Since the event began in 1999, four holes-in-one have been recorded. They were:
David Howell 1999 Hole ten, round three
Paul Lawrie 2000 Hole ten , round one
Robert Coles 2004 Hole four, round four
Raymond Russell 2004 Hole ten, round four
What made Lawrie’s ace even more special was that it was his first shot of the tournament, having started from the tenth tee. He is the last player to begin a European Tour event with a hole-in-one.
Since the event became part of The European Tour International Schedule in 1999, four of the winners have made this event their first victory. They are: Warren Bennett (1999), Paul Casey (2001), Søren Kjeldsen (2003) and Emanuele Canonica (2005).
Twenty two Scottish players will be teeing-up in this year’s Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles. The best performances by home grown players were in 2002 when Raymond Russell finished second to Adam Scott. Alastair Forsyth, 12 months later also occupied the runner-up position to Kjeldsen.
