Rory McIlroy set for Scottish Open return

The start of the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club is just around the corner, and it will see reigning Champion Rory McIlroy return to defend his title.

The Genesis Scottish Open is one of the most prestigious tournaments in golf, and it is set to return in July 2024. The four days of enthralling action will get underway at the Renaissance Club on Thursday, 11th July, before this year’s Champion is then crowned when the Scottish Open ends on Sunday, 14th July 2024.

The Scottish Open has plenty of history, with the inaugural tournament taking place at Downfield Golf Club back in 1972. The first winner was England’s Neil Coles, who won it via a play-off, with Wales’ Brian Huggett narrowly missing out. This would be Coles’ only ever Scottish Open triumph in this career.

The player who has won this tournament the most times is Ian Woosnam, who has 3 Scottish Open titles to his name. The Welshman’s first win took place at the King’s Course at Gleneagles back in 1987, and it was to be a 7 stroke victory for him with the runner-up being Australia’s Peter Senior.

Woosnam’s second Scottish Open triumph came 3 years later in 1990, also on the King’s Course at Gleneagles. This time, the runner-up was Mark McNulty, who he beat by a margin of 4 strokes in the end.

Finally, his third triumph in this tournament came in 1996, with that year’s Open being played at Carnoustie in Scotland. Andrew Coltart was his closest contender on this occasion, but he was beaten by 4 strokes by Ian Woosnam that year. Fast forward to 2023, and this saw another Scot narrowly miss out on the Scottish Open title.

World Number Two Rory McIlroy is the reigning Scottish Open Champion after emerging victorious in this tournament for the first time in his career in 2023. This edition of the open was played at the Renaissance Club. Robert MacIntyre was the runner-up, losing by a margin of just 1 stroke after four days of enthralling action.

After a rollercoaster three days, McIlroy came into the fourth and final day with a one-shot lead. However, he fell behind when MacIntyre posted a score of 14 under par that included a birdie. This was a setback, but McIlroy also fought back – and in some style.

He got a superb birdie at the 17th hole, which provided him with the platform to show his class and finish with a score of 68 and 15 under par. It was a tremendous and miraculous victory for him when you consider that he had gone behind not long before that on what was the fourth and final day of the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open.

The Northern Irishman is no stranger to success and has won no less than four major titles in his illustrious career to date. His first major win came in the US Open at the Congressional Country Club (Blue Course) in Bethesda, Maryland. McIlroy won with 16 under par in the 2011 tournament.

He would then go on to win his first PGA Championship in 2012 at Kiawah Island Golf Resort (Ocean Course on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. This was a similarly emphatic victory for McIlroy, winning by a margin of 13 under par.

Now, with the 2024 Scottish Open set to get underway in just a few months’ time, Rory McIlroy is set to return to the Renaissance Club to defend his title and win the Genesis Scottish Open for the second consecutive year, and for the second time in his illustrious career.

Rory McIlory is most certainly not the only star name to be taking part in this year’s Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club.

Other big names taking part include the likes of Luke Donald, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa, Nicolai Højgaard, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Ludvig Aberg, Xander Schauffele, Robert MacIntyre, Tom Kim, Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama.

Starting with Luke Donald, the former World Number One will be Europe’s Captain in the 2025 Ryder Cup, and he will become the first player since Bernard Gallacher to do so in  consecutive Cups. Donald was of course Captain of Europe in 2023, and will do so again next year.

Xander Schauffele has of course won the highly prestigious USA PGA Championship title earlier this year, winning his first major title in the lead up to the Scottish Open in July. He is also currently ranked as the third best player in the world, Rory McIlroy and Number One Scottie Scheffler.

Additionally, Tom Kim very narrowly missed out on the title win in the Travelers Championship to Scheffler. Meanwhile, Justin Thomas is a two time PGA Championship winner, having done so in both 2016 and 2022.

Four of the other players taking part in this year’s Genesis Scottish Open are all in the top ten in Golf’s World Rankings.

Former Major Champions, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa, are ranked in 5th and 7th place respectively. Ludvig Aberg is currently ranked as the 4th best player in the world, whilst Viktor Hovland sits in sixth.

21 year old Nicolai Hojgaard is a former Rolex Series Winner, having won the 2023 DP World Tour title in Dubai.

As for Brian Harman, he won the British Open last year, in what was his first major title win.

All of these players will be looking to make history in this year’s Scottish Open, which has one of the most star-studded line-ups of any golf tournament in recent memory.

Excitement and anticipation are building rapidly ahead of the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open getting underway at The Renaissance Club on Thursday, 11th July 2024.

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