Stenson looking forward to his first Gullane appearance in the pro ranks

● 2016 Open champion confirmed for the ASI Scottish Open in East Lothian in July

Henrik Stenson, the 2016 Open champion, has handed the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open a boost by confirming he’ll be playing in this summer’s Rolex Series event at Gullane.

The popular Swede didn’t play when the East Lothian venue hosted the same event for the first time in 2015, when American Rickie Fowler came out on top.

But he returned the following year at Castle Stuart before beating Phil Mickelson in a thrilling battle to get his hands on the Clarer Jug at Royal Troon a week later.

“It’s been a long time for me since I played at Gullane,” said Stenson, the world No 15. “I played the British Amateur back in the day, probably in 1998, at Muirfield and Gullane. I didn’t play when Rickie won in 2015, so it’s kind of fresh to me in a way. It’s a good track and I’m looking forward to coming back.”

It will be Stenson’s 11th appearance in the event, having made his debut at Loch Lomond in 2001 and producing his best performance when finishing third in 2013 at Castle Stuart.

“The times when I have played the Scottish Open in the week before The Open I feel like I’ve come in ready and prepared and that’s when I’ve had my best results,” he added.

“I did that in 2013 when I finished second to Phil at Muirfield, then I skipped it for a couple

HENRIK STENSON of years to try a different set up and that didn’t work out too well for me. I went back to the original plan in 2016 and we all know how that finished up.”

That was reference to Stenson joining Darren Clarke (2011), Ernie Els (2012), Mickelson (2013) and Rory Mcilroy (2014) in winning golf’s oldest major the week after the Scottish Open.

“For me it’s always good to compete because it gets me into that competitive mode,” he said at the time. “I sometimes have a bit of a hard time going from practice mode to competition. “

Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello, the defending champion after his play-off victory over Englishman Callum Shinkwin at Dundonald Links last summer, is the only other player confirmed so far by the Scottish Open organisers .

However, Stenson is likely to be joined on Scotland’s Golf Coast on 12-15 July by Mickelson, as well as Fowler, Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood, all of whom have indicated that the Scottish Open is set to be on their summer schedules this year.

“The Scottish crowds are very knowledgeable,” said 42-year-old Stenson, a member of the 2014 Ryder Cupwinning side at Gleneagles. “They appreciate good golf and even if the weather can be a little rough at times they always come out. The Scottish Open always has a big attendance and a really nice feel to it also.”

Stenson’s announcement was immediately welcomed by Martin Gilbert, the cochief executive of Aberdeen Standard Investments. “Great news,” he wrote on Twitter.

Tickets for the event are available from just £15 at www. asiscottishopen.com Scotland’s three representatives in the 2015 Walker Cup at Royal Lytham have been reunited after Jack Mcdonald joined Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson in being represented by an Edinburgh-based management company.

Bounce Sport also have another of the country’s talented young professionals, Robert Macintyre, on their books, as well as Ryder Cup player Stephen Gallacher, and Mcdonald is delighted to have signed up following his recent departure from International Sports Management (ISM).

“I am really excited about things going forward,” said the 25-year-old Ayrshireman, pictured, who enjoyed a gliterring amateur career before turning professional just under two years ago. “The fact I’m now being represented by a Scottish management company and I also know the guys in the stable really well makes it even better.”

Mcdonald’s best performance so far in the paid ranks was tying for fifth in the Swedish Challenge hosted by Robert Karlsson last year. “I am really looking forward to this year as I will get a run of events through this new link up on top of the category I already have for the Challenge Tour. I will be able to complete throughout the season, which is great,” added the applied mathematics graduate from the University of Stirling.

“I think the main thing I have learned in my time as a professional has been about managing myself, both in terms of playing golf and what comes with being a professional golfer.

“I think I understand more now about things that can happen and I feel as if it is an experience thing and that I have learned a lot and that I can keep pressing forward by focusing on golf. Hopefully the good results I’m after will come in due course.”

Mcdonald makes his first start as a Bounce Sport player in this week’s Challenge de Espana on the Challenge Tour.

“It’s been a long time for me since I played at Gullane. I played the British Amateur back in the day, probably in 1998”