As the Rolex Series returns to the DP World Tour with the eagerly-anticipated Genesis Scottish Open, Iona Stephen writes our Commentator's Column.
With Scotland being known as the Home of Golf it feels appropriate that it should have such a significant tournament on the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR. As a Scot, I feel really proud that the best golfers in the world – eight of the top ten – are coming to East Lothian and seeing how beautiful Scotland is and how proud we are to have that association as being the Home of Golf. It is a hugely exciting time for all the fans who get to be a part of this tournament this week.
The Renaissance Club is a Tom Doak design and he is known for his natural approach to taking on golf courses. I would say it is a gentle design of a golf course. It does have an American/Scot hybrid personality. The fairways are a bit wider, the whole scale of the property feels a bit bigger than what you would perhaps find at courses local to here like Gullane or North Berwick where you have a much more cosy and intimate feel. This has got a grander, more international feel and that is very appropriate for an event of this scale and magnitude. I think it is a really fun golf course to play and the best in the world are taking it on this week.
Being on Scotland’s golf coast as it is known, it is exposed to the elements and that is one of the key protagonists in the personality of this course and how it plays. It’s a course where its mood is often determined by the weather forecast. If you get it on a sunny, calm day then your experience can be very different to that of a windy, dreich day, whether you’re a professional are an amateur golf fan. That is integral to Scottish links golf and adds to the anticipation of any event. It is hugely exciting to see what mother nature is going to bring and how that will affect the tournament.
The weather has been pretty benign in comparison to what you can get in Scotland so far this week. It has been warm and sunny with a little bit of breeze. It is meant to get a lot tougher as the week goes along and certainly at the weekend when the winds get up to 30-40mph it could be a real tough test of golf. The greens will be slower which is a tough test of golf as well because a lot of the guys from America on the PGA TOUR will be used to upwards of 11 on the stimpmeter. Here they could be as low as eight. That is tough and obviously controlling your ball tee to green in the wind is another test altogether and could potentially favour the British players.
A big performance for Bob MacIntyre this week on home soil would be huge for him personally, his team, the DP World Tour and Scottish golf, especially with the Ryder Cup on the horizon. He is playing well, he obviously came close last week in Denmark. Probably one hole came in his way of better things at HimmerLand. He has been through a lot in the last couple of years and it takes time to find your rhythm and formula. He has obviously won a couple of times on the Tour already.
He has had a lot of pressure in the last few Opens. All eyes have been on him and he has now had some time to get used to that. He is a massive superstar in Scotland so playing at your home open comes with added pressure. This year, he returns with a little more experience and probably an ability to cope with that attention better than he has in previous years. He is definitely one to keep an eye on. I know he often comes here in his off-weeks. He is often back in Oban most of the time but will be familiar with this course so that will play to his advantage and if the wind picks up I think he will thrive on that as well.
From looking at the past winners, tee to green stats have proved the most important. That is a reflection of the importance of controlling your ball flight and understanding the undulations you get on the course both off the tee and on the green. We have had ten days of rain on and off so the course is actually playing a lot softer than perhaps we saw last year. But if it stays dry and the winds pick up then hopefully it will get firmer and faster as the week goes along because that is what you want to see. But right now it is playing a little softer and that definitely plays to the favour of the international players.
PGA TOUR players have performed well on links in the past, last year Xander Schauffele won and it wouldn’t be a surprise if that was repeated this year. Anyone who is a great ball striker will have a great chance. They are not inexperienced players, and everyone will be gearing towards The Open next week at Royal Liverpool.
This links swing is just the best time of the year. It is the perfect build-up to the Open Championship. Last year, we went from Renaissance straight to the Home of Golf and that was extra special. It is the two best weeks of the season in my opinion. You can feel the energy on site already and the buzz is palpable. The atmosphere and the scale at this week’s Scottish Open feels bigger than it ever has in the past. The grandstands look bigger and the facilities for everyone continue to improve. It’s as good as any tournament that I have ever been to.
