Like Scott, he had one birdie on the front nine, but then found four more from 13 through 17 to reach 13-under with a bogey-free 66. He might briefly have entertained hopes of a playoff, but it was not to be. He would eventually finish second with Gonzalo, but his final-round exploits increased his earnings by something in the region of 250,000 Euros.

Gonzalo Fernandez Castano's hopes of victory disappeared in the marshy shrubland to the right of the 13th fairway - although he made a heroic effort to escape with a bogey 6.

At the same time as Jacquelin was finishing, Gonzalo was seeing an end to his hopes. He must have arrived on the tee of the par-5 13th hoping for a birdie, but he sliced his drive badly into the shrubs and marshes on the wrong side of the rough. Eagle-eyed spectators spotted his ball, and he made an excellent job of escaping with a bogey 6, but with Kaymer picking up a birdie to extend his lead over Gonzalo to four strokes it was all over barring some unforeseen disaster.

Gonzalo did finally manage to find a birdie on 14, where he almost drove the green and narrowly missed his eagle-chip, but Kaymer birdied 15, and even though he picked up a bogey on 16 he had a comfortable and fright-free run-in.

Tradition has it that no matter how evil the weather has been at Loch Lomond, the sun always shines on the victor. This week we have enjoyed some beautiful weather, and the sun did not let us down. By the time the final group reached the 18th green the clouds and rain that had filled the morning were gone, and Kaymer accepted the trophy under blue skies.

Raphael Jacquelin's terrific final round of 66 gave him brief hopes of a playoff. But he would finish in second place on 13-under.

His double-victory unleashed a torrent of statistics. At 24 he became the youngest-ever winner of the Scottish Open - taking that honor from Lee Westwood - and the first player on the European tour to win back-to-back in the week before The Open since Ian Woosnam in 1990. The two titles have also given him earnings of over a million pounds - quadrupling his previous career total - in the space of just eight days.

"I struggled after my first two wins," said Kaymer. "I missed the cut in Qatar last year when I won in Abu Dhabi, and then I missed the cut after I won in Munich. This week was different. I don't know why – something to do with my form. I'm playing so solidly and not making any big mistakes at the moment. My short game is good – that really helped me today and counts for a lot."

On his chances next week in The Open, he was bullish: "Well, I mean, everybody is asking me now about this third win in a row. And I'm really looking forward to next week. I see the Majors, especially next week, as a really good challenge. And it's nice to accept that challenge and hopefully, yes, I can shoot some low scores after last week and this week. I feel really good, my game is solid, and hopefully I can keep it up."

The truth is that Martin cannot possibly challenge for The Open next week, for any number of reasons. Links golf is not his game – yet – and he must be mentally exhausted after his efforts of the past two weeks. He has not yet made the cut in a Major, and the field at Turnberry will be one of the toughest he has ever faced. He will do well to make the cut in The Open, and a decent finish is the most that he can realistically hope for.

But there can be no doubt that his golf has taken a significant step forward. He is now in the world's top-20 and he has proved that he can take part in tournaments against the best of the world's opposition and beat them. He may not be able to compete at Turnberry, but he will certainly do so in the future. I am sure that he will go on to win a Major - perhaps in the not so distant future - and he may well do so before a number of his more illustrious colleagues on the European Tour.

Final Scores:

269 - Martin Kaymer (Ger)

271 - Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Sp); Raphael Jacquelin (Fra);

272 - Soren Kjeldsen (Den); Adam Scott (Aus)

273 - Retief Goosen (SA); Nick Watney (USA)

274 - Ross Fisher (Eng); Lee Westwood (Eng)

275 - Martin Laird (Sco)

276 - Richard Sterne (RSA); Steve Webster (Eng)

Six players on 206