In just two days, the 43rd edition of the Genesis Scottish Open kicks off. It can be stated without fear of being wrong that we are facing one of the best tournaments in the regular history of the European Circuit, and why not say it, it is probably the best.
According to Nosferatu, guru of the world ranking, the Genesis Scottish Open is the fourth tournament of the year in the Highest Field Rating. This category measures the strength of a field based on the players who compete in the tournament, their position in the ranking and their performance in the last two years. At this stage of the season, only three tournaments have had a better squad this year: the US Open, the PGA Championship and The Players. Beyond these, there is no better field than the one we find this week at The Renaissance Club.
The level of the entry list in Scotland even surpasses that of the Masters of Augusta, which certainly has a smaller field, but it is also above any of the designated tournaments of the PGA Tour. Neither the Genesis Invitational, nor the Arnold Palmer nor any of the other six designated events have a strength like the Scottish Open. The tournament elevated among the elevated. This level in the squad means that the tournament is going to distribute between 65 and 69 points to the winner, surpassing the 62 from a year ago. All this without the presence of Scottie Scheffler, World Number One. Imagine if he were present this week.
So that you can understand the magnitude of the event, the BMW PGA Championship held at Wentworth, the great standard-bearer of the circuit, distributed less than a year ago 39 points to the winner. 40% less.
Why such high figures? We leave you some data:
– This week we will have in Scotland six top 10 in the world, 12 of the top 20 and 31 of the top 50. There is nothing like it all year round on the European Circuit. These are numbers that are very close to those of a designated tournament.
– 16 Major winners will be part of this week in Scotland, a practically unprecedented fact in the history of the circuit: Francesco Molinari, Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Lucas Glover, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Thomas, Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Gary Woodland and Stewart Cink. Not bad at all.
– But as if that were not enough, almost 20 percent of the tournament players (17.5%) have played in the Ryder Cup at some point. 28 of the 156 players registered at this time have participated in the Ryder at some point. We leave you here the cast for you to enjoy: Bernd Wiesberger, Francesco Molinari, Thorbjorn Olesen, Oliver Wilson, Padraig Harrington
Luke Donald, Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy Max Homa, Brian Harman, Wyndham Clark, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Xander Schaufflee, Collin Morikama, Jordan Spieth, Sepp Straka, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Thomas, Robert MacIntyre, Harris English, Billy Horschel, Alex Noren, Nicolai Hojgaard, Justin Rose, Gary Woodland and Stewart Cink.
– Among all these golf giants, seven of ours will try to make a great impression while rubbing shoulders with the best players on the planet: Jorge Campillo, Adri Arnaus, Nacho Elvira, Pablo Larrazábal, Adrián Otaegui and Santi Tarrio. Rafa Cabrera Bello in 2017 has been the only player from the Armada capable of winning this tournament. Why not dream of a second Spaniard lifting the trophy next Sunday?
– One last note. Only two players have been able to repeat victory in the Scottish Open, Ian Woosnan (3) and Ernie Els (2). neither of them was able to defend the title. Rory McIlroy faces this task this week on his return to competition.
