Bell's Scottish Open
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The Genesis Scottish Open is a professional golf tournament in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
, and is one of five tournaments that are part of the Rolex Series, which identifies it as one of the
European Tour The European Tour, currently titled as the DP World Tour for sponsorship reasons, and legally the PGA European Tour or the European Tour Group, is the leading men's professional golf tour in Europe. The organisation also operates the European ...
's premier events. It has been played on various courses, but in recent years it has been played on a links course, appealing to players who wish to gain experience before
The Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
, which takes place in the following week. Since 1987 it has, together with
John Deere Classic The John Deere Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is played annually in July, usually the week before The Open Championship, at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities community of Silvis, Illinois. History The tournament bega ...
, been the last chance to qualify for The Open. It has been part of the Open Qualifying Series since that series started in 2014. The leading 3 players (4 in 2016) not already qualified, have received an entry to the Open. Before 2014 there was generally an exemption category so that the leading player or players, not already qualified, could play in the Open. The Scottish Open became a Rolex Series event in 2017 (when the series was inaugurated), which meant the prize fund was increased to $7 million. Beginning in 2022, the tournament was co-sanctioned by the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
and title sponsored by
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
.


History


1972 and 1973

The first Sunbeam Electric Scottish Open was part of the
1972 European Tour The 1972 European Tour, titled as the 1972 PGA European Tour, was the inaugural season of the European Tour, the main professional golf tour in Europe. Changes for 1972 There were several changes from the previous year's British PGA circuit sch ...
and was held at Downfield Golf Club in
Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...
.
Neil Coles Neil Chapman Coles, MBE (born 26 September 1934) is an English professional golfer. Coles had a successful career in European golf, winning 29 important tournaments between 1956 and 1982. After reaching 50, he won a further 14 important Seniors ...
beat
Brian Huggett Brian George Charles Huggett, (18 November 1936 − 22 September 2024) was a Welsh professional golfer. He won 16 events on the European circuit between 1962 and 1978, including two after the formal start of the European Tour in 1972. In 1968 ...
at the second hole of a sudden-death playoff, holing a 12-foot putt. Total prize money was £10,000 with a first prize of £2,000. Sunbeam Electric had sponsored the Sunbeam Electric Tournament in 1971. In
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
the event was played on the
Old Course at St Andrews The Old Course at St Andrews, also known as the Old Lady or the Grand Old Lady, is considered the oldest golf course in the world. It is a public course over common land in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland, and is held in trust by the St Andrews Links ...
. Graham Marsh won by 6 strokes from
Peter Oosterhuis Peter Arthur Oosterhuis (3 May 1948 – 2 May 2024) was an English professional golfer and broadcaster. He played on the European circuit from 1969 to 1974, winning 10 tournaments and taking the Harry Vardon Trophy for heading the Order of Merit ...
. Total prize money was increased to £15,000 with a first prize of £2,500. Both 1972 and 1973 tournaments were broadcast extensively on ITV. The tournament was cancelled when television coverage could not be arranged in 1974.


1986 revival

The event returned to the European Tour calendar in
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
when, under a new sponsorship deal with Bell's, the Glasgow Open, which had been held at Haggs Castle Golf Club from 1983 to 1985, was rebranded as the Scottish Open. After remaining at Haggs Castle for the first year, the tournament moved to Gleneagles in 1987 and was played the week before the
Open Championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...
. 1987 also saw the BBC broadcast live coverage of the event, and continued to do so until 1993. It remained at Gleneagles until Bell's withdrew their sponsorship in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
following the switch of TV coverage from BBC to SKY that year. In
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
and
1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...
it was held, without a sponsor, at
Carnoustie Carnoustie (; ) is a town and former police burgh in the subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the UK census 2011, 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of ...
. The 1986 event had prize money of £130,000 with a first prize of £21,660. This rose to £200,000 with a first prize of £33,330 for the 1987 event at Gleneagles. This had risen to £600,000 and a first prize of £100,000 for the 1992 tournament. Despite the loss of Bell's sponsorship the prize money increased to £650,000 in 1995 but, with the event losing money, this was reduced to £480,000 in 1996.


