Of a very different week outing in East Lothian
David Drysdale had a sneak peek at The Renaissance Club, and confidently predicts the pros won’t make mincemeat of it again in this week’s Scottish Open.
Last year, Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger took the title, beating Frenchman Benjamin Hebert in a play- off after both men had finished 22-under for 72 holes.
In fact, the scoring was so good at the North Berwick course that no one finished the event overpar and the halfway cut came at five-under.
Drysdale himself sneaked in at that mark but, due to the high number of weekend qualifiers, failed to make a second cut after a poor third round.
Bu t the E d i n b u r g h ma n , who counts this as his home tournament, knows golf in July and golf in early October is totally different.
“I played the course last week and it’s in really good shape,” he told The Sunday Post.
“But, obviously, in the UK we are completely weather-dependant.
“Last summer, the players got four of the best days ever. There was rain in the build-up, so it was playing soft and then the beautiful weather meant it was defenceless. “But you won’t get four days like that in Scotland – not in October! “It will play a lot longer this year. And there’s bound to be some wind.
“The rough had not been cut back when I played, and in some places, it was knee- high. So it will be interesting to see if that remains, and players are punished if they hit it off line.”
With the Irish Open at Galgorm Castle in Northern Ireland at the moment, then the Scottish, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the new Scottish
Ch a m p i o n s h i p at Fa i rmo n t St Andrews, it’s the European Tour’s second UK swing since play resumed in July.
The Renaissance and Wentworth are both Rolex Series events, and the sizeable prize funds have attracted some of Europe’s top stars back from the PGA Tour.
But as far as Dr ysdale is concerned, the main thing is that he’s healthy enough to play. The Po r t u g a l Ma s t e r s at Vilamoura was the first time he had managed 72 holes since his runner- up finish at the Qatar Masters in March, as he suffered with a bad back during the first UK swing.
He said: “You wait for so long to play and then that happens – typical! It couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“My lower back has had a lot of wear and tear over the years, and I have to do a lot of stretching. But I was doing a lot of driving and it gave way.
“I made it to Celtic Manor for
the first of the two Welsh events, and had to pull out. The drive from Newport to home – lasting about seven hours – killed me. It knackered me for a couple of weeks.
“I tried to play at The Belfry but lasted six holes, and then missed Valderrama. So I’ve played one proper tournament in two months.
“As you can imagine, I am absolutely chomping at the bit. So with this UK stretch, I am so grateful to be back playing.”