2026 Genesis Scottish Open: The World's Best Golfers Prepare for the Open in North Berwick

From July 9 to 12, 2026, the world’s top golfers will gather at the Renaissance Club for the Genesis Scottish Open. Co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour, this Rolex Series event features a prize purse of $9 million and has long been considered the most important warm-up for the Open Championship, which takes place a week later at Royal Birkdale. The field on Scotland’s east coast could hardly be stronger this year.

Click here for the 2026 Scottish Open live leaderboard.

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy lead the field

At the top are two names that are currently shaping the sport of golf. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler arrives in East Lothian as the standard-bearer. Facing him is Rory McIlroy, the newly crowned Masters champion and career Grand Slam winner, who is always a crowd favorite on links courses in front of his home crowd in Great Britain.

The two lead a field that is hard to beat in terms of major champions and Ryder Cup greats: Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas, Shane Lowry, Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, and Brooks Koepka are all entered, as are Tommy Fleetwood and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg. For Scottish fans, Robert MacIntyre is likely to be the emotional highlight—the crowd favorite won the tournament in 2024 on home soil.

Find out everything about the four men’s golf majors here.

Gotterup Defends His Scottish Open Title in Top Form

Defending champion Chris Gotterup arrives with the best possible momentum. The American secured his fourth PGA Tour title in twelve months last weekend at the John Deere Classic. A final round of 62 and a late blunder by his compatriot Ben Kohles on the 18th hole gave him the victory by one stroke—and catapulted him to seventh in the world rankings.

Gotterup claimed his first DP World Tour title last year right here at the Renaissance Club. Now, as the world’s seventh-ranked player, he’s looking to follow that up with his second Rolex Series triumph. “I didn’t play that well last year, so hopefully this is good preparation—even though the two courses are about as different as they can be,” he said, referring to the switch from parkland golf in Illinois to Scottish coastal golf.

LIV Returnees Add Extra Excitement

For the first time in quite a while, several LIV Golf pros are teeing off at this event. Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton are drawing the most attention. Both still hold membership on the DP World Tour and, thanks to the tournament’s co-sanctioned status, are once again eligible to compete in a world-ranking-eligible event—provided any outstanding penalties have been paid.

This is no small step. A tournament co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour awards points toward the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR), whereas LIV events do so only for the top ten players. For Rahm and Hatton, who have slipped in the world rankings since their move, the Scottish Open is thus a rare opportunity to reverse that trend. According to reports, Rahm is said to have paid a fine of around 2.5 million U.S. dollars for this—though this figure has not been officially confirmed. Their participation is expressly not tied to a full return to the PGA Tour; both remain LIV professionals.

The Renaissance Club demands the full repertoire

The appeal of the Scottish Open lies not only in the field but also in the course. The Renaissance Club on the East Lothian coast demands true links golf: flat, hard Fairways, deep pot bunkers, and a layout that sits right on the Firth of Forth, completely exposed to the elements. Here, the wind often matters more than pure skill—a round played in calm conditions and one with a picking-up breeze can differ by many strokes.

That’s exactly what makes this week the ideal preparation for the Open Championship. Anyone who can hit flat, controlled shots to the pin in North Berwick and master the short game on fast, undulating greens will head to Royal Birkdale with the right mindset. For many players on the U.S.-dominated PGA Tour calendar, it’s also the only real opportunity to get used to this very unique style of play before the major—one more reason why the field is so star-studded year after year.

More Than Just a Trophy Win

The Scottish Open also kicks off the Closing Swing, the fifth and final Global Swing of the Race to Dubai in Phase One of the DP World Tour season. In addition to the title and valuable Race to Dubai points, there’s a lot at stake: The winner receives an invitation to the Masters, and the top three unqualified players who make the cut secure their spots in the Open Championship.

For the world’s best players, the week on the Scottish coast is thus the last true test on links courses—before they head to Royal Birkdale for the third major of the season.