just nine players finished in red figures while the lowest score on a par-71 test was 65, one of which saw Schauffele claim his second major victory this year and, with all due respect to the others in contention other than Justin Rose and Shane Lowry on the final day, the event’s tenth staging at this venue delivered the champion most people probably wanted to see once things got down to the business end.

By then, of course, the likes of Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Tiger Woods had all departed the scene and, though that was unfortunate for the spectators who may only have been there at the weekend, it was a great example of how having cuts in golf are so important because they help players build a mentality and, make no mistake, nothing hurts more when it comes to the game’s leading lights than not being around for the weekend in majors.

If you’re not in it, you can’t win it and one of the best examples of that, of course, was Paul Lawrie still being standing in the 1999 Open at Carnoustie and coming from ten shots behind to famously get his hands on the Claret Jug. It wasn’t to be for the Aberdonian in his bid to claim the over-50s’ version back at the Angus venue in last week’s Senior Open presented by Rolex, but what a terrific event it is as well.

Staging it for a third time, Carnoustie was a splendid venue once again and what a treat it remains in golf to see the likes of 66-year-old Bernhard Langer still performing at a high level and loving every minute of it, even if, somewhat harshly, he was denied the use of a golf cart along with some others, including fellow former winner there Paul Broadhurst, who produced an incredible performance to finish third behind KJ Choi despite needing the aid of a walking stick due to suffering from severe arthritis.

Three big weeks down and a few more to come. See, I told you I had one of the best jobs in the world.