Donald triumphs at Castle Stuart

World No.1 confirms status with victory at new Scottish Open venue

No.1 in more ways than one: Donald secures victory in the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart 

Luke Donald emerged from a horde of contenders to assert his position at the summit of golf’s world rankings with an imperious final round 65 to clinch the rain-shortened Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.

Prior to the event, Castle Stuart co-designers, Mark Parsinen and Gil Hanse, expressed their hope that the young course would allow the best player to succeed, and their intention was fulfilled in emphatic fashion as the world’s No.1 golfer prevailed to lift the new Scottish Open trophy.

Donald – with 15 top-tens in his last 17 appearances – shot a spectacular final round 63 to finish on 19-under-par, four strokes clear of nearest challenger Fredrik Andersson Hed of Sweden.

Emerging from a mass of players (at one point eight players shared the lead and 27 were within two of the leading group), Donald strode to a relatively comfortable victory in a pair of tartan trousers – perhaps as an homage to his Scottish father.

With two Scots in the final group – Scott Jamieson and Peter Whiteford – there had been considerable hope that the new trophy in the style of a traditional Scottish Quaich would be staying at home.

However, as Donald moved into sole possession of the lead thanks to a series of four birdies from the 3rd, neither of the Scots could keep pace as both failed to muster any magic with their short sticks.

Colin Montgomerie’s endeavour to secure a 22^nd consecutive start at next week’s Open Championship got off to the perfect start as the eight-time European Order of Merit winner sank a monstrous 60ft eagle putt on the second hole. Unfortunately for Monty, it was to prove a false dawn as a string of bogies after the turn consigned his Open challenge to failure.

It was fellow Scot and overnight leader Scott Jamieson who finished in a tie for third to claim the remaining spot at Royal St George’s thanks to a birdie-birdie finish that meant the Glaswegian edged out first round leader Mark Tullo, Martin Wiegele and Lorenzo Gagli by virtue of his higher world ranking.

The course on the banks of the Moray Firth had its own adversity to overcome as extremely harsh weather conditions threatened the venue’s maiden championship. After thunderstorms caused play to be called to a halt on Friday, three inches of rain fell overnight causing major landslides that rendered the course absolutely unplayable.

However, a fantastic endeavour from the Castle Stuart greenstaff – many of whom were volunteers for the duration of the event only – meant that though the tournament was shortened, the course received much critical acclaim from players, officials and spectators alike.

Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered