Marc Warren suffered double disappointment at Castle Stuart yesterday as he let slip from his grasp both the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open title and a place in this week's Open Championship.
The 31-year-old from Glasgow had been three ahead with six holes of the final round to play, but a calamitous closing stretch, in which he spilled four shots at the 15th, 16th and 17th in a one-under 71, cost him a third European Tour crown.
Warren, aiming to become the first Scot to win the Scottish Open since Colin Montgomerie at Loch Lomond in 1999, had to settle for a share of third place on 272, a stroke behind India's Jeev Milkha Singh, who carded a 67 and beat Italy's Francesco Molinari at the first play-off hole. The leading duo had finished locked at the top on 271, 17 under par.
Singh also secured the solitary Open place ahead of Warren as the leading non-exempt player in the top five.
Warren, who won the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in 2007, said: "I didn't see anything other than me crossing the finishing line, so what happened was a real shock to the system.
"You don't get many chances to win your home Open. I had it in my hands. It was not won, but it was up to me to finish it off.
"I've not been in contention for a while, but I know what it takes to win and I felt so under control and so calm. It should've been a victory march and watching the Open is now going to be pretty disappointing."
George O'Grady, the chief executive of the European Tour, last night said Castle Stuart was the "running favourite" to host next year's Scottish Open.
A number of other courses have expressed an interest in hosting in 2013, but the Highlands links looks set to stage the championship for a third successive year.
The Renaissance club in East Lothian is out of the running for next year as the Open Championship is being held at neighbouring Muirfield. Royal Aberdeen, which staged the 2005 Senior Open, and Turnberry are contenders, but Donald Trump's newly opened links north of Aberdeen will not be considered until after the three-year sponsorship deal with Aberdeen Asset Management.
"We have talked to a lot of players, we have been made very welcome at Castle Stuart and we have the offer to stay here," said O'Grady. "We are looking at all different venues and we have had lots of inquiries from different clubs within Scotland. But we are going to take a few weeks to let the dust settle, we don't need to do anything in a hurry."
Castle Stuart's debut on the European stage a year ago was a fraught affair for organisers as heavy rain reduced the event to 54 holes. Further downpours last week, which softened up the fairways and greens, allied to a distinct lack of wind on the first three days of competition, hardly provided a links test in its truest sense, but the course showed its teeth yesterday as the gusts added a new layer of menace.
O'Grady added: "It needed the wind to get the real links experience ahead of the Open Championship; that is the perfect preparation."
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