Off the coast of North Berwick, Scotland, there was enough wind to give players what they should think about in the first round of Scotland’s 2025 opening. The Renaissance Club, which earned the average scoring on par, welcomed the best in the world by shaking hands firmly in the final tournament before the final major championship of the season.
After effectively navigating around the par 70, standing on the leaderboard is a group of four men: Cep Straca, Jake Knapp, Nico Echabaria and Victor Perez. Knapp, Echavarria and Perez are looking to join the winners’ circle for the first time in 2025, but Straka is aiming to become the winner of the three times this season.
“It was a bit unpredictable and you put you where you could be a little uncomfortable and you hit a shot that didn’t normally hit,” Straca said. “I think that’s the most enjoyable thing. You hit a shot and end up in a place you’ve never hit a shot before and pull it off.”
All four were fantastic on Thursday. Perez in particular made the lonely man tie the lead down to come out of the afternoon waves. Given that Schaeffler, Rudig Åberg and Victor Hofland stand in person in the rearview mirror as they try to climb onto the leaderboard on Friday, they need to continue playing. World No. 1 began the tournament with a roar as he rolled into the opening hole with a long-range Eagle putt before swapping three birdies and two bogeys in the final 17 holes.
“It definitely got a bit subtle there. You can’t really blow here, but there’s definitely a breeze,” Schaeffler said. “It’s something that you have to take into account almost every shot. It was pretty windy to play on this course. It really makes the course really great in a place where you get rewarded with hitting high quality shots and get punished for hitting poor.”
Oberg, meanwhile, found his way through the ball hitting in a series of unstimulating plays. Schaeffler and Oberg signed the 67th without the help of putters as they were ranked outside the Greens’ top 100 in the opening refrain.
As for his teammates in the Ryder Cup in Oberg in Rome, Hofland stole the show in the evening at Sensational 66. The Norwegians made their way early and often thanks to the second par-4, 50-50 feet of star saves and birdie bids. Birdie appeared frequently, but his ability to move the square away from the position that ultimately advanced him alongside Xander Shaufele and McIlroy, who signed the 68th generation.
“When we first started, it was a little refreshing, but it was still available,” Hofland said. “But now, towards the back nine like the last 12 holes we’ve played, it’s gotten quite a bit better, so we really wanted to take advantage of good conditions.”
leader
T1. Sepp Straka, Jake Knapp, Nico Echavarria, Victor Perez (-6): The Big Austrian let his short game speak on Thursday as he experienced the best performance in his season category. A quick first nine featuring four birdies and five pars followed by nine holes with a bit of everything. Straka did not score pars from 3-8 as they traded two bogeys and four more birdies.
“The short game was really great. I really lacked it,” Straca said. “I made some putts, I hit the ball, the driver was a bit of a squirrel, but yeah, the short game saved me today.
Candidate
T5. Matti Schmid, Marcel Siem, Calum Hill, Marco Money (-5)
T9. Keith Mitchell, Wyndham Clark, Ryan Fox, Victor Hofland, Tom Kim (-4)
T14. Scottie Scheffler, LudvigÅberg, Maverick McNealy, Sam Burns, and 15 others (-3)
Schaeffler started out with the van and looked good on his way to the top of the leaderboard. Another circle on his scorecard did not arrive at par 5 16th place, but he went 3 under and played a par 5 at 4 under, making it 4 under 4 under thanks to a third birdie.
Nos. Annoyed run from 4-6 showed links that Golf could even make it the best in the world. A pair of bogeys interjected a par, showing clear frustration for Green after Schaeffler missed an 8-foot attempt. Putter was the main issue on Thursday, and if you understand, Schaeffler should be able to start squeezing more from his round.
“I think I could have got a little more from the round,” Schaeffler said. “I felt like I did some good things that were completely unrewarded after the start, but you know, 3 under, I wish I could get some bogeys back, but not too bad.”
Walking with Morikawa
In the third straight tournament, Morakawa’s Colin had another companion on his side. Tapping Billy Foster as the caddy of Link Golf for the last two weeks, Morikawa successfully acquitted himself by storing opening 68 highlighted by Eagle in par 5 third place.
“It was amazing,” Morikawa said. “I think he liked the putts he was dropping. I made quite a few during the middle rounds of stretches or mid-round stretches – but that’s a lot of fun. He obviously has a lot of stories. I’m enjoying them. I’ll continue that for the next two weeks.”
2025 Scotland Open Update Odds, Picks
Odds by DraftKings Sportsbook
- Scotty Schaeffler: 4-1
- Section Straca: 9-1
- Rory McIlroy: 14-1
- Jake Nap: 14-1
- Victor Perez: 14-1
- Viktor Hovland: 16-1
- Nico Echavarria: 25-1
- LudvigÅberg: 25-1
- Xander Schauffele: 25-1
Hovland rolled every aspect of the game on Thursday, and his 66 felt like the best scorecard he signed. He has the opportunity to take on momentum on Friday morning and take on this leaderboard from an easy back nine with plenty of birdie opportunities. Hovland only sits two, so it seems fair at a price tag of 16-1.
