Ernie Els aims high for the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open – Golf News
South African veteran star Ernie Els is hoping to maintain consistency in his game as he enters into the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open this week, an event he chose to warm up for his title defence at next week’s US Open.
The Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open is set to be staged at the Castle Stuart Golf Links, featuring some of the biggest names on the European Tour.
Due to its placement on the European Tour’s schedule, the tournament manages to attract a strong field each season.
This year too, the event has reeled in some prominent names, including the likes of the three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson, the young Italian sensation Matteo Manassero and the defending champion Jeev Milkha Singh.
Els, in the meantime, is no doubt the strongest addition to event this year, courtesy of his recent form – he has recorded top-6 finish in each of the last three events that he played, including a victory in the BMW International
Open last month.
In addition to that, he also holds a strong track record in the event, having recorded victory twice when the tournament used to be held at Loch Lomond.
Talking to the European Tour’s official website, he said that he was not planning to play the event this year. However, the idea of missing three straight weeks before his major title defence can be too risky.
“It's always nice to get a bounty of preparation going into an Open Championship,” said Els. “I've always loved playing The Scottish Open. Since they moved it to Castle Stuart, I've been fortunate enough to come up here.”
“To come back to the preparation, I was not going to play, but I always had in the back of my mind that it is tough to go into a Major with a three week break. I think I might have done it in the past but I feel a little awkward
doing that,” added the four-time major champion.
Milkha Singh, in the meantime, is also pleased to back in the field that saw him securing the fourth European Tour victory of his career last year. He is currently going through a bad patch, as he missed the cut in each of his
last four starts.
He now believes to make a strong comeback with a successful defence of his title in Stuart Castle.
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