'My God, it's had some growth' - Gleneagles rough set to provide tough test in Senior Open

When the sun is shining, as it was on Wednesday, you really do see Gleneagles is in all its glory and, quite frankly, it is hard to beat anywhere in Scotland. According to Stephen Gallacher, the King’s Course at the Perthshire venue is also set to be showcased in its Sunday best in this week’s ISPS Handa Senior Open.

“The course is as good as I've ever seen it - it's absolutely flawless,” reported the Bathgate man on the eve of the over-50s’ major. “The fairways, the rough, the shaping, the greens, the firmness - it has just ticked every box. So they've got it spot on. Whoever wins this week will be a worthy winner because you’ve got to hit it straight because it is proper thick rough.

Padraig Harrington pictured playing out of thick rough in the 2022 Senior Open on the King’s Course at Gleneagles | Mark Runnacles/Getty Images

“I played it basically a month ago and you could have played this event then. It just needed a wee bit of growth, and, my God, it's had some growth! They've shaped it in and you are playing off the back tees. You forget it's a good course and it’s tricky. I was saying to my son Jack (his caddie) that, if you got into double figures this week, you'd be over the moon.”

Padraig Harrington, the defending champion, also commented on the thickness of the rough. “I’d be happy this week without losing a golf ball, put it like that,” said the two-time Open champion. “There’s some tough drives out there. It’s one of those weeks where we’ll be hoping the marshals can help us out. Even if you find it, you might not be able to play it.”

Darren Clarke won the event’s first staging on this course in 2022, when Harrington, who was making his debut in it, finished a shot behind. “Not really,” replied the Irishman to being asked if he was a man on a mission on his return here. “I was just never going to win that one. I had come from quite a bit off the lead. I'd struggled the first three days. I think I got very frustrated with myself the first three days.

“As often, when my back was to the wall and it was s*** or bust basically , I played great golf coming home. You know, I'm always capable of doing that, but you don't want to put yourself in that position. At this stage of my career on the Champions Tour, I feel comfortable enough to be patient and knowing that, if you don't lose the head, I should have a chance with nine holes to go on Sunday.”

There are also sorts of fascinating storylines in the event’s 39th edition. Paul McGinley is back at the venue where he led Europe to victory in the 2014 Ryder Cup. Three of the players in that team - Gallacher, Jamie Donaldson,who secured the winning point on the PGA Centenary Course, and Henrik Stenson - are also in the field. So, too, is one of McGinley’s vice captains in Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Since Tom Watson stopped playing in it, it’s often been felt that this tournament has lacked the sort of American presence it deserves, but not on this occasion. Stewart Cink, who has won two Senior majors already this year, and Zach Johnson, who has wasted no time opening his account in the over-50s’ marquee events, are both in the field. As are the likes of Justin Leonard and David Duval.

Eight-time European No 1 Colin Montgomerie is determined to do well in this week’s over-50s’ major in Perthshire | Octavio Passos/Getty Images

“Yes, it does,” replied eight-time European No 1 Colin Montgomerie, another of the star attractions, to being asked if he felt this had the feeling of possibly being the best Senior Open yet. “I mean, there's more major winners playing here than there was last week (in The Open at Royal Birkdale).

“If you add in the likes of Cink and Johnson and the 50 and 51-year-olds who are coming through now, oh christ, they can play. They’ve just come off the main tour and they can hit the ball and they can still play. So it's getting tougher and it’s great the Americans have travelled over for this week and next week they're in Portugal (where Ernie Els is hosting a new Champions Tour event.”

Montgomerie, who provided a very polite reply to being reminded in a TV interview that he was famously pipped by a barnstorming finish by Australian Peter O’Malley in the 1992 Scottish Open on the King’s Course, has his caddie from that event on the bag this week. “Alastair (McLean) is with me,” he said, smiling. “Thirty-four years on and we are still going (smiling). We are great friends and I am glad to have him back on the bag again.”

Montgomerie would walk off into the sunset a happy man if he claimed this crown. “Yes, I want to do well,” he declared. “I did well in the pro-am yesterday and enjoyed it. “I’m looking forward to the whole thing. The 12th hole bugs me a bit because I can't go over the top (of a ridge). That's a problem. But the rest of the course is running fast, so it doesn't affect me lengthwise like it would if it was damp.”

The likes of Ernie Els, Retief Goosen and, of course, Paul Lawrie are some of the other star names in the field, with the winner securing a spot in next year’s 155th Open at St Andrews. For the likes of Gallacher and Donaldson, it’s also a chance to secure a Champions Tour card, as Welshman Stephen Dodd did when he landed a surprise win five years ago.

Stephen Gallacher reckons the King’s Course at Gleneagles is in the best condition he’s ever seen it for this week’s tournament | Kenny Smith

“Absolutely, though you are not going to be thinking about any of those things when you are out playing,” said Gallacher, smiling. “But the chance of us winning The Open has gone, we’ve had that chance and now this is the next big chance of winning something big like that. This is now The Open for us guys, so this is the biggest tournament you will play as a Senior and the one you want to win the most.

“You just try and get your preparation right and the good thing for me is that I can stay at home, it’s a course I am very familiar with and a place I like coming to. You are also playing in front of your family and pals, which is good as it doesn’t happen very often.”