PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON believes a return to links golf in the Scottish Highlands this week will provide the ideal preparation for his bid to capture a third British Open in five years later this month.

AS the spiritual home of the US Open, the storied Pebble Beach Golf Links seemed perhaps an incongruous place to announce the destination of a new venue on the circuit for the 2017 tournament.

THE Greg Norman-designed Doonbeg Golf Club has been named as the “Best New International Course of 2002”, by the prestigious Golf Digest magazine.