Opportunity knocks for Montgomerie again at Castle Stuart

Colin Montgomerie, the last home winner at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, has added his name to this year’s field at Castle Stuart.

The 52-year-old, who won a record eight European Tour order of merit titles, has been included in the entry list for next month’s showdown, which was published yesterday.

Montgomerie’s triumph at Loch Lomond in 1999 remains the last Scottish success at the national open. Another of Scotland’s most illustrious golfers, Sandy Lyle, will join Montgomerie at Castle Stuart. The two-time major winner has received one of four invites for the £3.25million event. Dornoch’s Jimmy Gunn, Glaswegian Martin Laird and India’s Shiv Kapur have also been handed places.

The Scottish Open organisers have eight invitations for Castle Stuart, although championship director Peter Adams says they may not use them all.

American William McGirt, who won the Memorial Tournament earlier this month, has also added the event to his schedule and qualifies courtesy of his ranking as world number 45. It will be the first time the 36-year-old PGA Tour player has teed it up in a European Tour event.