With the golfing spotlight on Scotland this week ahead of the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, Donald Trump cut the ribbon and struck the first ball on his new multi-million pound Scottish golf course, Trump International Golf Links, on Tuesday.

While the majority of players gathered at Castle Stuart Golf Links in Inverness to begin their preparations for the forthcoming tournament, former Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie, European Tour Chief Executive  George O’Grady and Sandy Jones, Chief Executive of the PGA,  joined Trump on the course at Menie, Aberdeenshire.

Montgomerie was full of praise for the course, saying: "It makes me very proud to be a professional Scottish golfer today, to witness the opening of his fantastic course. On behalf of all the pros that are playing up in Inverness today, I can go back tomorrow to tell them how wonderful this site and this occasion is today.

“I expected good, but this has surpassed my expectations. It’s as dramatic as you get. It’s not for me to say this is the world’s’ greatest golf course. What I can say is that it’s one of, if not the best links course I’ve ever played.

“Mr Trump is absolutely thrilled, and he should be. This is a fantastic set-up he has here and what he has put together here is something Scotland should be very proud of.”

In his speech, Mr Trump said the official opening of a course on which he has already spent £100 million was the realisation of a “long-sought” ambition.