Genesis Scottish Open 2026: Can Jon Rahm win on the PGA Tour?

The PGA Tour moves across the pond, but this week’s destination might be the deepest field we’ve seen all summer. The Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club will do double duty as a co-sanctioned PGA Tour/DP World Tour event, providing excellent preparation and rehearsal for next week’s British Open Championship.

Related: 2026 British Open picks: 13 best bets to win at Royal Birkdale

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Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy will headline, with Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton returning to the PGA Tour field through the DP World Tour affiliation. Defending champion Chris Gotterup just arrived from Sunday 62 to steal the John Deere Classic to defend his title. Renaissance Club is an Americanized version of links golf, but it’s still very different from what we’ve seen in recent weeks.

Read The Line’s Joe Aydon and Jon Hasslebauer reveal the secret to Robert McIntyre’s Genesis Scottish Open success.

Check out Read The Line’s complete betting breakdown for the Genesis Scottish Open. The staff is looking for a ticket to three consecutive wins..

This new Tom Doak-designed Scottish standard golf course opened in 2008 and measures approximately 7,300 yards. The score depends almost entirely on the weather, especially the wind. While distance and power have proven to be an advantage here, it will ultimately be a test of control, and the putt will often decide who retains the trophy on Sunday.

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Previous Next Pause Play false The Renaissance Club North Berwick, Scotland

In golf-rich East Lothian, the American Salvadi family leased 300 acres of pine trees planted by the British Forestry Commission after World War II and hired Tom Doak to design a links-style course. More than 8,000 tons of wood was removed from the site, but Doak kept many trees on the site until a few years after the club opened, he cut down more trees. The Renaissance Club swapped some land with neighboring Muirfield, who used the land to extend the ninth hole ahead of the 2013 British Open. The Renaissance Club acquired additional dunes that Doak and his team incorporated into the current layout of holes 9 through 11 (holes 12 through 14). The land has beautiful views of the Four Bays, and the rolling land provides a good test on the links before the British Open each year. Read the full review

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Related: Introducing the best courses in Scotland, ranked

Without further ado, here are the top 10 favorites to win the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open.

10. Alex Fitzpatrick

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The younger brother stepped onto the field this week with a chance to prove himself worthy and hang up his dream summer golf bow. Alex Fitzpatrick has repeatedly put up positive indicators throughout the season with a clean card and approach, and is third best in the field since joining the PGA Tour full-time.

Fitzpatrick has spent years honing his skills on the DP World Tour and will feel comfortable playing this unique style of golf. He’s far from winning, but it’s worth considering competing on a hybrid-style golf course that suits his current strengths and form.

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9. Viktor Hovland

Whatever Viktor Hovland was looking for on his long, lonely practice field at Shinnecock Hills after missing out on the U.S. Open, he has since found it. The Norwegian, who was the winner of Monday’s play-off against Scheffler at the Travelers, now rows confidently to Scotland.

What we saw on Travelers was no fluke. Once Hovland synchronized his swing, he proved to be a generational flasher of the ball who could win against any field. Good iron play goes everywhere, and Hovland clicks with perfect timing. He is reasonably priced on the odds board and is definitely a high-ceiling option to complement any betting card.

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Golf Digest Logo Great Britain and Ireland’s Best Courses 8. Ludwig Aberg

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Ludvig Aberg has the second-highest scoring average at Renaissance Club after McIlroy, which should be a clear indication of his suitability for the course. Aberg’s consistent and efficient ball flight allows him to control the trajectory as well as anyone, and he always plays well on the rink.

I’ve had some form slippage lately, but most of it is down to the shoulder of my cold putter. Aberg has been dominant on the green for the past two seasons, so a return to the Renaissance club could be just what the doctor ordered. If he does his best, he will definitely be suited to do well in this type of test.

7. Chris Gottapp

The defending champions had a surprise win here last year. Over the past calendar year, Chris Gotterup has had little left to prove. Two wins earlier this year have boosted his confidence, and last week’s final round of 62 at TPC Dear Run added another trophy to his mantle.

