Form is a huge indicator going into a major and Jon Rahm ticks all the boxes for me.
The world number two followed up his maiden major success at the US Open by finishing seventh at the Abrdn Scottish Open on Sunday.
I’m not sure how well he knows Royal St George’s and that could be a factor, but he starts as firm favourite for me.
It is a difficult course to find fairways so accuracy off the tee will be key.
I’m expecting a few of the English players to be up there challenging and I fancy Matt Fitzpatrick could do well.
He was beaten in a play-off at the Scottish Open, but he has such a steady game which will suit Royal St George’s.
Robert MacIntyre is the only Scot in the field this week, which is a bit disappointing.
I don’t think it is reflective of Scottish golf as a whole as we seem to have lots of players doing well at the moment.
If we are only going to have one then it may as well be one of the best in Robert.
He is getting to a level where he can compete in these majors.
Robert finished tied 18th at the Scottish Open, which is a solid week, but he will have come away feeling he should be finishing higher.
He has shown he can perform well at The Open having finished in the top 10 at Royal Portrush.
The Oban man drives the ball so well and he can shape it from left to right and right to left, which is a great attribute.
Hopefully he has a strong week. I see no reason why he can’t get into contention because he is certainly good enough.
I feel he is going to win a big tournament sooner rather than later.
An honour to win MacVicar award
I really enjoyed the Abrdn Scottish Open and it was a real honour to finish top Scot and win the inaugural Jock MacVicar Memorial Award.
There was a lot of pressure, as is always the case with a home open, but I played pretty steady. I just couldn’t get it going on the final day, although I felt we played in the harder conditions.
I wasn’t aware I had finished top Scot until my round was over and I saw it on the board. It was a nice surprise.
Congratulations, Richie Ramsay 🙌
Winner of the Jock MacVicar AGW Memorial Award 🏆#abrdnScottishOpen | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/oyh6FVQRCe
— abrdn Scottish Open (@ScottishOpen) July 11, 2021
I had known Jock for a long time and I know how much effort, time and travel he put into following Scottish golfers throughout his long career as a golf journalist.
He was a real champion of Scottish golf from the junior events right up to the majors.
Jock was a great ambassador for Scottish golf and it is a real honour to win his award.
We had a great field at Renaissance Golf Club for the Scottish Open and it felt like a proper tournament.
It was great to see the fans back and they were treated to some great entertainment with top players such as Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas in the field, as well as players such as Will Zalatoris who a lot of Scottish golf fans may not have been able to see in action before.
It may well have been a first glance at Robert MacIntyre as well, because we’ve had crowds away for so long due to Covid restrictions.
The course played better than the last time the Scottish Open was held there so Renaissance deserve credit for putting on a great event.
The television coverage was also very good so it was an exciting event to play in.
On Sunday, I was warming up in the gym and Ian Poulter and Justin Thomas were there. I went to grab a bite to eat and Jon Rahm was sitting there.
It makes you feel like you are playing in a really big event when so many of the world’s top players are present.
Ultimately, you want to test your game against the world’s top players. It would have been great to have made it down to Royal St George’s this week for The Open by finishing in the top 10 on Sunday, but I came up just short.
I’m sure the American players who teed up last week found it really beneficial preparation for this week’s Open.
I think everyone who played their part in the tournament got something out of it so it was a very successful week.
I’m very happy with my performance at the Irish Open, where I finished tied fourth, and the top-15 at the Scottish Open.
One or two shots better on Sunday and I could have been teeing it up at Royal St George’s.
But I felt this was a win-win situation as I had made plans to go back up to Aberdeen this week to see my parents and play Royal Aberdeen with my friends.
I’m at Royal Aberdeen this week rather than Royal St George’s, which isn’t a bad alternative at all.