GOLF WEEKLY

(ASSOCIATED PRESS RELEASE)

STRONG FIELD SET FOR SCOTTISH OPEN AND LPGA PLAYS ANOTHER MAJOR AT EVIAN

European tour and PGA Tour

GENESIS SCOTTISH OPEN

Site: North Berwick, Scotland.

Course: The Renaissance Club. Yardage: 7,282. Par: 70.

Prize money: $9 million. Winner’s share: $1.62 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel), noon to 3 p.m. (CBS).

Defending champion: Chris Gotterup.

Race to Dubai leader: Patrick Reed.

FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.

Last week: Chris Gotterup won the John Deere Classic and Michael Hollick won the BMW International Open.

Notes: The field is one of the strongest of the year for not being a $20 million signature event. It includes Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, playing in the same field outside of the majors for only the second time since March. … What makes the field so compelling is having Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton from LIV Golf taking part under the European tour guidelines. … Another European tour member in the field is Patrick Reed, competing against PGA Tour players for the first time outside of the majors. Reed leads McIlroy in the Race to Dubai. … Phil Mickelson in 2013 is the only player to win the Scottish Open and the British Open in the same year. … The Renaissance Club is located next to Muirfield. The R&A has not returned to historic Muirfield for the British Open in 13 years as it seeks to have the largest galleries possible. … Brooks Koepka and Padraig Harrington are playing on sponsor exemptions. Also receiving an exemption is Charley Hoffman at No. 544 in the world.

Next week: British Open and Corales Puntacana Championship. 

Online: https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/ and https://www.pgatour.com/

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LPGA Tour and Ladies European Tour

AMUNDI EVIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Evans-les-Bains, France.

Course: Evian Golf Resort. Yardage: 6,479. Par: 71.

Prize money: $9.1 million. Winner’s share: $1.365 million.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 6-11 a.m. (Golf Channel), 11 a.m. to noon (Golf Channel app); Saturday-Sunday, 4-10 a.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Grace Kim.

Race to CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda.

Last tournament: Haeran Ryu won the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship.

Notes: The Evian Championship was a regular LPGA event until it was changed to a major for 2013, giving the LPGA five majors. … Nelly Korda won the first two majors and tied for eighth in the Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine. … Grace Kim won her first major last year at Evian in a stunning playoff. She made eagle on No. 18 in regulation, chipped in for birdie after going into a creek in a playoff, and won with an eagle. … Jeeno Thitikul will try again to win her first major championship. Thitikul and Ai Miyazato of Japan are the only players to have been No. 1 in the women’s world ranking without ever having won a major. … Lexi Thompson used to routinely skip this major. She is not eligible this year. … Sponsor exemptions went to top American amateurs Farah O’Keefe, Asterisk Talley and Kiara Romero. … Also receiving an exemption was Maria Jose Marin, the Augusta National Women’s Amateur champion.

Next tournament: ISPS Handa Women’s Scottish Open on July 23-26.

Online: https://www.lpga.com/ and https://ladieseuropeantour.com/

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PGA Tour Champions

KAULIG COMPANIES CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Akron, Ohio.

Course: Firestone CC (South). Yardage: 7,248. Par: 70.

Prize money: $3.5 million. Winner’s share: $525,000.

Television: Thursday-Friday, 1-2 p.m. (Golf Channel app), 2-4 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, noon to 4 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Defending champion: Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stewart Cink.

Last week: Padraig Harrington won the U.S. Senior Open.

Notes: This is the final year for the tournament to be held at Firestone Country Club. That ends a relationship with the PGA Tour that dates to the Rubber City Open in 1954. … The winner of the Kaulig Companies Championship gets an exemption into The Players Championship. … The tournament moves next year to Newport Beach, California, under a new title sponsorship. … Stewart Cink won the first two majors of the year and was runner-up in the third one. … Padraig Harrington won the U.S. Senior Open and is skipping this major to play in the Scottish Open. He will be playing the British Open next week, followed by the Senior British Open. … Cink and Harrington have combined to win the last five majors on the PGA Tour Champions. … It was 20 years ago when Cink lost on the fourth playoff hole to Tiger Woods at Firestone. … Zach Johnson tied for ninth in the John Deere Classic last week. He is in the field at the Kaulig Companies Championship.

