Scottish Open tournament history
The first two editions of the Scottish Open were in 1935 and 1936, but the third staging didn't occur until 1972 and two years later the tournament disappeared again. It's been an ever-present on the DP World Tour since 1986 though and in addition to being the second of five Rolex Series events, the Scottish Open is now co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour so the line-up is strong.
The Scottish Open has preceded the Open Championship for many years and since 2011 it's been staged on a traditional links set-up to allow players to acclimatise to links golf prior to the Open.
Venue
The Renaissance Club, Dirleton, North Berwick.
Course details
Par 70, 7,282 yards
Stroke Average in 2025 - 70.82
Situated next door to Muirfield and just two miles from the 2018 Scottish Open venue, Gullane, the Tom Doak designed Renaissance Club is hosting the Scottish Open for the eighth year in-a-row.
Having only opened as recently as 2008, changes were made to the course just five years later when a land swap with the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers enabled three new holes to be constructed - connecting the course to the coastline and the par four 13th hole (the fourth hole in 2018), along the edge of the cliffs and high above the Firth of Forth, is spectacular.
The Club's website states that "Very little earth was moved in the construction of the course. The design embraced the original dunes landscape, typical of true links golf. Tom Doak and his team incorporated these contours into the course while leaving certain significant trees to enhance the beauty and challenges of play. The course has a truly distinctive style; windswept and open dunes land with trees coming into play on a truly coastal links course in Scotland."
The Renaissance Club was the venue for the 54-hole Scottish Senior Open in 2017, won by Paul Broadhurst in 13-under-par, and it first staged this event in 2019 when Bernd Wiesberger eventually saw off Benjamin Herbert after a protracted playoff. Both men reached 22-under-par but in cooler, windier conditions, and following a lengthening of the course by around 200 yards after the 2019 edition, the 2020 playoff protagonists reached only 11-under-par.
Prior to 2020 renewal, the fairways were narrowed in places and there was a change to the layout with holes 1-7 being played as holes 10-16. And we've switched again this year...
In attempt to create a more exciting finish, and to make more of the par three signature hole, which was the sixth and is now the 15th, the first seven holes on each nine have switched again.
Holes 1-7 are now holes 10-16 and vice versa, with the eighth and ninth and 17th and 18th, remaining as the final two holes on each nine.
Robert MacIntyre won in 18-under-par two years ago, but challenging conditions resulted in Xander Schauffele winning in just seven-under-par four years ago, so we have quite a wide range of winning scores in just seven years.
Weather Forecast
TV coverage
Live on Sky Sports all four days, starting at 8:30 on Thursday.
Last 10 Winners with Pre-event Exchange Prices
2025 - Chris Gotterup -15 140.0139/1
2024 - Robert MacIntyre -18 60.059/1
2023 - Rory McIlroy -15 14.013/1
2022 - Xander Schauffele -7 21.020/1
2021 - Min Woo Lee -18 330.0329/1 (playoff)
2020 - Aaron Rai -11 110.0109/1 (playoff)
2019 - Bernd Wiesberger -22 46.045/1 (playoff)
2018 - Brandon Stone -20 1000.0999/1
2017 - Rafa Cabrera-Bello -13 65.064/1 (playoff)
2016 - Alex Noren -14 55.054/1
Hot putting the key to success at the Renaissance Club
As always with a links tournament, previous links form is a huge plus, so the usual rules apply; look at form at this event over the last 14 years, the Open Championship and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship for clues. Links golf is quite unique, and those events are all staged on links courses.
Stats-wise, putting has been absolutely key here.
Both the playoff protagonists in 2019 putted really well, ranking third and fifth for Putting Average, the 2019 winner, Arron Rai, only ranked 29th for PA, but he was the only player in the top-five to rank outside the top-20, the 2021 winner Min Woo Lee, ranked third for PA and Matt Fitzpatrick, who was beaten in the playoff, ranked first for Strokes Gained Putting.
The 2022 winner, Xander Schauffele, ranked sixth for PA, the first and second in 2023, Rory McIlroy and Robert McIntyre, ranked second and fourth, and it's been a similar story over the last two years.
The first and second, MacIntyre and Adam Scott, ranked seventh and fifth for PA two years ago and the two players to top the PA rankings, Collin Morikawa and Ludvig Aberg, finished tied for fourth.
The winner, Chris Gotterup, ranked second for Putting Average and Marco Penge, who finished tied for second with Rory, ranked fourth.
McIlroy only ranked 33rd for PA but he ranked fifth for Strokes Gained: Putting.
It's 24 years since Ernie Els won the second of his two Scottish Open titles but course form stands up really well here so we may well be due another two-time winner.
A fair event for long-shots
Following Colin Montgomerie's victory at Loch Lomond in 1999, the home crowd had to wait 25 years for another Scottish winner, and this is an event that gets shared around between nations, with winners from all corners of the globe taking the title this century.
Bernd Wiesberger was the first Austrian to take the title in 2019, and we've seen winners representing as many as 14 different nationalities this century.
With as many as four separate winners - Ernie Els (twice), Retief Goosen, Tim Clark and Brandon Stone - the South Africans have fared well this century but four of the last 13 winners (two of the last four) have been from the States and now the tournament is co-sanctioned with the PGA Tour, we're highly likely to see more American winners.
The English have the next-best record. They've won three of the last 15 renewals and the first three in 2020 (Aaron Rai, Tommy Fleetwood, and Robert Rock) were all English.
Last year's victor, Gotterup, was a 140.0139/1 chance and he was the fourth triple-figure winner in eight years so it's been a fair event for long-shots lately.
Keep a close eye on the Open Championship market
As many as 11 of the last 14 Open winners have warmed up for the Championship in this event and the last four Open winners have finished 10th, 12th, 15th and eighth here the week before they won the final major of the year so it's a great warm up event.
