As players prepare for the British Major, we should probably have anticipated the field at Dundonald Links playing with a point to prove. The likes of Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter certainly proved their point with scores of -8 for T4 and -7 for T9 respectively. However, the veterans weren't the only ones on the comeback trail in Ayrshire. Rafa Cabrera Bello claimed his first European Tour victory in more than five years with a sensational final day -8 to force a play-off with Englishman Callum Shinkwin, which he ultimately won. The Englishman and the Spaniard were tied at -13 after the closing round, but for a long time it appeared that Cabrera Bello's course-record 64 would not be enough to steal victory from Shinkwin, who entered the tournament as World No. 405.

I made no secret of the fact that my money was on Rickie Fowler before the tournament kicked off. In fact, even after the third round I had Fowler as my favourite to recover a four-shot deficit. But that all changed very quickly on Sunday and by the time I was sitting down to a Sunday roast I was announcing to the room that Rafa Cabrera Bello was going to win the Scottish Open; it was a banker. Four birdies on the front nine put him in a nice position, although he still had a mountain to climb if he was to topple Shinkwin. But the Spaniard conquered that mountain by doubling his birdie tally with four on the back nine for a total of eight for the day. Despite these heroics, Shinkwin needed only a par on the 18th for victory. It would be easy to blame nerves, and you might be right to do so, but I struggle to believe nerves could account for the excruciatingly small margin by which the 24-year-old's putt fell short. In painfully similar fashion, Shinkwin left another putt ever so slightly short on the first play-off hole to hand Cabrera Bello victory in Scotland. Still, the young man leaves with nearly £600,000 and a lesson in the cut-throat nature of top-level golf.

With regards to the Open Championship, Callum Shinkwin, who has climbed 247 spots to World No. 158, qualifies along with Frenchman Matthieu Pavon (finished 3rd) and Australia's Andrew Dodt (finished T4) by virtue of their impressive displays on the Dundonald Links course. In terms of title challengers, Rafa Cabrera Bello will have a taste for victory after a five year drought, whilst Americans Rickie Fowler and Matt Kuchar posted solid scores despite struggling with the weather. Ian Poulter, though, could be the surprise package as he looks to be returning world-class golf at the tender age of 41. Could the former Ryder Cup hero write yet another chapter in history?

On the other side of the coin, Rory McIlroy missed yet another CUT as he appears unable to recapture his mojo. However, in typical McIlroy fashion, the Northern Irishman wasted no time in heading to Birkdale and putting in a hard graft. No doubt he'll return to form at some point, but could it be at Birkdale? He certainly wants it to be.

Rafa Cabrera Bello - What's in the Bag

Driver- Titleist 917 D2

Fairway Wood- Titleist 915F

Irons- Titleist 716 MB

Wedges- Titleist Vokey SM6

Putter- Scotty Cameron Concept 2

Ball- Titleist Pro V1x

Written by Joe Carabini

joe.carabini@foremostgolf.com