By Rachel Treasurer, europeantour.com
at Royal Aberdeen
This year’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open is packed with many of the biggest names in European golf, who have been joined at Royal Aberdeen this week by the arrival of American stars eager to follow in the footsteps of last year’s champion.
With the likes of Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood all choosing to make their return to the event, which features 23 of the top 60 players in the Official World Golf Ranking and ten Major Champions, this could be billed as the most prestigious Scottish Open to date.
However, it is perhaps the addition of several well-known Americans to the field which has boosted the profile of the event even further, previously held for the last two years at Castle Stuart Golf Course in Inverness.
So what is the main reason for the sudden influx of golfers flying in from across the pond, in particular those who have never before played in a Scottish Open before?
Asides from the change in golf course, the main difference between the Scottish Open this year and last year is that it can now claim ’Lefty’ as one of its victors.
Phil Mickelson's triumph at Castle Stuart last year and subsequent success of lifting a maiden Claret Jug the following week at Muirfield has convinced many Americans to brave the elements of The European tour and experience all that links golf has to offer in the build-up to the third Major Championship of the year next week at Royal Liverpool.
The young, popular Rickie Fowler is one such American luminary who has travelled to Aberdeen this week.
Known for his flashy attire, Fowler has impressed before on British soil, in particular with a tied fifth finish at The 2011 Open Championship at Royal St Georges and the 25 year old California native was keen to credit the influence of Mickelson in his decision to fly over a week early to take part at Royal Aberdeen.
"Phil's played in this event many times before and had a lot of fun over here and I would like to follow what he's done of course,” said Fowler, who has claimed top five finishes in the first two Majors of 2014. “Winning the Scottish open would definitely be special.
"I enjoy coming over here. I like the imagination you get to use when deciding what shots to make. It's a different style of golf than I'm used to but I think I'll definitely fit in here."
Another American to watch out for in the field this week is Jimmy Walker. After reigniting his name on the US PGA Tour this year with three victories in eight starts, Walker has risen to 18th in the World Ranking and highlighted a ‘practice makes perfect mentality’ in his decision to join the world-class field in Aberdeen this week.
He said: "Definitely Phil winning two in a row didn't make or break my decision to come over here even though it was very impressive what he did. I just thought it would be a good opportunity to get a few rounds in because I would love to have a chance to compete on Sunday next week."
"It’s only my second time playing links golf, so that's why I wanted to come over and try and get a couple more looks at it before travelling to Hoylake next week.
"When you play golf in the states, everything looks very green, very lush. And then you come here and it's a very naturalistic look. It’s different."
With the weather in Scotland unpredictable at best, it could be a real test of skill and patience for those accustomed to calmer conditions.
Both players have been placed in popular groups for the first couple of days of the tournament, meanwhile, with Fowler teeing off at 1310 with current Race to Dubai leader Thomas Bjorn and French up-and-comer Victor Dubuisson, while Walker will be teaming up with popular Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez and the enthusiastic Englishman Ian Poulter.
