Padraig Harrington and Martin Kaymer have taken the number of Major Champions appearing in the 2016 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open to eight after confirming their places at Castle Stuart Golf Links from July 7-10.
Harrington, who was recently named as one of Darren Clarke’s vice captains for The 2016 Ryder Cup, and Kaymer, the 2009 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open winner, will be joined in the Highlands by their fellow Major Champions Darren Clarke, Paul Lawrie, Sandy Lyle, Graeme McDowell, Phil Mickelson and YE Yang.
Between them, the octet have claimed 16 of the game’s most prestigious titles, with Harrington claiming two Open Championships (2007 and 2008) and one US PGA Championship (2008), and Kaymer winning the 2010 US PGA Championship and the 2014 US Open.
Tickets to see the ‘Major Men’ in action are available now through the official tournament websitehere
Kaymer, who secured victory for Europe the last time The Ryder Cup was held on American soil, has not played in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open since 2012 – three years after he won the tournament.
Having triumphed in the Open de France the week before, Kaymer arrived at Loch Lomond full of confidence, and promptly took the title by two shots.
Kaymer has not won a regular European Tour event for five years, but the German has shown definite signs of a return to form recently. After achieving top six finishes in both the Real Club Valderrama Open de España and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open, the former World Number One secured his third successive top ten in the recent BMW PGA Championship.
For me, Scotland is one of the best places to play golf.
Martin Kaymer
“The courses are fantastic, the fans are very knowledgeable and respectful, and there’s always a special atmosphere. Winning the Scottish Open in 2009 was definitely one of the highlights of my career, and I’d love to get my hands on the trophy again.”
Harrington will be making his sixth consecutive appearance in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. His maiden visit to Castle Stuart yielded a top 15 finish in 2011, when Luke Donald claimed victory, and the Irishman followed that up with a tied 16th finish at the same venue the following year.
He said: “I’ve always enjoyed my visits to Castle Stuart – it’s in a lovely spot and the course is a very fair test. I’ve had some fairly decent results there without getting myself right into contention, but hopefully I can change that this year.
“Naturally, The Open Championship is at the back of a lot of players’ minds that week, but the Scottish Open is a very prestigious tournament in its own right and one I’d definitely love to win.”
