Genesis Scottish Open
The Renaissance Club
North Berwick, Scotland
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Mike Glasscott: Genesis Scottish Open Tips
Win: Aaron Rai (45/1), Ludvig Aberg (18/1)
Top 10: Tom Kim (3/1), Tommy Fleetwood (12/5)
Top 20: Jordan Smith (4/1), Tom McKibbin (3/1)
Top 40: Grant Forrest (33/10), Victor Perez (7/4)
NOW PLAYING: 42nd Genesis Scottish Open
| Host Course | The Renaissance Club |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 7,237 |
| Par: | 70 (35-35). |
| Greens: | Fine Fescue |
| Stimpmeter: | 11 feet. |
| Rough: | Tall Fescue. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | Links course. |
| Architect(s): | Tom Doak (2008). |
| Defending Champion: | Rory McIlroy (-15). |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | None at The Renaissance Club. |
| Course Record | 61; Byeong Hun An (Round 1, 2023; not entered 2024). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record: | 262; Bernd Wiesberger (2019, -22 as Par-71). |
| Facts of the Week: | The Par-70 routing has five Par-3 holes and three Par-5 holes yet still plays 35-35. |
The Renaissance Club
Built by Tom Doak in 2008, The Renaissance Club took over hosting duties for the 2019 tournament.
The links adjacent to the famous Muirfield on the Firth of Forth, originally played as a Par-71 at 7,138 yards. The 2024 tournament will play 7,237 yards for the third straight event.
The 35-35 layout features five Par-3 holes and three Par-5 holes. The inward nine contains three Par-3 holes and two Par-5 holes but still plays to 35 on the card.
With slightly over 61 feet of putts made per round, The Renaissance Club ranked No. 1 on TOUR in 2023.
Only Torrey Pines was stingier from inside 10 feet on the greens.
Large, fine fescue putting surfaces make it difficult to get approach shots close. Averaging just over 44 feet in regulation, The Renaissance Club ranked No. 1 on TOUR in 2023 in Proximity and was No. 2 in Proximity from the Fairway and Proximity from the rough.
The key to any links course is keeping the ball out of the tall fescue and bunkers. With large landing areas off the tee, and massive green complexes, errant shots will be punished, and bogeys will accumulate.
If the wind does not howl and the rain stays away, the Par-70 can be had. Last year, Byeong Hun An matched the course record of 61 in the first round. Bernd Wiesberger was the first to achieve 61 on his way to victory in the first edition at The Renaissance Club in 2019. The Austrian also holds the tournament scoring record (-22; 262).
Recent Winners
2023 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| Sentry Tournament of Champions | Jon Rahm |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Si Woo Kim |
| The AMERICAN EXPRESS | Jon Rahm (2) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Max Homa (2) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Justin Rose |
| WM Phoenix Open | Scottie Scheffler |
| The Genesis Invitational | Jon Rahm (3) |
| The Honda Classic | Chris Kirk |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Taylor Moore (first TOUR win) |
| Corales Puntacana | Matt Wallace (first TOUR win) |
| WGC – Dell Technologies MP | Sam Burns |
| Valero Texas Open | Corey Conners |
| Masters | Jon Rahm (4) |
| RBC Heritage | Matt Fitzpatrick |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each) |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Tony Finau (2) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win) |
| AT&T Byron Nelson | Jason Day |
| PGA Championship | Brooks Koepka |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Emiliano Grillo |
| Memorial | Viktor Hovland |
| RBC Canadian Open | Nick Taylor |
| U.S. Open | Wyndham Clark (2) |
| Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley (2) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Rickie Fowler |
| John Deere Classic | Sepp Straka |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| The Open Championship | Brian Harman |
| 3M Open | Lee Hodges (first TOUR win) |
| Wyndham Championship | Lucas Glover |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Lucas Glover (2) |
| BMW Championship | Viktor Hovland (2) |
| TOUR Championship | Viktor Hovland (3) |
| Fortinet Championship | Sahith Theegala |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Luke List |
| Shriners Children’s Open | Tom Kim |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Collin Morikawa |
| World Wide Technology | Erik van Rooyen |
| Butterfield Bermuda | Camilo Villegas |
| The RSM Classic | Ludvig Aberg |
2024 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Grayson Murray |
| The American Express | Nick Dunlap (a) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Matthieu Pavon (rookie) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Wyndham Clark (54 holes) |
| WM Phoenix Open | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis Invitational | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Jake Knapp (rookie) |
| Cognizant Classic | Austin Eckroat (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Peter Malnati |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Stephan Jaeger (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Akshay Bhatia |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Zurich Classic | Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Taylor Pendrith (first time) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| 106th PGA Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Davis Riley |
| RBC Canadian Open | Robert MacIntyre (first time) |
| The 49th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| 124th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
| Travelers Championship | Scottie Scheffler (6) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Cam Davis |
| John Deere Classic | Davis Thompson (first time) |
The 42nd Genesis Scottish Open
The event, dating back to the early 1970s, has provided a tune-up before The Open Championship since 1997. Since 2022 the tournament has featured a partnership with the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR.
