THE 2022 GENESIS SCOTTISH OPEN MARKS ANOTHER IMPORTANT MILESTONE IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY'S NATIONAL OPEN. THE FIRST MODERN SCOTTISH OPEN WAS FIRST PLAYED IN 1972 AT DOWNFIELD GOLF CLUB IN DUNDEE, AND REMAINED IN THE AREA WHEN IT CAME TO THE OLD COURSE, ST ANDREWS IN 1973, THE TOURNAMENTS WERE WON BY Neil Coles AND GRAHAM MARSH RESPECTIVELY.
FOLLOWING 1973 THE TOURNAMENT WAS NOT STAGED AGAIN UNTIL ITS REVIVAL IN 1986 (Haggs castle), A BROADCASTER COULD NOT BE FOUND FOR 1974 FOLLOWING ITV'S DECISION NOT TO CONTINUE WITH THE EVENT, AND IT FELL TO BELL'S WHISKY TO SPONSOR THE EVENT AT GLENEAGLES, HERALDING ARGUABLY THE GREATEST ERA OF THE EVENT TO DATE. GLENEAGLES IS ONE OF SCOTTISH GOLF'S 'CATHEDRALS' AND ITS CONNECTION TO THE SCOTTISH OPEN GOES BACK MUCH FURTHER THAN 1986, HOSTING THE FIRST EVER INCARNATION OF THE SCOTTISH OPEN IN 1935.
THE R&A OBJECTED TO THE WORD 'CHAMPIONSHIP' BEING USED BECAUSE THE SCOTTISH OPEN WAS BEING ORGANISED BY A PRIVATE ENTERPRISE IN 1935, AND IT IS SEEMINGLY THE R&A WHICH KILLED OFF THE FIRST INCARNATION OF THE EVENT WHEN IT OBJECTED TO THE PENFOLD SCOTTISH OPEN BEING STAGED IN THE CARNOUSTIE AREA JUST PRIOR TO THE 1937 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, WHICH WAS PLAYED AT THE ANGUS LINKS. Percy Alliss WON THE 1935 SCOTTISH OPEN AT GLENEAGLES, BUT IT WOULD NOT RETURN FOR ANOTHER 52 YEARS.
when it did return it spent 8 glorious years at gleneagles, in the glorious playground, and attracted many superstar players to play IN THE WEEK PRIOR TO THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP. THE 1987 EDITION WAS WON BY Ian Woosnam IN COMMANDING FASHION, THE WELSHMAN WON BY 7 SHOTS OVER PETER SENIOR, DOMINATING A FIELD WHICH INCLUDED SEVE BALLESTEROS, Fred Couples, JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL, MARK JAMES, EAMONN DARCY, HOWARD CLARK, TOM KITE, SAM TORRANCE, RONAN RAFFERTY, WAYNE GRADY, KEN BROWN AND JOSE RIVERO. THE 20-UNDER-PAR SCORE SHOT BY WOOSNAM WAS ONLY BETTERED BY Bernd Wiesberger SOME 33 YEARS LATER IN 2019.
IN 1988 Barry Lane WAS VICTORIOUS IN THE BELL'S SCOTTISH OPEN, WINNING BY 3 OVER THAT YEAR'S MASTERS CHAMPION Sandy Lyle. IN 1989 MICHAEL ALLAN BECAME THE FIRST AMERICAN WINNER OF THE SCOTTISH OPEN, DEFEATING JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL AND Ian Woosnam BY 2 SHOTS. WOOSNAM'S LOVE OF GLENEAGLES WAS THERE FO ALL TO SEE AGAIN IN 1990, WINNING AGAIN BY A COMFORTABLE 4 STROKES OVER Mark McNulty, AND 8 OVER THE FOLLOWING WEEK'S OPEN CHAMPION, Nick Faldo.
AUSTRALIAN Craig Parry WOULD TAKE THE TITLE IN 1991, EDGING Mark McNulty BY A SINGLE STROKE, BEFORE IN 1992 ARGUABLY THE MOST FAMOUS OF ALL THE SCOTTISH OPEN'S AT GLENEAGLES TOOK PLACE.
WORLD NUMBER ONE Nick Faldo WAS HEADLINING THE FIELD, A WEEK BEFORE HE WOULD WIN THE OPEN FOR A THIRD TIME AT MUIRFIELD, AND HE WAS IN SERIOUS CONTENTION TO WIN THE BELL'S SCOTTISH OPEN, ALONGSIDE HOME FAVOURITE AND NEW, YOUNG SUPERSTAR, Colin Montgomerie. THE FIELD ALSO INCLUDED Ian Woosnam, WHO BY NOW HAD WON THE MASTERS IN 1991, Bernhard Langer, WHO WOULD WIN THE MASTERS FOR A SECOND TIME IN THE FOLLOWING APRIL, Larry Mize, Ben Crenshaw, Vijay Singh, Sandy Lyle, TOM WEISKOPF, MARK BROOKS, DUFFY WALDORF, LEE JANZEN AND ISAO AOKI. BUT NONE OF THEM HAD RECKONED ON THE SPECTACULAR, STUPENDOUS PLAY OF AUSTRALIAN Peter O'Malley.
