It has been an amazing run of golf in Scotland over these last few weeks.
We have had nearly half a million spectators across five top events we have staged in successive weeks.
If you run through them all, we started with the Genesis Scottish Open where we had the best field we have ever had. A lot of the top names came over and gave the crowds at Renaissance the chance to see them.
The hottest ticket was the Open Championship, which didn’t disappoint.
It was absolutely phenomenal. It was up there with one of the best tournaments I have ever seen, to be honest. I thought the R&A nailed it, and the fans nailed it.
With it being the 150th Open at St Andrews, it was such an occasion.
Seeing a couple of the world’s top players in Cameron Smith and Rory McIlroy go toe-to-toe around the famous Old Course was spectacular.
Straight after that, I loved watching the Senior Open at the King’s Course. Darren Clarke won it in the end, but Padraig Harrington took it down to the last putt. It was very good to watch.
That’s where I started my pro career in 1993, in the Bell’s Scottish Open. I have great memories of that place.
There was then the Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald. I played there a couple of times last week and what a golf course it is.
What a transformation it has seen. There is a phenomenal new clubhouse, the golf course has improved, as well as the condition and layout of it.
Ayaka Furue winning it with a 62 in the last round was nothing short of incredible, it’s probably one of the best scores of the year.
Muirfield getting the Women’s Open was obviously quite a historical thing. For me, it’s one of the best golf courses in the world. I loved watching it and there was a worthy winner in Ashleigh Buhai, after a big long play-off.
We have been shown to the world.
When we were playing in the Irish Open, the fans came out in their droves, it was a great event.
I said to my son when we were out there that they’ve only really got that one big event there, whereas we had five in Scotland – you can take it a wee bit for granted sometimes, but what a couple of months we have had.
It is not over, as we still have the Dunhill Links to look forward to. It’s great to see Rory McIlroy confirm his return to the event, in which he will play the team event with his father Gerry, having not featured since 2019.
It’s great for golf. Hopefully the youngsters have been inspired by watching it, they can pick up a club and start playing it.
If the numbers can grow, that’s all I can hope.
Ramsay’s victory has been catalyst for strong Scots performances
I have been really pleased at how well the Scottish players are faring just now.
Richie Ramsay’s victory at the Cazoo Classic at Hillside a couple of weeks ago has really spurred us on, as you always get a lift when one of your pals wins.
It’s good to see, and it really gives you that determination to try and join him as a winner.
I’m sure you will see some good performances in the coming weeks.
The Cazoo Open at Celtic Manor was a great event last weekend.
England’s Callum Shinkin was a worthy winner. but Connor Syme took it to the last few holes, while Ewen Ferguson also did well.
David Law has also been doing well lately, having qualified for the Open where he had a really good weekend.
From my own point of view, I’ve got a big run coming to hopefully get some DP World Tour points on the board.
I think I’m playing 10 weeks out of 11, with the Czech Masters next week followed by the Omega European Masters in Switzerland.
Smith’s switch to LIV will be hard to take
While there has been a lot to savour in Scotland recently, the big talking point across the world is the news Cameron Smith is looking likely to sign for LIV.
The rumours we are seeing just now in all the newspapers are the Open winner, along with Marc Leishman, have all but finalised their switch.
It’s disappointing he has felt the need to do that, especially after the Open he had, how well he did and how well he was received.
You can’t blame him, but it’s just a shame.
The last two sign-ups have been particularly significant, with Cameron following the Ryder Cup captain in Henrik Stenson.
We enjoyed watching Cameron here in Scotland. Along with his outstanding performance at St Andrews, he came over played the Scottish Open at Renaissance the week previously.
With the sanctions now, the public might not get the chance to come and see him next year if he goes to LIV.
It’s just something different that comes up around LIV every week. I think the only loser out of it is golf, which is sad.
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