Scottish Open bosses open up on event's future venue and Muirfield Open dilemma
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox
Sign up Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More
Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later.
Submitting...
The Renaissance Club looks set to remain as the host venue for the Genesis Scottish Open after the latest edition at the East Lothian venue was given a huge thumbs up by both the fans and the players.
Helped by unprecedented sellouts on both Saturday and Sunday, the event attracted over 85,000 spectators across the week, breaking the record at the Dirleton venue by close to 10,000.
Advertisement Hide Ad
Advertisement Hide Ad
The Stadium Hole at The Renaissance Club has become a popular feature of the Genesis Scottish Open at its current home |The Rolex Series tournament, which is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA Tour, attracted another stellar field, including the top five in the world rankings and all four current major champions.
It was announced on the eve of the event that Genesis, the premium luxury Korean car brand, had extended its title sponsorship through 2030, which is a massive boost.
The current partnership with The Renaissance Club ends next year but talks are taking place with the American owners about an extension to it as well.
'We're really pleased that we're contracted for next year and we can continue that growth,' Rory Colville, the Genesis Scottish Open championship director, told a small group of journalists on Sunday. 'It's been a fantastic venue for us and we'll continue to discuss the future with the Sarvadis.'
Advertisement Hide Ad
Advertisement Hide Ad
Before the event was first hosted at The Renaissance Club, it had been moved around Scotland for a spell, with Castle Stuart, Royal Aberdeen and Dundonald Links all staging it.
'One hundred percent,' replied Colville to being asked if the event's recent growth had been down it being established at a home venue. 'The fact that it's seven years in and there's been steady growth with the event, I think the most dramatic growth of the event is actually this year.
'If you look at the crowd numbers and to get to 76,000 last year and we're up to over 85,000 this week, that's a significant growth that we're really proud of, and I think it just goes to confirm our hope that all the fan activations that we work on with Genesis to try and enhance the experience, The Fringe by the Tee – the collaboration we've got with them, obviously a fantastic local music festival, having KT Tunstall on the main stage last night, is a really, really strong message for how this event is an event for all ages and all demographics.'
Genesis came on board as the title sponsor at the start of the co-sanctioning set up in 2022, with Christian Hardy, one of the PGA Tour's senior executives, admitting that the US circuit is delighted to have its brand associated with an event on Scottish soil.
Advertisement Hide Ad
Advertisement Hide Ad
'We are absolutely thrilled and grateful for Genesis making this possible,' he said. We started this in 2022, with the Strategic Alliance, and this is exactly the kind of week we envisioned. The last two years have been amazing. Rory McIlroy winning a couple of years ago and of course that incredible putt by Robert MacIntyre last year.
'Talking with Rory (Colville) a little bit before, talking about the crowds this week, but hearing there's a little bit of traffic and a lot of sun and an amazing announcement of the Genesis partnership extension, this is exactly what we had in mind.'
It remains to be seen when The Open will be back at Muirfield, having last been held at the Home of the Honourable Company of Golfers in 2013, when Phil Mickelson picked up the Claret Jug.
If the Genesis Scottish Open stays at The Renaissance Club for, say, another five years, is there a possibility of two huge events being held back-to-back at the neighbouring venues if The R&A announces a date for Muirfield in that time?
Advertisement Hide Ad
Advertisement Hide Ad
'People ask that question and I think it would be very difficult to have them consecutively but obviously we are aligned with the R&A, talking to them about schedules,' said Colville. 'We will absolutely cross that bridge if it happens.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
Lottie Woad leads Scottish Women's Open by two shots in pro debut