Next tournament: Senior British Open on July 23-26.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/pgatour-champions

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PGA Tour and European Tour

ISCO CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Louisville, Kentucky.

Course: Hurstbourne CC (Championship). Yardage: 7,056. Par: 70.

Prize money: $4 million. Winner’s share: $720,000.

Television: Thursday-Sunday, 4-7 p.m. (Golf Channel).

Previous winner: William Mouw.

FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler.

Race to Dubai leader: Patrick Reed.

Last week: Chris Gotterup won the John Deere Classic and Michael Hollick won the BMW International Open.

Notes: This is the 11th tournament for the opposite-field event in Kentucky. It is held the same week as the Scottish Open, meaning the winner gets into the PGA Championship but not the Masters next year. … NCAA champion Preston Stout is playing for the second straight week on a sponsor exemption. The senior at Oklahoma State tied for 15th in the John Deere Classic last week. Stout is the No. 1 amateur in the world. … Miles Russell, the high school senior, is playing on a sponsor exemption. … Lucas Glover (U.S. Open) is the only former major champion in the field. … Jackson Koivun missed the cut at the John Deere Classic last week in his professional debut. He is in the field this week. … Max Homa was runner-up at the John Deere Classic, which got him into the British Open. He decided to stick to his commitment to the ISCO Championship ahead of next week’s major. … Hurstbourne is the third course since the tournament began in 2015.

Next week: British Open and Corales Puntacana Championship.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/ and https://www.europeantour.com/dpworld-tour/

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Korn Ferry Tour

THE BLUE CHAMPIONSHIP

Site: Berthoud, Colorado.

Course: TPC Colorado: Yardage: 8,022. Par: 72.

Prize money: $1 million. Winner’s share: $180,000.

Television: None.

Previous winner: Neal Shipley.

Points leader: Doc Redman.

Last tournament: Drew Nesbitt won the Memorial Health Championship.

Online: https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour

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Other tours

Epson Tour: Four Winds Invitational, Blackthorn GC, South Bend, Indiana. Previous winner: Leah John. Online: https://www.epsontour.com/

NBC Sports: American Century Championship, Edgewood Tahoe GC, South Lake Tahoe, Nevada. Television: Friday, 3-6 p.m. (Peacock); Saturday-Sunday, 2:30-6 p.m. (NBC). Defending champion: Joe Pavelski. Online: https://www.nbcsports.com/american-century-championship/

Challenge Tour: German Challenge, Wittelsbacher GC, Neuburg an der Donau, Germany. Previous winner: J.C. Ritchie. Online: https://www.europeantour.com/hotelplanner-tour/

PGA Tour Americas: Explore NB Open, Mactaquac GC, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Previous winner: David Perkins. Online: https://www.pgatour.com/americas

Japan LPGA: Minebea Mitsumi Ladies Hokkaido Shimbun Cup, Makomanai CC (Soranuma), Hokkaido, Japan. Defending champion: Kotoko Uchida. Online: https://www.lpga.or.jp/en/

Korea LPGA: High1 Resort Ladies Open, H1 CC, Jeongseon, South Korea. Defending champion: Shinsil Bang. Online: https://klpga.co.kr/

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AARON RAI RESTED, READY TO CHASE 2ND SCOTTISH OPEN TITLE

Former Genesis Scottish Open champion Aaron Rai isn’t too concerned by the changes made to the course at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick.

While the eighth, ninth, 17th and 18th holes will remain the same, the rest of the course effectively will flip, with the first to seventh playing as the 10th to 16th, and 10th to 16th playing as first to seventh.

“There’s not been a huge amount of change to the golf course itself, an extra couple of bunkers, nothing huge in terms of design,” Rai told reporters on Tuesday.

