The Scottish Open is an enormous occasion in its personal proper and, as Rahm intimated, its slot on the calendar instantly previous The Open does no hurt in attractive the sport’s finest gamers.
With the ultimate main of the season looming tantalisingly at Royal Birkdale subsequent week, the prospect for gamers to sharpen their recreation on a hyperlinks structure is a gimme.
Scheffler and McIlroy, the world primary and two respectively, are the headline acts, whereas fellow top-10 star, England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, eyes his fourth title of a fruitful season.
Defending champion Gotterup additionally has three wins already this 12 months and arrives in advantageous fettle after surging to victory on the John Deere Traditional on Sunday along with his brother on the bag.
“I actually do take pleasure in coming over right here,” Gotterup mentioned. “I am on my fourth week in a row, however I used to be saying to folks, I really feel like once I come over right here it is a contemporary begin as a result of it is so completely different from what we’re used to.
“I actually take pleasure in it. It is quite a lot of enjoyable strolling into city each evening and strolling North Berwick to the course. It is a enjoyable, completely different change of tempo for us.”
Scheffler’s solitary victory up to now in 2026 represents one thing of a drought by his impeccably excessive requirements.
Northern Eire’s McIlroy, having sensationally accomplished a back-to-back Masters triumph in April, now tees it up for the primary time since a disappointing tied-Thirty second place on the US Open final month.
A minimum of the Scottish Open tends to carry out the most effective in McIlroy, who triumphed in 2023 and has made the highest 5 in each visits since.
Present US Open champion Wyndham Clark and US PGA winner Aaron Rai are additionally eyeing the prize, whereas five-time main champion Brooks Koepka ends an 11-year absence from the event.
Robert MacIntyre, the 2024 champion, leads dwelling hopes and joins McIlroy and Gotterup in a box-office grouping for the primary two days.