In-form English star cards bogey-free seven-under-par 65 in second round at Dundonald Links Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Lottie Woad leads and Nelly Korda is up there, too. Add in the likes of Leona Maguire, Lauren Coughlin and Georgia Hall plus a posse of Koreans and the stage is set for a cracking last two days in the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links. As Charlotte Laffar discovered, golf, particularly so on links courses, can be cruel. The English player had led after an opening 66 at the Ayrshire venue, yet she didn't make it through to the weekend. A second-round 82 left her making an early exit. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Lottie Woad plays her second shot on the 14th hole during the second round of the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open at Dundonald Links |Mimi Rhodes, a three-time winner on the LET in her rookie season, also missed the cut, as did Helen Briem, the tall young German who looks set for a bright future in the professional ranks despite this disappointment. Gemma Dryburgh, meanwhile, was left to fly the Saltire after Hannah Darling and Lorna McClymont came up short in the battle to be among the top 65 and ties at the halfway stage along with Kylie Henry and Kelsey MacDonald There was never any danger of Woad not being around for the weekend. Not after she'd opened with a five-under-par 67. And definitely not when she backed that up with another polished performance. The 21-year-old English player had signed off her glittering amateur career in style, winning the KPMG Irish Women's Open by six shots at Carton House last month then finishing joint-second in The Evian Championship, a major in France. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad After finishing as the leading amateur in last year's AIG Women's Open at St Andrews, she'll have her sights set on landing the main title at Royal Porthcawl next week and she could be heading to South Wales as a winner on her professional debut. Playing in the same group as Korda and Charley Hull, Woad birdied the 14th, 17th and 18th after starting at the tenth. Coming home, she added gains at the third, fifth and seventh and ninth. Signing for a 65 to sit on 12 under, she leads by two shots from Dane Nanna Koerstz Madsen. 'Happy with that obviously,' said the leader of her day's work. 'Bogey-free is always nice. Just hit a lot of fairways and a lot of greens and then holed a few nice putts. The first nine was a little bit more windy and the back nine calmed down a bit which was nice; could really attack some of the pins. I think my wedges were pretty good. Same as yesterday. I laid up on I think most of the par-5s and managed to make birdie on them still.' World No 1 Nelly Korda is the star attraction in the ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open |Even someone like Korda could have her work cut out over the weekend. 'I'm obviously just kind of trying to continue the momentum really,' added Woad, who made the switch to the pro ranks as the World Amateur Golf Ranking No 1. 'Obviously trying to play well, and, yeah, just got confidence and keep on doing that.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad On setting up a chance to win on ger pro debut, she replied: 'I've played in seven majors now, so I've had all that experience, and obviously the LET events, too. So this wasn't really new, I guess. Kind of knew how to deal with it. I'm just going to stick to the plan I've had all week and same strategy, and just keep trying to play well.' After adding a 66 to her opening 68, Korda, who is making her debut in the event, is two behind Woad. The American is seeking her first win of the season and will be ready to pounce if the leader slips up over the weekend. 'Yeah. I started out strong today with two birdies on my first two holes,' she said. 'Yeah, just hit it really well and I have only missed four greens through two days so happy with that. Hopefully I can continue trending in the right direction.' Koerstz Madsen had set the clubhouse target earlier in the day after posting a second successive 66. 'I just stayed in play most of the day and then made a couple putts here and there. I wasn't really in any problems,' she said of her day's work. The 30-year-old has played Dundonald Links a fair bit, including three of the previous editions of this event. 'Yeah, my dad actually said before I got here that this must be the tournament that I played the most in while I also played here as a junior as well. So I definitely know this course very well, yeah.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Hall, the 2018 AIG Women's Open winner, sits eight shots back along with defending champion Coughlin. For Hall, it's her first outing since getting engaged to Paul Dunne, who won the British Masters at Close House in 2017 and led going into the final round of the 2015 Open. He's now on caddying duties for his wife-to-be. Scottish No 1 Gemma Dryburgh was pleased with her second-round fightback at Dundonald Links | Getty Images It was a real gutsy effort that allowed Dryburgh to make it through to the final 36 holes. She'd opened with a 78, so needed a low one. A five-under 67 did the trick and, even more impressive, it was a bogey-free effort. 'Yeah, obviously got off to a nice start with a birdie on the 10th hole there, my first hole. Kind of needed a hot start today,' said the Scottish No 1. 'My caddie just said to me, what's the lowest round you played in Scotland? I don't know what it is, but I said five or six under. One of them today would do. Yeah, good.
Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Lee Westwood jumps 3,759 spots in golf rankings as Jon Rahm admits he won't make sacrifice
With the majors now completed and both the PGA Tour and LIV Golf seasons winding down, attention continues to slowly turn towards the Ryder Cup in the golf world The professional golf season is nearing its conclusion after Scottie Scheffler claimed the final major of the year at The Open. But there's still more action on the PGA Tour and LIV Golf this week. Scheffler and most of his closest rivals have opted to skip the 3M Open at TPC Twin Cities, but LIV UK will feature all of their big hitters like Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm - who you won't be seeing competing on YouTube anytime soon. And of course, one eye is now on the Ryder Cup, which is just two months away. Here, Mirror Sport rounds up the latest golf headlines from around the world. Lee Westwood's rankings rant It was a good week for Lee Westwood at Royal Portrush. The English veteran finished T34 on three under, which shot him up a remarkable 3,579 places in the Official World Golf Ranking to No. 930. LIV stars like himself still don't earn ranking points outside of the majors, Asian Tour and DP World Tour, with the league's latest application currently under review. Rather than celebrate his climb, Westwood, who had to go through a qualifier to make The Open, took the chance to express his frustrations. "I think that just proves that without world ranking points, it makes a bit of a mockery of the system," he said. "I think mainly it relates back to wanting the best players in the major championships, not wanting this conversation where there's a few people missing out because we don't get world ranking points on LIV." Jon Rahm's take on YouTube golf DeChambeau has done a great job of raising his profile on YouTube, where he now boasts over two million subscribers. But while Rahm is happy to appear in those sort of videos, he won't be starting a channel of his own for fear of it taking away from the other priorities in his life. 'The main argument, and I can't stress this enough, against doing it is that I just don't think I would have the time to balance family, golf and YouTube," the Spaniard explained. "I have three young kids - at some point I just don't think I would have the time to do it. 'It would be too much of a sacrifice of either me practicing or family time. As of right now, that's not something I'm willing to do. As of right now I'm perfectly happy appearing on channels. "I'm perfectly happy playing with those guys and in a way getting exposed to their audience…. but I don't know if I would yet find the energy in me to try to find the time to do a channel myself.' Bryson DeChambeau forces intervention For now, both Rahm and DeChambeau will be focusing on LIV's latest stop at the JCB Golf & Country Club, whose sponsors have taken drastic action to stop the latter from wreaking too much havoc with his ridiculous drives. With the American often topping 400 yards, JCB cranes holding up temporary netting have been placed at the end of the driving range to prevent any potential problems. While it's more so a promotional stunt, it did give golf fans a chuckle. It was also confirmed LIV will be hosted by JCB in the UK again next year. Ian Poulter's Ryder Cup warning DeChambeau has already kicked off the Ryder Cup mind games, warning Team Europe they'll be facing a "tsunami" of American support at Bethpage Black and promising to "get in Rory McIlroy's ear" if they're pitted against one another. And Ian Poulter is conscious that the home advantage could be a major factor, with the five-time Ryder Cup winner issuing a warning for captain Luke Donald. He told Sky Sports: "Away Ryder Cups are notoriously difficult. "It's the same when they come to our home soil too. Home advantage is a big factor. Luke has got a venue in Bethpage Black that is going to be very loud, very raucous. We've had numerous events at that location in the past, so they certainly know what they are going to be in for." Sergio Garcia's captaincy admission As for the 2031 Ryder Cup, Spain will host for the second time in history, it was confirmed this week. That will be particularly poignant for Team Europe legend Sergio Garcia. While his current focus is on making Donald's team for this year, the LIV star admitted that taking the captaincy reins off of him in the future would be something he'd relish. Speaking just 48 hours before the Ryder Cup's return to his homeland was confirmed, Garcia said: "I don't want to think about it yet, but it's something that obviously would be a nice thing, a nice honour to have. I really don't want to think about that right now. I've got my mind on other things."
Scotsman
3 hours ago
- Scotsman
Paul Lawrie sets sights on 'really good weekend' in his bid for rare Claret Jug double
Paul Lawrie acknowledges the fans during the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale Golf Club |Aberdonian pleased to finish round strongly after 'struggling' this year over closing stretch Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Paul Lawrie is hoping that a 'really good weekend' at Sunningdale can give him a chance of becoming just the fifth player to win both The Open and ISPS HANDA Senior Open. Only Bob Charles, Gary Player and Tom Watson had achieved the feat before Darren Clarke joined the select club with his Senior Open success at Gleneagles three years ago. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad It would be a tremendous achievement if Lawrie, the 1999 Open champion, could add his name to the list and, after opening with scores of 69-67 to sit on four under at the halfway stage, he's certainly in with a chance of landing the over-50s' Claret Jug on Sunday. Paul Lawrie acknowledges the fans during the ISPS HANDA Senior Open at Sunningdale Golf Club |'It depends what the score gets to today,' said the Aberdonian as Dane Thomas Bjorn carded a second-round 73 set the clubhouse target on seven under. 'I'd imagine that they would stretch a wee bit ahead, so it's going to be at least eight under, if not a bit more. But you are there or thereabouts. A really good weekend and you never know.' In his opening round at the Berkshire venue, Lawrie had been four under and bogey-free with four holes to play before finishing double bogey-birdie-bogey bogey. In contrast, he was four under for the last eight holes in the second circuit, signing off with a good par save. 'The last couple of years, I've been struggling with finishing rounds off,' admitted the 56-year-old. 'I've got myself in good positions most days I've played, but I have really struggled for coming in, for some reason. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'And that wasn't on my mind yesterday before I struggled to come in again. Then today was the opposite, I kind of finished strongly. It's golf, isn't it? Sometimes it goes for you and sometimes it doesn't. 'Today I didn't have any destructive shots' 'But one under yesterday felt, oh man, at least two or three shots more than I should have been. But golf gives you the good and gives you the bad, so, overall, four under, we are alright there.