Anyone that plays well here will shortened up for next week's major so if you fancy someone at Birkdale that's playing here this week, make sure you're keeping an eye on how they're doing. Their price could collapse for next week if they perform well here.
Scheffler, who was a never in-contention tied eighth 12 months ago when favourite, and as a result moved from 55.054/1 to 38.037/1 to win the Open Championship after his dramatic success and Adam Scott (second) and Sungjae Im (fourth) were both big market movers too.
Im was backed at 200.0199/1 to win the Open when he kicked off the Scottish Open on Thursday nicely and he' was a 90.089/1 chance after he'd finish fourth here and Scott's price dropped from 160.0159/1 to 75.074/1.
The 2016 Open winner at Troon, Henrik Stenson, was matched at 40.039/1 to win the Open while this event was in progress, and he went off at around 25.024/1. The runner-up to Stenson, Phil Mickelson, was matched at 60.059/1 during the Scottish Open, before going off at 40.039/1, and those two had history...
In 2013, Mickelson was matched at 38.037/1 to win the Open before the Scottish Open started but he was down to 22.021/1 after winning this event and Stenson, who stumbled late on in that renewal, saw his odds cut from 70.069/1 to 50.049/1 during this event before going on to finish runner-up to Lefty at Muirfield.
Rickie Fowler halved in price for the Open Championship when he won the Scottish 11 years ago.
Shane Lowry didn't play in this event before he won at Portrush seven years ago but he did warm up for the Open by playing on a links track, finishing tied for 62nd in the Irish Open at Lahinch two weeks before his victory at Portrush, Collin Morikawa won the Open Championship at Royal St Georges after finishing 71st here and the 2022 Open champ, Cameron Smith, found his groove in this event when finishing tied for 10th. He had this to say after his victory at St Andrews.
"I started to feel really good with where my game was at last weekend at the Scottish Open, I had a really, really solid weekend."
Winner's position and Betfair Exchange price pre-round four
2025 - Chris Gotterup - tied for the lead 6.411/2
2024 - Robert Macintyre - solo second, trailing by two 6.611/2
2023 - Rory McIlroy led by a stroke 2.727/4
2022 - Xander Schauffele led by two strokes 2.1411/10
2021 - Min Woo Lee T5 - trailing by three 60.059/1
2020 - Aaron Rai T10 - trailing by five 95.094/1
2019 - Bernd Wiesberger led by two strokes 1.991/1
2018 - Brandon Stone T11 - trailing by three 150.0149/1
2017 - Rafa Cabrera-Bello - trailing by four 34.033/1
2016 - Alex Noren led by two strokes 2.9215/8
In-Play Tactics
Being up with the pace is often the place to be at links venues. Unless there's significant rain, the courses tend to get faster and firmer as the week wares on.
Chris Gotterup, who trailed by four in a tie for 33rd after round one was two clear at halfway after a sensational 61 on Friday and he was tied with Rory McIlroy (who was matched in-running at a low of 1.635/8) with 18 to play last year but we've seen plenty of off the pace winners in this event.
The 2024 winner, Robert Macintyre, started fairly slowly, sitting five off the pace in a tie for 34th after round one and he was four back and outside the top 10 at halfway.
He sat solo second and two back with 18 to play and the 54 hole leader, Ludvig Aberg, who hit a low of 1.574/7, was the only other to trade at odds-on but we've seen plenty of drama here and four of the last nine winners came from off the pace. And it could very easily have been six from eight.
Having been matched at a high of 700.0699/1 during the third round on Saturday morning, Macintyre was a 200.0199/1 chance on Sunday morning three years ago, sitting alongside Tyrrell Hatton, a 75.074/1 shot, and the pair were five adrift with a round to go.
MacIntyre was matched at just 1.141/7 in-running and Hatton hit 2.26/5 after 12 holes before a poor finish saw him finish tied for sixth. And although he led with a round to go, the 2022 winner, Xander Schauffele, started very slowly...
He led by two after 54 holes and after birdies at the first two holes, he was matched in-running at just 1.351/3 but after he'd dropped shots at six, seven and nine, he drifted back out to 3.02/1.
He did manage to regroup and eventually win by a stroke, but he'd sat 11 off the lead and tied for 69th after round one so he can't be described as an up with the pace winner. He made his big move on Friday, shooting 65 to move up into a tie for fourth at halfway.
Although only three off the lead with a round to go, Min Woo Lee was a juicy 60.059/1 chance with a round to go five years ago, having been matched at 1000.0999/1 in-running earlier in the week, and that was close to the lead compared to some of the other winners...
Arron Rai trailed by eight after shooting 70 on day one, he was matched for a few pounds at 1000.0999/1 in-running on Saturday, and he still trailed by five with a round to go.
Trading at around 95.094/1 before round four, he hit 200.0199/1 when he fell even further back with a bogey at the second hole but the dropped shot galvanised him into action and five birdies in his next six put him bang in-the-mix. He went on to win in extra time from the wrong side of the draw, one week after giving up a golden chance to win the Irish Open.
Bernd Wiesberger trailed by four in a tie for 29th after round one in 2019 but he was tied for the lead at halfway after a 61 in round two and he was two clear with a round to go but it was very nearly a different story.
Benjamin Hebert traded at a low of 1.021/50 in extra time before losing the playoff to Wiesberger and he'd trailed by six at halfway and by seven through 54 holes!
The two previous Scottish Open winners, Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Brandon Stone, had both been seven adrift at halfway, Rickie Fowler trailed by five strokes a decade ago at the midway point and both Phil Mickelson (2013) and Jeev Milkha Singh (2012) trailed by four through 36 holes so a fast start is far from imperative.