It was a day of sunshine and birdies, as perfect conditions welcomed the players to the links of Castle Stuart. With warm temperatures, little in the way of wind, and not a single cloud in the sky, conditions were ideal for scoring, and the assembled field took full advantage. At the end of Thursday, 117 of the 156 players shot rounds under the par of 72, with 67 of them shooting in the 60s. There was much for the spectators, over 10,000 in number, to savour. However, at the end of the day it was an Englishman, John Parry, who leads the way at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.
Parry, the 26-year-old from Harrogate, shot an opening round of 64 to lead by one shot from compatriot Simon Khan. It hasn’t been the finest season thus far for Parry, who is currently ranked 105th in the Race to Dubai. However, he got off to a fine start on Thursday with four birdies in his opening six holes that set him up for the remainder of his round.
The winner of the Vivendi Cup in 2010, his sole win on the European Tour, reflected on the keys of his game today at Castle Stuart: “I think just wedge play and iron play. I think missed maybe another chance as well inside, and that's what I knew coming into this event to work on, because off the tee, it's quite generous, so you can work on your short irons and wedges and you can take lots of chances.”
He certainly took those chances, finishing with a birdie at the 18th to set the leading target. His game has indeed been on an upward trend; with a T-28 finish at the U.S. Open last month a fine performance in his major debut:
“I think the U.S. Open was the catalyst for me to start playing better, making cuts. Get four rounds under your belt, you start playing more, you start getting better results it's renowned for being the toughest event of the year; you know if you can compete on that, you know you can compete on any course. It's good for your confidence.”
His increasing confidence may also see him qualify for another major championship. The winner this week at the Scottish Open will qualify to compete in the 142nd Open Championship in seven days at Muirfield. Going on the evidence of today, it may very well be John Parry who claims that final spot into golf’s oldest Championship.
However, most eyes will fall on another player who take advantage of the conditions, one who already has Muirfield in his sight; Phil Mickelson. The American, like Parry, was among the morning starters, and compiled a fine opening round of 66, with an eagle at the 12th being an obvious highlight. It’s Phil’s 11th appearance in this event, and he believes that competing at a Castle Stuart, a course that he evidently admires, is perfect preparation for Muirfield:
“I love everything about this golf course,” said the four-time major champion. “It plays extremely well under all conditions, whether it’s firm and fast; it was so well thought-out, whether it’s wet, there’s still opportunities to get the ball in play and make birdies.”
Given the warm and dry weather that Scotland has experienced for over a fortnight now, Castle Stuart was playing firm and fast. There was a bounce to the fairways, and approaches on and around the greens required added imagination and execution, which are all skills that will be tested even more severely at Muirfield.
Mickelson added: “I think from a design standpoint it’s one of the best I’ve ever seen and these firm, fast conditions are great for next week. And the reason I love playing this week before next week is that it gives me an opportunity to hit all the shots I’ll play next week, all the bump-and-run shots, the chips around the greens, putts off the green, and yet it doesn’t beat you up and it doesn’t punish you the way we’ll get punished next week. You can only handle so much of that. To be able to play here, make birdies, have fun and still work on the shots for next week, it’s just a perfect way to get ready.”
Mickelson certainly views Castle Stuart as an ideal place to prepare for The Open Championship, but much of the pre-tournament attention was focussed on those who didn’t quite see it that way. Graeme McDowell, winner of the Scottish Open in 2008, suggested that the event had lost some of its prestige due to the Inverness venue not being the most difficult test of golf.
With its wide-open fairways, it’s certainly not as penalising as Muirfield will be next week. However, for Phil Mickelson the opportunity to be required to utilise the skills that he will need next week, in addition to having a little more fun, makes Castle Stuart a perfect warm-up:
“The reason I think it’s just the perfect setup for next week is that it gives you a chance to hit all the shot we’ll play next week; to have play those bump-and-run iron shots into the greens; run shots up; putt from off the green; bump-and-run chips; putt on fescue-type greens, but not get beat up the week before. You can only handle so much punishment the week of The Open where the rough is so thick and the penalty for a miss is so great, so it’s nice to have a week where you don’t get punished and you are still hitting the same shots.”
Always insightful and engaging, Mickelson will start Friday just two shots off the lead held by Parry. However, with such an exceptional depth of low scoring, the field is very bunched and 128 players remain all within eight shots of the lead. With the cut impending tomorrow evening, it would appear likely that anyone who makes it through to the weekend will have an opportunity to win the 31st Scottish Open.
For Phil Mickelson, Castle Stuart is the perfect warm-up for The Open Championship next week. That is a sentiment certainly reciprocated among the spectators in Inverness, who will enjoy another thrilling day’s play in the warm sunshine on the Moray Firth.