A two-week stretch across the pond starts at the Scottish Open.
With the 152nd Open on the horizon, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour first head to The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, for the co-sanctioned 2024 Genesis Scottish Open.
Defending champion and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy will make his first start since the U.S. Open and is the betting favorite to win at +800 (8/1). He’s joined in the field by Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Max Homa and Tom Kim, among others.
This week’s winner will walk away with $1.62 million of the $9 million purse and 500 FedEx Cup points.
The Renaissance Club is a par-70 track designed by Tom Doak measuring 7,237 yards.
From tee times and TV info, here’s everything you need to know for the first round of the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open. All times listed are ET.
Like many others, Schauffele expected Tiger Woods at the helm.
Throttled.
That’s the word Xander Schauffele used to describe the beatdown the United States Ryder Cup team suffered at the hands of the Europeans last fall.
“Thinking back to the Ryder Cup, I remember getting throttled, that’s about it,” Schauffele said Tuesday ahead of the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, the final event before the 152nd Open at Royal Troon. “The atmosphere — if I try and think of the positives from the week. The atmosphere, our team locker room, those are the things that were really fun. Just being sort of arm-in-arm with my teammates was awesome all week. Then the fans were awesome with their chants as always.
“So from a golf standpoint, getting throttled is never fun but it is what it is and wore it on the chin there.”
Rome was just another loss for Team USA on foreign soil — its last victory came in 1993 — and it quickly became apparent that change was needed.
And, boy oh boy, did the PGA of America deliver.
On Monday, 38-year-old Keegan Bradley was announced as the 2025 U.S. captain for the biennial bash at Bethpage Black from Sept. 26-28. Bradley, who was arguably the biggest snub from the 2023 squad, has represented the U.S. on two occasions, both losing efforts in 2012 and 2014.
“Yeah, it’s surprising,” Schauffele said of Bradley’s appointment. “You typically expect someone that’s a little bit older to get selected as a captain. I think a lot of people were banking on Tiger to do it.”
Woods took his hat out of the ring this time around due to several time-consuming commitments.
“With my new responsibilities to the Tour and time commitments involved, I felt I would not be able to commit the time to Team USA and the players required as a captain,” Woods said in a statement.
Despite the PGA of America’s curveball, Schauffele expects good things from world No. 19.
“Keegan expressed his love for the Ryder Cup publicly, which we all saw, and I’m sure — I haven’t talked to him or seen him yet, but I’m sure he’s over the moon and is going to do a great job,” he said.
Keegan Bradley of the United States and Xander Schauffele of the United States shake hands on the 18th green during the second round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 23, 2023 in Cromwell, Connecticut. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Schauffele, the 2022 Scottish Open winner, made his Ryder Cup debut in 2021 at Whistling Straits, a 19-9 slaughtering of the Europeans. He’s currently third in the point standings for the U.S., trailing only Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau.
The laid-back Schauffele expects Bradley to bring a bit of fire to the squad next year, something that seemed to be missing last go-around.
“He is so laid back off the course,” he said. “If you get him in like a dinner setting or something, he loves sports. He’ll talk about sports all night long if you like. He’s very passionate individual.
“On the course, he’s intense. That’s just how he competes and how he is. I’m sure as a captain he’s going to have sort of a mixed bag. He won’t be afraid and will get everyone going. I don’t know if he’s coached or captained any other teams in his life, whether it’s his kids’ teams or something like that, but when someone is really passionate about something, they usually do really well.”
Under normal circumstances, it’d be easy to look ahead to next week’s 152nd Open at Royal Troon. However, this week’s field at the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club is loaded with PGA Tour and DP World Tour stars — this has been a co-sanctioned event between the two tours since 2022.
World No. 2 and defending champion Rory McIlroy is back to defend his title and will be joined by 2022 winner Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Tom Kim, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth and Max Homa, among others.
This week’s winner will walk away with $1.62 million of the $9 million purse and 500 FedEx Cup points. The Renaissance Club is a par-70 track designed by Tom Doak measuring 7,237 yards.
Check out some of the best photos from the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open below.
Here are the players in the field for the Genesis.
Genesis Scottish Open defending champion Rory McIlroy hasn’t played since his devastating loss to Bryson DeChambeau at the 2024 U.S. Open. The Northern Irishman led by two shots at 8 under before playing his final four holes 3 over. Next week, he’ll head back to The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland.
McIlroy highlights a loaded field that includes 2022 champion Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Aberg, Max Homa, Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth.
Here’s a look at the field for next week’s 2024 Genesis Scottish Open, the final event before the last men’s major championship of the year, The Open at Royal Troon.
“When I turn 80, it will be one of the five best shots I hit in my entire career.”
All eyes will be on Rory McIlroy next week at the Genesis Scottish Open as he looks to defend his title and there will be a surprise waiting for him. (#SpoilerAlert)
But more importantly, what sort of head space will he be in after seeing the U.S. Open title slip through his hands?
