THERE was nothing especially glorious about the weather conditions but last year’s conclusion to the Scottish Open was one that left those watching in the gallery feeling a warmth in the heart if not in either their fingers or their toes.

True, local hero Robert MacIntyre had been denied by Rory McIlroy’s devastating run to the finishing line, but the two had emerged from a high-quality pack to celebrate the very best of British and Irish golf – and also drop a hint about the key roles the two would play in the end-of-summer Ryder Cup.

As darkness deepened (it had rarely ever been genuinely light that Sunday) McIlroy initially contrived to maintain his frustrating habit of making the simple look difficult by missing a short birdie putt on the 16th green. Moments later McIntyre, whose errant drive at 18 had found a decent lie but was still a fairway wood from the green, thrashed a brilliant blow to the heart of the putting surface to the delirious delight of the Scottish fans and rubber-stamped the effort by holing the four-foot putt. He celebrated the completion of a 64 under intense pressure and a bit of him believed he might just have clinched the trophy because McIlroy had the difficult par-3 17th and par-4 18th to play.

The Northern Irishman needed to play them in five blows to win and the field had used an average of eight strokes on that blustery, cold and rainy day on the east coast. But just as McIlroy makes the straightforward look impossible, he also has the capacity to make the impossible look easy – and unfortunately for MacIntyre he was about to do just that.

As if the difficulty of his task were not enough, he’d made bogey at the 17th on both Friday and Saturday. No matter. This time his tee shot settled inside 5-feet and this time he didn’t waste the opportunity. He’d driven one stake into MacIntyre’s heart and now he did so again. He found the fairway from the final tee and then hit a 2-iron from 204-yards to 11-feet. The putt found the bottom of the cup and victory was his.

“Those two iron shots,” McIlroy said afterwards. “They are probably two of the best shots I’ve hit all year. Absolutely amazing.”

A little further down the leaderboard that week was the American Brian Harman, who was caught by television cameras muttering to himself as the rain-soaked his waterproofs. Starting the day third on the leaderboard, he ended it T12th but he heeded the lessons, both of links golf and playing in mucky conditions, and seven days later he defied a repeat dose so effectively that he left the Open field in his wake.

It was a reminder that, since it moved from Loch Lomond to the seaside, the Scottish Open has become a very fine pointer of Open success. Tom Kim was another who learned a lesson. He was second after 54 holes at Renaissance, slipped back to into sixth, and a week later finished second after 72 holes.

The last time the Open was held at this year’s venue Royal Troon the two men who went head-to-head, the winner Henrik Stenson and runner-up Phil Mickelson, were well aware of the importance of a competitive run out in the Scottish Open. Mickelson had won the two championships back-to-back in 2012 and Stenson enjoyed bantering with Scottish journalists afterwards.

“I’m sure you feel that returning the Scottish Open to your schedule has paid off?” he was asked amid much laughter. “Here we go again,” he said with a big smile. “All right, I’ll play the Scottish Open next year. Yes, I will.”

A year later, on his return to the event he went deeper. “It’s a big benefit,” he said. “In my last four Opens I played the Scottish Open twice and finished second and first at the Open. The two times I didn’t go I finished around 40th. Playing links gets you in the mindset of where to land the ball and playing three-quarter shots in crosswinds. It’s a different game. (Not playing the Scottish Open) would be like going from clay into Wimbledon and you wouldn’t do that.”

Each Way – Robert MacIntyre at 45/1

Keep this one simple. MacIntyre can contend again and he has it in him to go one better this year. Renaissance isn’t the purest of links but last year’s effort was a third top 20 there. On truer links tests he has top 10s at Hillside, Royal Portrush and Royal St George’s, the latter two in the Open. Last year was not a one-off and he has the extra confidence this year of being a Ryder Cup star and PGA Tour winner (after claiming the Canadian Open in style last month).

Each Way – Thomas Detry at 80/1

The Belgian has been playing a lot of good golf recently, often against elite company and often by the sea. Of the former he was a fast-finishing T13th at the Open last year, he added fourth place in the PGA Championship and he was second at halfway in the US Open ahead of recording T14th. Of the latter he spent the first 54 holes at Torrey Pines in the top four before drifting away and then did finish fourth at Pebble Beach. He also finished second at the Houston Open, one of 12 top threes he’s had on the two main tours without winning. But the key is that the closest he has come to lifting a trophy was here at Renaissance in 2021 when he lost a play-off.

First Round Leader Each Way – Thomas Detry at 80/1

Stick with the Belgian at the same price in round one. He opened the 2021 event with a 66 for a share of fourth and last year carded a 64 for third. And what about other seaside locations? He was solo first at Pebble Beach in February and before that shared fourth at Torrey Pines. In 2022 he was top 10 after 18 holes by the ocean in Abu Dhabi, the Dominican Republic, Mauritius and Bermuda.

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