Scottish Open v. Irish Open? And Other Fun Power Plays

While the headline notes that the Scottish Open is considering a Saturday finish to avoid the Wimbledon final--wise since it was totally lost in the news cycle here after Andy Murray's win--Martin Dempster also looks at the future of this championship through the eyes of Aberdeen Asset Management's Martin Gilbert.

Besides some of the courses being considered (Kingsbarns, Gullane, Royal Aberdeen but no Trump International), this was fun and may explain why we wont' see Rory at the Scottish for some time.

With Rory McIlroy as its host and Dubai Duty Free as sponsor, the Irish Open is eyeing a prime summer slot, but Gilbert, who has been instrumental in Aberdeen Asset Management pumping more than £10 million into Scottish golf over the past few years, is adamant that won’t be the one before the Open Championship for the foreseeable future.

“I’m sure he would,” he replied to being told that McIlroy had his eye on the Scottish Open slot. “But, as Keith Pelley said, we are tied in to this date until 2020, so no matter what Rory says...and this is a better tournament than the Irish Open, I can tell you.”

Fighting words!