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When Gotthard is rolling, he looks invincible and looks like a player who improves his game under intense pressure. That being said, he is still far from a betting favorite, which speaks to the depth and quality of the field. Gotthard’s broad shoulders are made for this, and he’s already solved this puzzle before. This is not a player who will fade in Scotland.

6. Robert McIntyre

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I have high hopes for Robert McIntyre returning to Scotland, although it may be a bit of a stretch given his positioning on the odds board. He came close to winning on his home turf in 2023, finishing second to Rory McIlroy, and finished the job a year later with a spectacular closing birdie. This version of the Scottish Open belongs to McIntyre more than anyone else.

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Although the early wind forecast looks tame, we know how quickly it can change. Once the flag starts flying, most of the field will look very uncomfortable for the ball. That’s not the case with McIntyre, but he will use that advantage with his trending ball striking and find his way to the leaderboard.

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In the midst of a season where the Schaufele wagon is stuck in neutral, Renaissance Club is a great place to jumpstart. No player in this field has increased his stroke rate more than Xander Schauffele over the past few years, and it’s not even close. He won here in 2022 and has finished eighth or better in starts at this venue since then.

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Schauffele has a perfectly balanced skill profile built for any course or weather condition. He does not rely on any one force to sustain him, but on a combination of things that hold everything together. This makes him one of the safest players on the position market, and when you see his name on the leaderboard, he tends to stay there.

4. Jon Rahm

Jon Rahm’s return to the PGA Tour field is a subplot this week, but don’t let the storyline distract from the winning fortune Rahm brings every time he tees it up. He remains one of the most complete ball-strikers alive, although he is unnoticed by most at LIV. With a links-style setup that punishes mishits, Rahm’s ball always comes out of the center of the clubface.

I think the question about rust is valid, but Rahm’s shot-making ability hasn’t diminished yet. If he arrives in Scotland prepared and masterful with his putter, don’t discount his chances of winning this PGA Tour co-sanctioned event. What a story!

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3. Matt Fitzpatrick

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At this point in the summer, Matt Fitzpatrick is currently the frontrunner for PGA Tour Player of the Year, with a fourth win just around the corner. The stats highlight his improvement and form, and he has one of the deepest course history profiles in the field.

As one of the lowest apex players on the PGA Tour, no one has more control over his trajectory than Fitzpatrick, making him ideal for coastal links courses where winds can be unpredictable. Fitzpatrick checks too many boxes to ignore in this tournament. He is rated as the best threat because he has proven to be the best threat.

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2. Scotty Scheffler

Golf walks the most delicate line. If Scotty Scheffler sank a 3-foot putt against Hovland last Monday and goes on to win, all will be OK for the world No. 1 and we’ll get back to celebrating him as the best player in the world. But he missed. Statistically, he’s improved from his early-season “slump,” but you have to wonder if scar tissue is starting to form.

Prices are short as usual, but I can’t help but do so. Scheffler is hungry for wins and you can’t argue that he clearly has the best all-around game in the field. I feel like his floor performance is as high as I can remember and there is no scenario where Scottie Scheffler won’t be a key factor in this tournament next Sunday.

1. Rory McIlroy

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Despite his pedigree, most links golf courses in Europe, like venues in the United States, do not place disproportionate emphasis on Rory McIlroy’s unique skills. That’s not the case here. The Renaissance Club is a perfect fit for McIlroy, who is free to send his driver off the tee box as the course has one of the fewest penalties for fairway misses all season.

His resume here reads like a highlight reel. He was. He is the 2023 champion and was eliminated in the final draw last year. His long iron game helps him move and separate, and McIlroy has proven he can spike with his putter on these greens. If his games are in the right order to start the tournament, this could be the sharpest course on tour for McIlroy to victory.

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Joe Idone is a contributor to Read The Line and host of the Preferred Lines podcast.