The field of 156 players included 75 from the DP World Tour, three players from the KPGA, and six sponsor’s exemptions. The rest of the places are filled by the PGA TOUR.
Entered this week from the Official World Golf Ranking are six of the top seven players and 13 of the top 20.
The field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. The highest cut in the previous five events was five-under-par 139 in the first playing at The Renaissance Club in 2019.
The five previous winners have represented five different countries. None of the champions are from Scotland and all have previously won a professional event.
There are eight past champions in the field, including all five from The Renaissance Club.
The previous five winners registered in the top four of SG: Tee to Green.
Phil Mickelson won the 2013 Scottish Open and is the last winner to be victorious the following week at The Open Championship.
The winner will take home 500 FedExCup points plus $1.62 million from the $9 million purse.
The top THREE players not already qualified will qualify for the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Recent Winners – Genesis Scottish Open
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2023 | Rory McIlroy (-15) | Led by two after 54 holes but needed a 2-iron to 11 feet, plus the birdie putt, to avoid a playoff with Scotsman Robert MacIntyre. |
| 2022 | Xander Schauffele (-7) | Posting 65-66 in the middle two rounds, the Californian posted 70 in the final round to win by a shot over Kurt Kitayama. |
| 2021 | Min Woo Lee (-18) | Knocked out Thomas Detry and Matt Fitzpatrick in a playoff to win for the first time outside his native Australia. |
| 2020 | Aaron Rai (-11) | Defeated Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff in the only October event. |
| 2019 | Bernd Wiesberger (-22) | Opening with 61, the Austrian set the tournament scoring record on 22-under and won by a shot. |
One and Done
I’ll be joining Spotter’s game again this season. Now, where did I put my checkbook…
35 events.
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
Add up the total money and Spotter is yer uncle!
| Event | Selection | Earnings |
| The Sentry | Collin Morikawa | 690,500 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Corey Conners | 18,592 |
| The American Express | Adam Hadwin | 310,800 |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Jason Day | 0 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Jordan Spieth | 70,125 |
| WM Phoenix Open | Matt Fitzpatrick | 156,200 |
| The Genesis Invitational | Max Homa | 329,000 |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Tony Finau | 145,125 |
| Cognizant Classic | Russell Henley | 32,850 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler | 4,000,000 |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Will Zalatoris | 0 |
| Valspar Championship | Sam Burns | 0 |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Wyndham Clark | 54,418 |
| Valero Texas Open | C Bezuidenhout | 67,735 |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy | 175,500 |
| RBC Heritage | Patrick Cantlay | 1,160,000 |
| Zurich Classic | Nick Taylor | 122,375 |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Stephan Jaeger | 112,100 |
| Myrtle Beach Classic | Daniel Berger | 20,350 |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Sahith Theegala | 47,000 |
| 106th PGA Championship | Brooks Koepka | 113,962 |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Taylor Moore | 0 |
| RBC Canadian Open | Mackenzie Hughes | 295,316 |
| 49th Memorial Tournament | Ben An | 200,200 |
| 124th United States Open | Xander Schauffele | 639,289 |
| Travelers Championship | Brian Harman | 520,000 |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Akshay Bhatia | 616,400 |
| John Deere Classic | Denny McCarthy | 252,400 |
| Total Winnings: | 9,897,837 |
His game has more fun stuff to it. Reach out @A340Spotter on Twitter or A340Spotter@frontier.com for more details and to join.