O’Malley PRODUCED A QUITE OUTRAGEOUS SUNDAY BACK NINE OF 28 and completed his last five holes in seven-under-par: eagle, birdie, birdie, birdie, eagle TO STUN FALDO AND MONTGOMERIE, AND WIN BY TWO STROKES, DENYING THE HOME FAVOURITE AND THE WORLD'S BEST GOLFER.
THAT WAS THE HIGH WATER MARK OF THE BELL'S SCOTTISH OPEN, AND THE TOURNAMENT WOULD LEAVE GLENEAGLES AFTER THE 1994 EDITION AND DISCONTINUATION OF BELL'S SPONSORSHIP. IT WOULD BE PLAYED AT CARNOUSTIE IN 1995 AND 1996, WITH Wayne Riley DEFEATING FALDO BY 2 STROKES IN 1995 AND Ian Woosnam CONTINUED HIS LOVE FOR THE SCOTTISH OPEN WITH VICTORY IN 1996, WINNING BY 4 STROKES FROM CURRENT SKY SPORTS GOLF COMMENTATOR, Andrew Coltart.
THE 1996 SCOTTISH OPEN WAS PLAYED THE WEEK PRIOR TO THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP AT ROYAL LYTHAM, BUT IN SEPTEMBER OF 1996 ANOTHER TOURNAMENT TOOK PLACE IN SCOTLAND - THE Loch Lomond WORLD INVITATIONAL. THE TOURNAMENT WAS PLAYED AT THE BRAND NEW TOM WEISKOPF/JAY MORRISH MASTERPIECE ON THE BANKS OF Loch Lomond AND ATTRACTED A TOP European Tour FIELD INCLUDING SOME TOKEN AMERICANS. FROM 1997 THE EVENT MOVED TO THE WEEK PRIOR TO THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP, REPLACING THE SCOTTISH OPEN, AND IT CONTINUED TO GROW IN STATURE.
IN 1997 THE GULFSTREAM Loch Lomond WORLD INVITATIONAL SECURED THE STRONGEST FIELD IN THE ENTIRE European Tour SEASON, AND THE EVENT WAS WON BY 1996 OPEN CHAMPION AND FORMER WORLD NUMBER ONE Tom Lehman. Lee Westwood, Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els AND Retief Goosen WOULD WIN THE NEXT FOUR EDITIONS, SHOWING THAT THIS EVENT WAS NOW FIRMLY ESTABLISHED AS A PREMIER EVENT IN WORLD GOLF. IN 2001 THE SCOTTISH OPEN NAME RETURNED AND ALL PAST WINNERS AT Loch Lomond WERE GIVEN THE TITLE OF SCOTTISH OPEN CHAMPION. THE EVENT WOULD REMAIN AT Loch Lomond THROUGH 2010 AND WOULD SEE ELS, MCDOWELL AND KAYMER ADD THEIR NAMES TO A STELLAR ROLL OF HONOUR AT THE NOW ICONIC COURSE.
IN 2011 THE SCOTTISH OPEN, NOW UNDER TITLE SPONSORSHIP FROM BARCLAYS MOVED TO LINKS COURSES AROUND THE COUNTRY, BECAUSE IT WAS THOUGHT THIS WOULD BETTER PREPARE PLAYERS FOR THE OPEN AND ATTRACT A STRONGER FIELD. THE EVENT HAD SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT SUPPORT THROUGH EVENT SCOTLAND, AND IN 2011 THE TOURNAMENT MADE ITS FIRST VISIT TO Castle Stuart, WITH Luke Donald SUCCEEDING IN AN EVENT REDUCED TO 54 HOLES DUE TO THE WEATHER.
Aberdeen Asset Management TOOK ON THE TITLE SPONSORSHIP IN 2012 AND THE EVENT HAS BEEN PLAYED AT Castle Stuart, Royal Aberdeen, GULLANE, DUNDONALD AND RENAISSANCE IN THE INTERVENING YEARS, WITH THE LIKES OF Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose AND Rickie Fowler AMONG THE BIG NAMES TO HAVE LIFTED THE SCOTTISH OPEN TROPHY.
IN 2017 THE SCOTTISH OPEN BECAME PART OF THE EUROPEAN TOUR'S ROLEX SERIES, OFFERING A PURSE OF $7M (NOW $8M), AND IT HAS BEEN PLAYED AT RENAISSANCE SINCE 2019.
