Observations from ye olde Scottish Open…
I often have a crack at the stereotypical, clean shaven, hair parted on the left, US Tour players who are straight out of college where they have been endowed with everything they need to become young multi-millionaires. Technically sound golf swings designed and manufactured with all the pieces in the correct holes, muscles where you’re supposed to have them and stomachs like a six pack of XXXX mid strength but usually with one thing missing – personality.
This morning at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick Scotland I was ironically reminded of the past players who had some character and a point of difference with a couple of, not out of the mold, American youngsters.
Although the name Johnny Keefer screams USA and he does come from the American young golf Pro assembly line, this young kid is not your classic, college clone. After winning twice on the brutal Korn Ferry Tour and claiming the number one spot on the money list, word was out that this kid could really play his pellet.
The Scottish Open gave me the opportunity to watch Johnny Keefer play and it was definitely worth staying up until the wee hours to see. For a start he has a face that could be on the front of a bottle of Kalvin Kline aftershave and a body that has less fat on it than a flagstick. He smiled, even laughed at times as he faced shots worth hundreds of thousands but it was his swing that really had me enthralled.
His body rotates so much through impact, one commentator remarked, “He looks like a corkscrew trying to drill itself into the ground!”. I think at one point he finished hitting a driver by looking over his back to see where it went. It was brilliant to watch and his eventual 3rd place finish suggests Ill be seeing a lot more of Johnny Keefer.
Then there was defending Champ, Chris Gotterup. Chris is not the mineral water, protein shaker most young Americans seem to be and maybe he could go up a size with his next shirt order? – Even his glove doesn’t look like its a proper fit! but it’s his golf swing that I love to watch.
When the big guy makes his backswing you could be mistaken for thinking both his knees have suffered a terrible ACL tear and have dislocated. He then regathers and rips his hands back to the pill taking a divot the size of a double bed mattress. If you taught a kid to swing like this, you could be facing a malpractice suit!
But, again, he is a stunning striker who has not only won on the big stage but has done it 4 times in the space of 12 months! He also does not take himself too seriously – another trait we sometimes associate with the systemized youngen’s.
For the price of a pencil, Min Woo Lee could have won this event and had it not been for Tom Kim, he would have. As we all know, Min can play as well as anyone in this solar system with his Saturn V clubhead speed and David Copperfield short game but… the same guy can occasionally lose control of his Callaway Chrome Tour and wind up stepping foot on the wrong planet, making him possible to take your eyes off.
“Rob needs to take a month off the tour, fly down to Bowral in the middle of winter and get a job hosing golf carts.”
The Scottish Open also exposed a couple of examples of spoiled entitled brats behaving like… spoiled entitled brats. Eugenio Chacarro hit his first tee shot after the fog delay, left into the heather and weeds, threw his club down on the ground somewhere near his caddies feet and walked off the tee without looking sideways. Now, I don’t know the bloke personally and he clearly had the shits with his shot which is understandable but if I was his caddy, I would leave that club where he threw it, turn around and head for the nearest pub and sell what’s left of his clubs and shout the bar with Euge’s wallet.
For a 29-year-old millionaire golf pro, travelling the world playing the game he loves, you’d think Rob MacIntyre would be pretty happy with his lot in life, but all I see from this bloke is continuous bloody whinging! After pushing a drive into the crap he let loose with a gob full of swear words, fully aware there was a camera and mic right next to him setting a wonderful example for the kids watching on TV. Still muttering under his breath, he then had to be told to move out the way by his playing partner so he could hit his drive.
Rob needs to take a month off the tour, fly down to Bowral in the middle of winter and get a job hosing golf carts.
Overall, the 2026 Scottish Open was a ripper of a tournament though and I couldn’t help thinking how our Aussie Open could be just as good if not better. By now, we all know the PGA Tour have finally recognized the game is played in other countries including those in southern hemisphere and have joined the DP World Tour by co-sanctioning our treasured Open. The details will be announced at Kingston Heath in December but it appears the Stonehaven Cup will be part of what’s been referred to by the big guys from America as an International Series event.
This reminds me of a dream I keep having. No, not the one where I’m on the last tee in the Masters with a 3 shot lead and I go to my right-hand pocket to grab a tee and suddenly realize, I’m not wearing any pants. No readers, It’s the dream I have where the PGA of America follow through on their idea of moving the PGA Championship around the world and they decide to put it on right after our Aussie Open just like the Scottish Open has been used to prepare for the Open Championship.
I reckon some dreams do come true… just ask my wife.
See ya next month!