“I think it’s likely to impact the flow of the course and how it feels. I think there will be pockets of holes — pockets of difficult holes that seem to be closer together and then pockets of holes that provide a little bit more opportunity. So I don’t know what the reason is behind the rerouting, but I’m presuming that’s part of it just to create that balance and flows within the course, some of which are very challenging and some of which give you a little more opportunity.

I think it can be a really good change.”

Rai, who won the tournament in 2020, arrives as a first-time major winner following his breakthrough triumph at the PGA Championship in May.

The 31-year-old Englishman followed that up with top-20 finishes at the Memorial (T19) and U.S. Open (T11) before tying for 30th at the Travelers Championship.

“It’s been great,” Rai said when asked to describe life as a major champion.

“It was really nice initially to have a couple of weeks away from tournaments just to try to sit with it a little bit more,” he said. “I then played four events back-to-back, which again was really good to try to get into some normal habits and routines around the  game.Games

“And then last week was the first time I was back in the U.K., so great to see friends, family. Managed to go to Wimbledon over the weekend, which was amazing to experience. So yeah, a pretty busy few weeks since the PGA but yeah, very good overall.”

With The Open Championship looming on the horizon next week, Rai is excited to return to links-style golf.

“Such a different style to what we’re used to for the rest of the year (on the PGA Tour),” he said. “Personally, I really enjoy the variety, and that’s generally because of the conditions that we face in links golf, a lot of different ball flights, a lot of different shapes. So many options around the green.

“So I think it’s a real test of skill and creativity. Those are my biggest draws of links golf, this style of golf.”

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JON RAHM EXCITED ABOUT RETURN TO SCOTTISH OPEN

Jon Rahm hopes the local accents are all he struggles with this week when the LIV Golf star tees it up at the Genesis Scottish Open.

The tournament, co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, begins on Thursday at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick. Eligible as a DP World Tour member, Rahm is playing in his first non-major PGA Tour event since the 2023 Tour Championship.

The 31-year-old Spaniard has enjoyed a lot of success playing links golf, including two wins in the Irish Open (2017, 2019) and a runner-up finish at The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in 2023.

“A victory on Scottish soil would be fantastic,” Rahm told reporters on Tuesday. “As a European, understanding where it came from, and links golf, (joining) a list of great champions in the Scottish Open would be something that would be really, really exciting.”

Rahm has two wins and four runner-up finishes on the LIV Golf tour this season. The two-time major winner also tied for second at the PGA Championship in May.

Rahm also missed the cut at last month’s U.S. Open and finished T55 in his last appearance in the Scottish Open in 2022. He’s hoping for a better result as he prepares for The Open Championship next week at Royal Birkdale.

“It’s great to play a links golf event before a links golf event, and playing in the weather and the fescue grass and different than what we are playing year around,” he said.

Rahm was asked what makes a good links player.

“I just think you need to have a great understanding of spin, trajectory, control, and how the ball reacts on the fairway and on the greens, right,” he said. “You can usually, except a few holes here with some trees, where you can start the ball whatever you want, you hit whatever shot shape you feel like hitting or you can be as aggressive or as passive as you want to be.

“It all depends on your ability to understand how you can hit the shot, how the elements are going to affect how the ball is going to react once it lands on the fairway, on the green. I know it sounds like a lot but essentially it comes to what I understand as trajectory and spin control, mainly on to the greens.”

A few things are out of Rahm’s control, including the future of LIV Golf. He said LIV Golf CEO Scott O’Neil’s search for investors has not included reaching into Rahm’s wallet.

“As far as putting my money into it, they have not asked me to do that yet,” he said. “So I don’t know if they will or not. It’s not something that they have asked me but there has been many different avenues to try to make it different, what we’ve had till now.”

For now, Rahm is focused on getting a better feel for the course — and the language.

“The lad that drove me from the airport, I was a bit too sleepless on the flight, and he was very kind, and I could not understand 90 percent of what he told me on that hour drive,” Rahm said.

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