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Masters champion says weather put him off

Banter: Oosthuizen and Schwartzel are all smiles at Sandwich after opting not to play at Castle Stuart

Masters champion Charl Schwartzel has explained his decision not to play at last week’s Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart Golf Links.

The 26-year-old South African originally agreed to take part in the event following the decision to move it from Loch Lomond to the new Highland venue, saying that it would be an “honour” to tee it up in Inverness. Back in May, he said: “It will be a real honour to be introduced onto the first tee at the Barclays Scottish Open as the Masters Champion and I hope I can perform at my best and try to contend for the title.

“The Barclays Scottish Open has always been a big week on tour because it is the week before the Open and it now has an extra edge because it’s being played on a links course at Castle Stuart.”

Along with compatriot Louis Oosthuizen, the defending Open champion for this week, Schwartzel then withdrew from the contest, leaving many Scottish golf fans scratching their heads.

But during his media briefing at Sandwich, he said that the further north organisers took the Scottish Open the more the weather would influence proceedings.

“I did not play the Scottish Open because I guess the weather was going to be bad. That was my prediction. I just figured moving the Scottish Open further north into Scotland… it can’t get any better going further north. I didn’t watch too much, I watched a little bit of the last round. It looked like a fun course to play. The way they set it up didn’t look too tough. It’s a course that I would like to play.”

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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