This week brings about the Scottish Open, with a number of the world’s top golfers set to take part this should be an entertaining event as the build up to the Open Championships continues.
The competition north of the border has been moved to the links course at Castle Stuart near Inverness after the decision to switch from the scenic location at Loch Lomond.
Unfortunately for golf fans Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who put the woes of his Masters nightmare behind him by winning the US Open, will not be attending as he rests ahead of the Open Championship at Royal St George.
However world number one and two Luke Donald and Lee Westwood (15/2 Scottish Open outright) are both set to take part at the course on the banks of the Moray Firth, in the gateway to the Scottish Highlands.
Westwood, who finished third and second at the Open Championship in the past two seasons and won the Scottish Open back in 1998, has plenty of experience of playing in these conditions.
The scoring at Castle Stuart will be affected greatly by the strong winds in Inverness but the man from Worksop has the ability to cope with whatever the Scottish weather has to throw at him.
Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell (16/1 Scottish Open outright) goes into this event without the monkey on his back of being the current US Open champion, with that title going to his countryman McIlroy.
This should allow McDowell to play with a little less pressure than he has had to deal with for much of the current season.
The 31-year-old tasted success at this upcoming event in 2008, however that was when the event was at Loch Lomond.
McDowell is in good form at the moment after he enjoyed two sub 70 rounds at the US Open, so he could be a player to look out for at Castle Stuart and Royal St George in the coming weeks.
Scotsman Paul Lawrie (90/1 Scottish Open outright) will be accustomed to the weather in this part of the UK, as the Aberdeen man goes into the Scottish Open as a potential outsider to win the event.
The 42-year-old has often saved his best golf for tournaments in his homeland and the 1999 Open Championship winner could surprise many when the competition tees off on Thursday.
Ultimately the likes of Westwood, Donald, McDowell and the American Phil Mickelson (18/1 Scottish Open outright) will be battling it out for top spot, however with the unpredictable weather, it could be a pretty open field at this year’s event.
