After two low-scoring events in the Midwest, the PGA TOUR heads across the pond for the final major championship of 2025. Before the Open Championship next week, though, the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open will take place July 10-13 in North Berwick, Scotland, at The Renaissance Club. Let’s take a look at the history of this event and the course that will host the event for the seventh straight season.
The History of the Genesis Scottish Open
The tournament began in 1972 as the Sunbeam Electric Scottish Open on the European Tour (now known as the DP World Tour). After just a couple of years, it took a 13-year hiatus before returning in 1986 in its current form. It is now part of the Rolex Series, which identifies it as one of the premiere events on the DP World Tour.
Throughout its history, it has been played on a variety of courses in Scotland, but for the last six years it has been played at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick. Since the course is a links-style setup, it gives players a chance to get tuned up for the format and style of The Open Championship, which will take place this year at Royal Portrush Golf Club.
With more PGA TOUR players coming over a week early to play in the event, the PGA TOUR added it to the schedule as an official event in 2022. For the last three years, it has been a co-sanctioned event by the PGA TOUR and the DP World Tour.
Xander Schauffele won the first joint event in 2022 by one stroke over Kurt Kitayama, and Rory McIlroy won in 2023 over Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, who came up just short of winning his national open. He bounced back, though, and won a memorable Scottish Open last year, triumphing by one stroke over Adam Scott. The year, Bobby Mac is attempting to become the first man to go back-to-back at the Genesis Scottish Open in tournament history.
The other big storyline to watch this week is that this event is the final event of the Open Qualifying Series. The leading three players who are not already exempt will earn the final spots at The Open at Royal Portrush.
Since it’s such a great prelude to The Open, it draws an outstanding field each year, and this year, all the biggest names will tee it up at the Renaissance Club. For more info about the field, check out this post from my colleague Ciaran Doyle.
A Closer Look at the Course
The Renaissance Club is a beautiful venue that has become a favorite of many of the top PGA TOUR pros as they gear up for The Open. Famous architect Tom Doak finished the course in 2008 after transforming the venue from a swath of an ancient pine forest.
The course isn’t exactly a typical links layout since it doesn’t have as much exposure to the ocean. However, Doak set up the rough, bunkers, and course layout to echo traditional links style layouts. The course helps players use the creativity and shot-shaping that will be needed at The Open next week, especially the use of the ground game around the green.
As with all links venues, weather has a huge impact on the difficulty of the course. The winds have been lighter the last two years, allowing the course to play under par. In 2022, though, the winds gusted over 25 miles per hour, and the course played an average of +1.73 per round.
Here’s a story of the creation of the club:
Here are the highlights from the Final Round of last year’s event to help you remember the course and the layout.
In general, the course rewards long hitters with very little penalty for missing the fairway. Strokes Gained: Approach is always a great metric to lean into as well, especially for players that excel with their long irons.
Players with course history here, Eurpoean experience, and good results in the wind are ones to target this week. If the forecast looks windy, it could be a week with majors-esque high scoring, but even if the course plays easier, we should get plenty of drama down the stretch with some of the biggest names in golf in the field and likely in contention on Sunday.
