Rory McIlroy confirmed to play in Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club
It will be the four-time major winner’s first appearance in the $7 million tournament in East Lothian, having missed out on both occasions when it was staged at Gullane.
He was due to tee up in the 2015 event won by Rickie Fowler before injuring himself in a football kickabout with some of his friends. That led to him missing both this tournament and also an Open Championship title defence at St Andrews the following week.
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Hide AdMcIlroy then skipped the event’s return to Gullane last year, opting to take the week off to prepare for his Claret Jug bid at Carnoustie. But, as had been expected, it is set to be third-time lucky as far as his presence in the tournament on Scotland’s Golf Coast is concerned.
Six of the last nine winners of The Open prepared by playing at the Scottish Open and McIlroy did that when he won at Hoylake in 2014.
He last played in the event at Dundonald Links in 2017, missing the cut at a time when he was struggling with his game.
He returned to winning ways with a vengeance in the Players Championship at Sawgrass in March and will now be aiming to use the event at The Renaissance Club to get his game ready for a first Open Championship on home soil.
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Hide AdMcIlroy has made no secret of the fact that the event’s first visit to Royal Portrush since 1951 is one of his major targets this season. And he has picked the Scottish Open over the Irish Open at Lahinch the previous week as the best way for him to prepare for that particular assignment.
McIlroy will spearhead a star-studded field in East Lothian, with Henrik Stenson, Matt Kuchar, Russell Knox and Lee Westwood also confirmed and other big names still to be announced.
• Tickets – including official Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open hospitality packages – are available at www.asiscottishopen.com