Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Jul 7

Jon Rahm Returns to Scottish Open After 4 Years as Renaissance Club Reworks 7,282-Yard Layout

Updated

Updated · BBC.com · Jul 7

Jon Rahm Returns to Scottish Open After 4 Years as Renaissance Club Reworks 7,282-Yard Layout

Q: How will returning to the 2019 course layout impact the tournament's notoriously dramatic finish?

Returning to the 2019 routing is expected to make the Scottish Open’s finish even more volatile and harder to protect. Tournament officials changed the sequence specifically to create “much more drama,” and players including Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland have said the new closing stretch should produce a better finish. The key impact is where the risk-and-reward holes now fall. A short, potentially drivable par-4 becomes the 14th, giving contenders a late chance to attack for birdie or eagle. The new 15th, a short par-3 with stadium-style seating, should add pressure as well as atmosphere. After that, the course turns severe: the 16th is now a long par-4 that has ranked among the toughest holes, and the 18th is consistently one of the hardest finishing holes on the property. That sequencing matters. Under the previous setup, players had more room to recover late, including a par-5 safety valve. In the restored 2019 order, the last realistic scoring chances come before a punishing final stretch, meaning leaders will have to decide whether to press at 14 and 15 or try to survive 16 through 18. That should increase swings on the leaderboard rather than reduce them. It also improves the spectacle. The rerouting brings decisive holes closer to the clubhouse and fan areas, especially around the new stadium 15th, which should intensify the Sunday atmosphere. On a course already known for one-shot margins and playoffs, the revised layout is designed to amplify the drama, not soften it.

3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jul 7

Jon Rahm will make his first non-major PGA Tour start since joining LIV in December 2023 when he tees off at the Scottish Open on 9-12 July.
The co-sanctioned event lets Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton and five other LIV players compete after the DP World Tour granted conditional releases following a May stand-off.
£6.7 million is on offer at the Renaissance Club, where defending champion Chris Gotterup chases a second straight title and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy headline the field.
The Renaissance Club has reverted to its 2019 routing while staying a par-70, 7,282-yard course, switching the first seven holes of each nine to create a stronger closing stretch.
Three Open Championship spots at Royal Birkdale are also available this week, adding stakes to a tournament Rahm called strong enough to feel like 'two majors in a row.'