Race to Dubai winner Henrik Stenson and his fellow Swede Jonas Blixt are the latest stars to add their names to the field for the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open.
Stenson, who became the first man to win both The Race to Dubai and the US PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Series in the same season last year, has confirmed he will be appearing at Royal Aberdeen from July 10-13.
Stenson established a two stroke lead entering the final day at Castle Stuart Golf Links last July, only to fall two shots shy of victory after a closing round of 73.
Stenson’s joint third finish in Inverness was his second top ten in succession – he tied for eighth place in 2012 – and the World Number Three will be keen to continue that impressive recent record in the 32nd edition of the £3 million event.
In-form Swede Jonas Blixt will be making his debut in the tournament as he seeks to play his way into Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
Blixt, currently fifth in The Race to Dubai thanks chiefly to his tied runner-up finish in the Masters Tournament, is bidding to become the first Swede since Johan Edfors in 2006 to lift the Scottish Open trophy.
Other leading contenders from Continental Europe include Thomas Bjorn, the current leader of The Race to Dubai, and Victor Dubuisson, the Frenchman who, like Bjorn, has all but guaranteed himself a Ryder Cup debut at the Gleneagles Hotel in September with a series of scintillating performances.
Former champions Jeev Milkha Singh of India (2012) and Italian Edoardo Molinari (2010) will have their sights set on a second victory, whilst his younger brother Francesco will need a strong second half of the season if he is to secure his third successive Ryder Cup berth.