McIlroy, winner of four career majors but winless in his last 37 major starts, a stretch of nearly 10 years, held a two-shot lead with five holes to play at Pinehurst No. 2 but he made bogey on three of the four final holes to let Bryson DeChambeau finish a stroke better than him and walk off with his second U.S. Open title.
At No. 16, McIlroy missed from 2 feet, 6 inches, his first missed putt inside three feet in 496 attempts and then he missed a tricky downhill, left-to-right slider from 3 feet, 9 inches at No. 18 for par that would’ve been good enough for a playoff.
McIlroy departed without speaking to the media and issued a statement on social media the next day, announcing that he would be pulling out of the Travelers Championship.
“I’m going to take a few weeks away from the game to process everything and build myself back up for my defense of the Genesis Scottish Open and The Open at Royal Troon. See you in Scotland,” he wrote.
And when he gets to the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, he’ll find a pleasant surprise on the 18th hole, a plaque honoring his remarkable 2-iron from 202 yards into a 40-mph wind to 11 feet to set up the winning birdie. The plaque was just added on Monday.
“We just did it today,” said Jerry Sarvadi, founder of the club. “We’re going to tell him when he gets here.”
It was one of the golf shots of the year and McIlroy went one step further.
“He said, ‘When I turn 80, it will be one of the five best shots I hit in my entire career,’ ” Sarvadi recalled.
Perhaps the plaque and a return to the site of last year’s glory at the Scottish Open will provide a spark that McIlroy can carry into the British Open, to be held just a few hours away at Royal Troon.
The event featured a $9 million total purse with $1.62 million going to the winner.
The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, hosted the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open, an event co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour.
The tournament, which dates back to 1972, had a stout field, with defending champion Xander Schauffele joined by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler and Patrick Cantlay.
The event featured a $9 million total purse with $1.575 million going to McIlroy. Second-place isn’t too shabby either, with $975,500 going to runnerup Robert MacIntyre.
In all, 77 golfers got paid this week after making the cut.
Wherever he goes, McIlroy is a crowd favorite but on this occasion he broke a lot of hearts.
GULLANE, Scotland — After Rory McIlroy birdied the final two holes on Sunday to win the Genesis Scottish Open in dramatic fashion, he saw fellow pro Robert McIntyre giving a post-round interview near scoring and went over and wrapped a comforting arm around the tournament runner-up. “I’m sorry,” he said in a tone of genuine sincerity.
Wherever he goes, McIlroy is a crowd favorite but on this occasion he broke a lot of hearts by closing in 2-under 68 at The Renaissance Club to edge Scotland’s top-ranked player by a stroke at his national championship.
“I mean, c’mon,” McIntyre said, breaking into a smile. “Some finish.”
Indeed, it was. McIlroy, the 54-hole leader, sank an 11-foot birdie putt at the last for a 72-hole total of 15-under 265 and earned his 24th PGA Tour title, tying him with Gary Player and Dustin Johnson in 26th place on the all-time win list. It also marked his first win on European soil in seven years since the Horizon Irish Open, and he became the first player to win the Irish Open, Scottish Open and Open Championship.
“It feels incredible,” McIlroy said. “To play that back nine 4-under par to win the tournament, yeah, really proud of how I just stuck in there.”
With all of Scotland trying to will him to victory, MacIntyre handled swirling, gusting winds to shoot 6-under 64 and take the clubhouse lead. He made his move on the back nine with a 6-foot eagle putt at No. 10 and a pair of birdies at 14 and 15. MacIntyre went 33 holes on the weekend without a bogey before missing a seven-foot par putt at the par-5 16th, but he rebounded with a solid up-and-down par at 17.
Rory came over to Bobby Mac and just said, I’m sorry. He know what this would’ve meant to him. pic.twitter.com/o0GR5TB3Nr
McIlroy tied him with a birdie of his own at 14 before MacIntyre delivered just the second birdie all day at 18, drilling a fairway wood from 213 yards to 4 feet. As he headed to sign his scorecard, MacIntyre’s eyes watered, a visible sign of how much winning on home soil would’ve meant to the 26-year-old who grew up attending the Scottish Open as a kid.
“I thought, ‘This might be the one,’” he said.
But McIlroy spoiled the script, just as he had done once before at the 2013 Australian Open, where an entire country was pulling for native son Adam Scott.
Tee times on Sunday were moved up several hours to try to avoid unplayable conditions, but the wind still was whipping with gusts at 40 miles per hour. McIlroy and Tom Kim traded the early lead until Kim (71), who finished T-3, made three straight bogeys at the turn and McIlroy dropped shots at Nos. 8 and 9, giving him four bogeys in all on the front nine. England’s Tyrrell Hatton (69) took a turn in the lead with birdies at Nos. 11 and 13 but made two bogeys coming home and a double at the last to finish at 9 under.