Loch Lomond

From
1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...
the Scottish Open's pre-Open place on the European Tour schedule was taken by the Loch Lomond World Invitational, which had been first held at
Loch Lomond Golf Club Loch Lomond Golf Club is located in Luss, Argyll & Bute, Scotland on the shore of Loch Lomond. The course occupies land previously held by Clan Colquhoun and includes the clan's seat of Rossdhu House as its clubhouse. History While Clan Colquh ...
in September 1996. The top-60 in the World Rankings were invited but few non-Europeans entered. The event was broadcast by the BBC. From 1997 to
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
the Loch Lomond event was played the week before the Open Championship. These events did not use the Scottish Open name, the rights to which were owned by ISM. From
2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
, it was decided that the Loch Lomond event would be known as the Scottish Open and all prior editions, including the September 1996 event, would be granted Scottish Open status. This resulted in the anomaly of there being two "Scottish Opens" in 1996. The September 1996 event had a first prize of £125,000, rising to £133,330 in 1997 and £183,330 by 2000. The 2001 Scottish Open was run without a main sponsor but from 2002 it was known as the Barclays Scottish Open, and was played at Loch Lomond until 2010. Some concern was expressed that the course, which is very different from the links courses on which the Open Championship is played, put European Tour players at a disadvantage compared to their leading rivals from the
PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also known as the PGA Tour, the PGA Tour Champion ...
, who traditionally spent a week practising for the Open on links courses in Ireland.


Links courses

In 2011 it was held at Castle Stuart Golf Links, near
Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...
, due to the financial difficulties being suffered by Loch Lomond. Play was reduced to 54 holes (three rounds) in the tournament due to heavy rain, which caused flooding and landslides.
Aberdeen Asset Management Aberdeen Asset Management plc was an international investment management group, managing assets for both institutions and private investors from offices around the world. Its head office was in Aberdeen, Scotland. The company was listed on the ...
took over sponsorship in 2012, but the event remained at Castle Stuart in 2012 and 2013 before moving to Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in 2014. It was played at Gullane Golf Club in 2015 and at Castle Stuart Golf Links in 2016. In 2016, the attendance figures at Castle Stuart were disappointing, with a reduction of more than 20,000 to 41,809 over the four tournament days. In 2017 it was held in Ayrshire, for the first time in its current guise, at Dundonald Links, and was played at Gullane again in 2018. Since 2019 the event has been held at the Renaissance Club and is scheduled to remain there until 2026.


Disability event

From 2019, a 36-hole EDGA (European Disabled Golf Association) Scottish Open event of ten players takes place on the same course on the Saturday and Sunday morning of the main event.


Winners

Sources:


Previous event of same name

In 1935 Gleneagles hosted a Scottish Open Championship held on the King's course. Total prize money was £750. The R&A objected to the use of the term "Championship" being used for a tournament organised by a private enterprise.
Percy Alliss Percy Alliss (8 January 1897 – 31 March 1975) was one of the leading English professional golfers in the 1920s and 1930s, winning many tournaments in Britain and Continental Europe. He was also the father of commentator and former golfer Peter ...
won the tournament by 4 strokes from Jack Busson with an aggregate of 273. The 1936 tournament was sponsored by Penfold and known as the Penfold Scottish Open. Penfold had sponsored
tournaments A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...
in Wales and England from 1932 to 1934. The tournament was played at Ayr Belleisle Golf Club. Total prize money was again £750. After 72 holes
Jimmy Adams James Clive Adams Order of Distinction, OD (born 9 January 1968) is a former Jamaican cricketer, who represented the West Indian cricket team, West Indies as player and Captain (cricket), captain during his career. He was a left-handed batsma ...
and Tom Collinge tied on 287. In the 36-hole playoff, Adams had rounds of 68 and 69 and won by 11 strokes. It was intended to hold the 1937 Penfold Scottish Open in the
Carnoustie Carnoustie (; ) is a town and former police burgh in the subdivisions of Scotland, council area of Angus, Scotland. It is at the mouth of the Barry Burn on the North Sea coast. In the UK census 2011, 2011 census, Carnoustie had a population of ...
area, just before the 1937 Open Championship which was to be played there. The R&A objected to the arrangement and the event was cancelled. Penfold resumed their golf sponsorship with the Penfold Professional Golf League in 1938.


See also

*
Open golf tournament An open golf tournament usually refers to a golf tournament in which all golfers may compete regardless of their professional or amateur status. Often there will be certain restrictions, commonly based on ability. Some amateur-only tournaments are ...
* Ladies Scottish Open


Notes


References


External links


Coverage on the European Tour's official siteCoverage on the PGA Tour's official site
{{coord, 56.052, -2.812, type:event_region:GB-ELN, display=title European Tour events PGA Tour events Golf tournaments in Scotland Recurring sporting events established in 1972 1972 establishments in Scotland