A new era for the Strategic Alliance between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour begins this week at the Genesis Scottish Open, where 14 of the world's top 15 feature; Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports Golf
Wednesday 6 July 2022 11:54, UK
Scotland oozes with history and when you discover that the Genesis Scottish Open is on the horizon, perhaps your first thought is: At which ageless classic is it being held? Surely one that dates to the 1820s? Or perhaps the 1850s? But it has to be pre-1900, yes?
No. It's The Renaissance Club, and it came online in 2008. Understandably, you might be perplexed, maybe even dismayed, but you shouldn't be. Hit the stop sign and take comfort. The Renaissance is in step with all of Scotland golf.
Ignore the date on The Renaissance Club's birth certificate because master designer Tom Doak, backed with great zeal and commitment by American Jerry Sarvadi and his family, did a masterful job in blending these 300 acres into an ancient section of Scotland and making it look like it's been there for 200 years.
The Genesis Scottish Open will be contested there for a fourth straight year and in a land where the word "links" is treated with such reverence, you don't receive elite status across the globe without being true to your heritage.
Xander Schauffele, who led a healthy list of Americans who played Renaissance last summer, felt it definitely passed the test. He said: "(Maybe) it's more an American links-style course with greens that are very dramatic in undulation and slope. But I think the course is awesome. I think it's fun."
It's been especially fun in each of the last three years for rising Aussie standout Min Woo Lee (2021), England's Aaron Rai (2020) and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger (2019) - winners of the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, although no style of golf is meant to be played in the elements quite like links.
"Links golf is designed for the wind and some sort of weather," said Scotsman Robert McIntyre. "If you get that, then every links will bite back and that's what you need. When it's flat calm and soft, you watch some of those tournaments and guys are just going to take dead aim no matter what club they have got in."
If understanding that weather is such a crucial part of links kept Americans away for years, this year's 40th anniversary of the Scottish Open is significant in two ways: One, more and more Americans are saying "yes" to the Scottish challenge and, two, one of the PGA Tour's most loyal sponsors, Genesis, wants to be part of this historic Scottish Open.
We say "historic" because while it dates to only 1972, the Scottish Open is now part of the alliance between the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. It opens up the crossroads so elite players from both the USA and Europe can compete in the same tournaments more easily and the Genesis Scottish Open is gaining important hype.
The desire to acclimatise themselves to links in preparation of The Open Championship has been building for more than 10-15 years now and one needn't point anywhere else by the year 2013 for Exhibit A. That year, Phil Mickelson decided a commitment to the Scottish Open might help him cure the Open Championship woes, having finished in the top-10 just twice in his first 17 starts.
It clearly paid off because he not only won the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, but in a thrilling performance at Muirfield - right next door to Renaissance - he prevailed to claim the Claret Jug. So, yes, playing back-to-back weeks of links is a great summer experience that elite professionals are embracing.
"I enjoyed the week at the Renaissance last year and I'm looking forward to getting back," said world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, who finished tied-12th behind Min Woo Lee last year.
A year ago, Scheffler was just 24, another in a long line of great young talents. Since then, Scheffler has won four PGA Tour tournaments, one of them being The Masters, and he's rocketed to world No 1 and FedExCup.
That only increases his desire to join Morikawa, McIntyre, Jon Rahm, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Min Woo Lee, and Matthew Fitzpatrick among the headliners in this year's gathering at The Renaissance Club.
"A lot has happened for me since (last year) and I'm hoping to keep that good feeling going (into the Genesis Scottish Open)," Scheffler added.
If Scheffler has a burning desire to seize the momentum, he's not alone. The Genesis Scottish Open and The Renaissance Club feel similarly. The difference is Scheffler is young and, minus the rich history, that envelopes this tournament, this club, and this mystical passion for links.
Watch the Genesis Scottish Open throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Featured Group coverage begins on Thursday from 8am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event, ahead of full coverage from 12:30pm.