McIlroy, 34, showed plenty of resolve in notching his 16th win on the DP World Tour, his first title worldwide since the Dubai Desert Classic in January, and first triumph on Scottish soil. As he stepped to the 17th tee, the 2013 Australian Open popped into McIlroy’s head. Back then, he trailed Scott with two holes to play and birdied the last to clip him by a shot and spoil the crowd-favorite’s win on home soil. This time, he nailed a 5-iron at the 191-yard par-3 to 5 feet and made birdie. At the home hole, he had 202 yards, which set up for his 3-iron. However, he had taken that club out of his bag this week in favor of a 2-iron so chose that club instead and tried to hit cut it into the teeth of the wind.
“It came off absolutely perfectly,” McIlroy said. “Probably the best shot I hit all year. It was exactly the way I wanted to play it.”
McIlroy’s putter had been cold on Sunday when he was unable to win the U.S. Open, but on this occasion, he had the right stuff, dripping in the 11-foot birdie putt to clinch the title.
“It was straight down wind,” McIlroy said. “I just needed to get it started on line, and gravity and the wind and conditions will take care of the rest. It hung on nicely for me.”
Sweden’s David Lingmerth (68) and South Korea’s Ben An (69) tied for third and Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard (67) tied for sixth to earn their way into next week’s 151st British Open as the leading three finishers who weren’t already exempt into the championship, which will be held at Royal Liverpool.
McIlroy had been plagued by a troubling case of “Sunday-itis,” shooting 75 in the final round of the Memorial to finish T-7, 72 in the final round of the RBC Canadian Open to slip to T-9 and 70 on Sunday at the U.S. Open to finish second.
Rory McIlroy celebrates with putting coach Brad Faxon after winning the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in United Kingdom. (Photo: Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
“If there’s anybody asking questions about if he can close out on Sunday, he’s answered them all with this performance,” said NBC Sports golf analyst Brad Faxon, who also doubles as McIlroy’s putting coach.
It should give McIlroy a boost of confidence heading into the final major of the year at a course where McIlroy won in 2014. The last player to win the week prior to a major and then win one of golf’s four biggest prizes? It happens to be McIlroy, who claimed the 2014 WGC Bridgestone Invitational ahead of the 2014 PGA Championship, the last of McIlroy’s four career majors.
“It’s nice to have the validation,” McIlroy said. “it’s great racking up top 5s, top 10s, but it’s much nicer heading away with a trophy on Sunday afternoon.”
The players have been pretty lucky so far this week at the Genesis Scottish Open. The wind hasn’t been overbearing, and the rain has been minimal. However, it looks like Sunday is going to be a different story.
The field at The Reinassance Club will face winds up to 40 mph during the final round, with the temperature hovering around 60 degrees. There’s also a chance of rain around 1 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), according to Windy.com.
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour adjusted tee times yet again for Sunday, with groups of three going off both No. 1 and No. 10.
Due to forecasted high winds on Sunday, tee times for the final round of the Genesis Scottish Open will be 6:45-8:57 a.m. BST in threesomes off Nos. 1 and 10.
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) July 15, 2023
“Anything in red numbers tomorrow is going to be a helluva score.”
GULLANE, Scotland — Rory McIlroy is well aware he first played in the Scottish Open in 2005 at Loch Lomond. He has come close to winning the British Open, including last year at St. Andrews, and the Dunhill Cup in Scotland, but never hoisted a trophy in the ancestral home of golf.
“Eighteen years is too long for me not to pick up a trophy in this country,” he said.
He moved a step closer to checking that box on Saturday, shooting 3-under 67 at The Renaissance Club during the third round of the Genesis Scottish Open to take a one-stroke lead over Tom Kim going into the final round.
McIlroy improved to 13-under 197 as he bids for his 24th career PGA Tour victory, which would tie him with Gary Player and Dustin Johnson for 26th on the all-time PGA Tour wins list.
But that first win in Scotland won’t come easy. The weather is expected to turn nasty with winds whipping as much as 40-50 mph, forcing tournament organizers to move up tee times in hopes of getting some golf played before the heavy stuff arrives. McIlroy admittedly has never been a player recognized as a talented wind player.
“I’ve become better over the years,” he said. “I would say there was a time when I wasn’t, but I feel like I’m definitely better than I was.”
McIlroy, who has recorded top 10s in each of his last five starts, continued to drive the ball beautifully but failed to capitalize on numerous chances to break the tournament wide open, especially on the back nine when he could’ve padded his lead.
Added CBS’s Trevor Immelman: “You get the feeling he should be leading by five or seven strokes.”
McIlroy conceded there were some wasted shots and opportunities, saying, “I feel like I’ve left a few out there over the last couple of days, but at the same time, at least the last few holes, it was quite tricky conditions.”
McIlroy said it would be hard to predict a winning score until he got a better sense of the weather conditions, but said, “Anything in red numbers tomorrow is going to be a helluva score.”
