DEFENDING champion Justin Rose is hoping that playing in this weekend’s Scottish Open will be the perfect preparation for The Open at St Andrews the following week.

The Hook golfer won the Scottish Open last year and has travelled to Gullane, near Edinburgh, for this year’s event, which gets under way today.

“You build your schedule with next week in mind,” Rose said. “I think it’s a big benefit to play here going into The Open.

“It does feel different coming back as defending champion, but it’s a different golf course so it feels very different this year.

“Gullane’s a great course. The challenge remains the same, it’s still links golf.”