Recapping Last Week – John Deere Classic
Bit of a dog’s breakfast this week with only six players from the top 50 OWGR in the event.
If you’re taking a risk, you will have plenty of choices!
Eight of the last ten winners were 30 or younger, but veterans Lucas Glover and Ryan Moore also regained form.
MY CHOICE: Denny McCarthy – T7
For the first time in three years, he did not finish T6 on 16-under-par!
This time, he signed for 21-under and finished WORSE!
Oh John Deere Classic, you rascal, NEVER CHANGE!
Others to Consider (from who I have available):
Davis Thompson – If I had a dollar for every time I’ve guessed wrong, I’d have at least two dollars. Smoked the field by four and set a new tournament record (-28) after cashing T2 in Detroit. Nice fortnight!
Adam Schenk – Adds another “nothing” to his all-or-nothing at TPC Deere Run. MC
Aaron Rai – The former champion at The Renaissance Club comes in hot after T2 at Detroit was followed by T7 at JDC. CONVERGING TRENDS!
Eric Cole – I wrote two weeks ago I thought he was heating up. He followed T6 at Detroit with T7 at JDC.
Sam Stevens – Cashing in nine of his last 10, I couldn’t find another T10 to add (T34).
Patrick Rodgers – Another Midwesterner who didn’t fire in his own backyard. T34.
This Week – Genesis Scottish Open
The OWGR Top 50 has 33 players represented. This game only has six more weeks remaining. Time to start shooting off the big fireworks!
With two enormous names winning the previous two editions, I’ll remind you that The Open and the two FedExCup Playoff events provide the biggest three paydays.
Insightful, I know.
With no chance of winning or even hitting the money, I am throwing caution AND rationale to the wind.
Some might say, “what’s the difference from the last 28 weeks?”
I have cashed $200k or more over the last SIX WEEKS and have gone nowhere.
| RBC Canadian Open | Mackenzie Hughes | 295,316 |
| 49th Memorial Tournament | Ben An | 200,200 |
| 124th United States Open | Xander Schauffele | 639,289 |
| Travelers Championship | Brian Harman | 520,000 |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Akshay Bhatia | 616,400 |
| John Deere Classic | Denny McCarthy | 252,400 |
What a format!
MY CHOICE: Ludvig Aberg
Not many hit it better tee-to-green and not many are in the field. One of the few at the top of the tops who does not have anything to prove, I’m hoping his natural ability to knock the cover off the ball overwhelms this seaside track at only 7,237 yards.
Others to Consider (from who I have available):
Tommy Fleetwood: A nice record around here, he’s a tough laydown, but he is probably in the top spot next week. Maybe.
Viktor Hovland: Or maybe it will be him next week.
Tom Kim: In two trips to East Gullane, he’s played in the final group, cashed T6, and was solo third in 2022 on debut.
Hideki Matsuyama: I would be more inclined if he was not debuting this week. I hope he’s in the field on the way to the USA at 3M Open in Minneapolis.
Justin Thomas: He could be the TPC Southwind savior.
Aaron Rai: See above.
Robert MacIntyre: Maybe it will HIM next week!
Sungjae Im: No wonder why I suck! Oh, wait, my last six weeks have all hit the top 15. NOT. GOOD. ENOUGH.
Wyndham Clark: I should have struck while the iron was hotter earlier in the season. I’ll save the home game in Denver for him.
Glass Houses 