2026 GENESIS SCOTTISH OPEN
For the eighth year in a row, The Renaissance Club hosted the Genesis Scottish Open again last month. Since 2015, the event has been held on Scotland’s Golf Coast ten times. It’s an exciting time for golf on the coast as The Renaissance Club will welcome the world’s best men’s golfers until 2030. Scotland’s Golf Coast is firmly the Home of the Scottish Open.
The perfect Open warm up
The co-sanctioned Rolex Series event has been growing in importance and stature. The week is now established in the calendar, with players from both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour heading to the East Lothian coast. Sitting a week before The Open, there is additional focus, as the players warm up for the final Major of the year.
Major winners and past Champions
At the start of the week, all the current Major winners – Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai and Wyndham Clark – teed it up at the Renaissance Club. Open winner, Ryan Fox, made it a full house, emphasising the field’s quality. Last year’s winner, Chris Gotterup had a solid four days defending his title. A tied 11th finish was a great showing. All seven past Renaissance Club Genesis Scottish Open winners played, with five of the seven making the cut. A selection of players obviously loves the links, with Min Woo Lee finishing second, Robert MacIntyre third, and Rory McIlroy tied seventh.
Course re-routing
This year saw a re-routing of the course, aimed to increase capacity, provide a more exciting finish and improve spectator experience. Holes 8, 9, 17 and 18 stayed the same, whilst 1 to 7 became 10 to 16 and 10 to 16 became 1 to 7. The driveable 14th was fun to watch, providing opportunities for eagle, whilst the par 3 15th, renamed the Thistle, generated a terrific atmosphere. The changes were a big success.
Scottie Scheffler had made 78 straight cuts prior to the event. A first round 68 saw the World Number One sit comfortably in the top half of the leaderboard. Friday was tough, however, and a two over par 72 sent Scheffler to Royal Birkdale early. Leading on day one was eventual winner, Tom Kim. His 65 was joined by fan favourite and 2023 Champion, Rory McIlroy. McIlroy couldn’t sustain the challenge though, with a weather affected third round 73. A final round challenge was a big ask, but a superb 64 wasn’t enough.
A brief micro-climate hiccup
Englishman, Jordan Smith shot the low round of the week on day two, with an impressive 63. Lurking behind with a 65 was Open Champion, Fox. His afternoon round earlier in the week at North Berwick had clearly been an excellent practice decision. Each year, several pros head elsewhere on the coast, with Gullane and North Berwick particular favourites. Adam Scott spoke about his desire to play Musselburgh Links, and the feedback about the region, hospitality and welcome is always so positive. It is an amazing week for showcasing the brilliance of Scotland’s Golf Coast.
Heading into the weekend, the weather turned. The haar rolled in on Saturday morning and refused to budge for a couple of hours. Play resumed, but the leaders were unable to complete their round, completing their final holes early on Sunday morning. However, in testing Saturday conditions, Robert MacIntyre demonstrated his love of cool, damp, breezy conditions, with a fine 65 to put him at the top of the leaderboard alongside Min Woo Lee and Matt Fitzpatrick.
After 1001 days, the wait was over
The remaining third rounds complete, Sunday was far better weather-wise. Scoring was good, with McIlroy, and Ryder Cup star Viktor Hovland posting six under par 64s. There was one remaining 64 on Sunday. Sitting one behind at the start of the day, a faultless, bogey-free round was enough for Tom Kim to beat Min Woo Lee by two shots. Kim’s majestic shot into 16, setting up a birdie, piled pressure on Lee who could not hole out on 18 to force a play-off. Having not won for 1,001 days, Tom Kim was a deserving winner and Champion. The win meant a lot, with close friend Tiger Woods being the first to text congratulations. We look forward to welcoming the pros again next July.
