Five of the world’s top eight players will compete in next month’s Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart and the Highland public have responded in their thousands to their first European Tour event.
The beauty of the Castle Stuart location, framed by the Moray Firth, the Black Isle and Ben Wyvis to the west, had also got the thumbs up from broadcasters, he added.
Adams said, “We had visits from both BBC and Sky and they’re delighted by what they’ve seen.
They think the course will televise beautifully and the views will be spectacular.”
The course itself will play to 7050 yards, just a touch below the maximum range, with some holes offering a risk and reward element.
Mark Parsinen, the American behind the development who was also co-creator of Kingsbarns Links in Fife, said that the philosophy behind the course was more that of an Old Course than a Carnoustie-style links.
“We want room to drive the ball, but want it to matter where you go off the tee in terms of the second shot, like the Old Course,” he said.
“The fairways are quite generous and might even look easy off some tees but if you don’t find the right spot it will be very difficult to get close to the pins.
“I think the key for me is that a mistake off the tee here will always give you a chance for redemption. For the pros I think that will mean they’ll have the option of playing conservative or attacking… based on their situation.”Molinari’s excitementDefending champion Molinari has not visited the course as yet but had nothing but glowing reviews, he said.
“I spoke with a few of the Scottish lads on tour and they’ve all been telling me how great it is and how spectacular the location is,” said the Italian.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing it.
“We used to play the links courses in Britain and Scotland as amateurs all the time, and it’s unfortunate that we don’t play enough links golf in the professional game, so Castle Stuart will be a great way to return.”
The 30-year-old has won two of the last three European Tour events in Scotland, having the thrilling victory in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles to clinch his Ryder Cup spot, so is looking forward to returning.
Molinari said, “I’ve always enjoyed playing in Scotland, and it’s no coincidence I won twice there last year.
“We play golf all around the world but every time we go to Scotland you know the people know about the game itself, know about the history and know the players, perhaps more so than any country in the world.”
Championship director Peter Adams revealed advance tickets sales for the new host course near Inverness were “far exceeding” anything they experienced in 15 years at Loch Lomond the previous venue for the Scottish and that they were anticipating around 50,000 on the weekend of the event from July 7-10 as the European Tour comes to the northernmost venue in its history.
Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, who duelled for the world number one title in a playoff in the BMW PGA Championship two weeks ago at Wentworth, have both confirmed they will renew their rivalry.
Matt Kuchar, world number six, has also indicated he will play, in addition to the already confirmed former winner Graeme McDowell and fifth-ranked Phil Mickelson.
It means that the Scottish Open will have the best field in Europe outside the Open Championship this season, with still the chance that further top-ranked players will commit to the event before the entry deadline in two weeks.
Others who have been confirmed include defending champion Edoardo Molinari, Scotland’s number one player Martin Laird, former European number one Justin Rose and three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, who has kept his promise to play in a Scottish Open when it returned to a links course.
Adams admitted that the tour had been unsure about coming north after so many years at Loch Lomond but had been “delighted” with the response from players, sponsors and the public so far.
“We are delighted to start this new era at Castle Stuart, the third links venue for the Scottish after St Andrews in 1973 and Carnoustie in 1995 and 1996, and it’s fair to say we were a bit cautious about the move,” he said.
“In terms of the player field we can announce five of the present top eight in the world which is really positive, and we expect to be able to announce further names before the deadline in two weeks.”‘Overwhelmingly positive’Americans Gary Woodland, Brandt Snedeker and Ryan Palmer have all confirmed and according to Adams the switch to links had been a strong factor in encouraging players to commit to the event.
“When we were making our decision about where to take the Scottish Open after Loch Lomond, we were very well aware there’s been this ongoing debate about taking the tournament to a links course as a prelude to the Open Championship the following week,” he said.
“I think we felt confident to do so because the groundswell of opinion was really very much in favour of it, and my feeling is that the comments since the decision were made have been overwhelmingly positive.”
He added, “The most notable player was Padraig Harrington, who hasn’t played the Scottish Open since 1999.
“He has always said to us if we took the Scottish Open to a links then he would play, and he’s done exactly that.”
Donald’s presence was also probably contingent on the move to a links-style course as, despite a series of strong finishes at Loch Lomond, he let it be known two years ago that he would play on links prior to the Open to improve his chances in that championship.
Adams added that dialogue would continue with a number of other players, including former Scottish Open champion Martin Kaymer and long-time supporter of the event Ernie Els.
He said, “We talk to all of them and a mind-change is always possible. Last year Ernie Els wasn’t coming and then did at the last minute.
The championship director added that every one of the tournament sponsors had come north with the event, despite having the option to withdraw if they chose, and that the organisers were thrilled with how the local community had got behind it.
“Advance ticket sales have far exceeded anything we ever experienced at Loch Lomond and corporate hospitality sold out fully a month ago,” he added.
“We’d hope for 50,000 over the week but it may well be more once we tot up the walk-up sales it’s really a tremendous position for us to be in.”