JUSTIN Rose says Phil Mickelson’s Open success inspired him to add this weekend’s Scottish Open to his schedule.

Mickelson claimed victory at last year’s Scottish Open, a week before going on to win his fifth major at Muirfield.

Rose has chosen not to play the Scottish Open since 2011, but says that seeing the left-hander win both titles gave him something to think about ahead of next week’s Open at Royal Liverpool.

“Phil Mickelson wouldn’t have been the classic Open pick, but the confidence he would have gained from winning the Scottish Open and then carrying it to Muirfield really caught my eye,” Rose said. “I took inspiration from Phil’s schedule.

“These courses really get the grey matter going and it can take a week to two weeks to get into it. Playing a tournament links course a week before the Open can only be good for how you start to see shots and get your touch and shot selection under pressure.”

This will be Rose’s fourth appearance at the Scottish Open, with his best performance coming in 2002, when he finished fifth.

This year’s Scottish Open begins today at Royal Aberdeen, and Rose has been drawn to play alongside Lee Westwood and Scotland’s Stephen Gallagher in the opening two rounds.

The trio get their first round under way at 1pm today, with their second round due to begin at 8.20am tomorrow.