Scottish Open: A Journey Through the History & Winners

by , 13 June 2023

Dive into the captivating world of the Scottish Open, a golf tournament steeped in rich history and tradition. From its inception to the illustrious winners who have graced its greens to the iconic venues that have hosted this prestigious event, this article will take you on a journey through the annals of the Scottish Open.

Scottish Open

The Rolex Series consists of a collection of five prestigious golf tournaments that are popular with golf betting fans. Among these remarkable events, we will delve into the Genesis Scottish Open, while the remaining tournaments are the BMW PGA Championship, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and the DP World Tour.

Scotland has achieved a remarkable milestone by being honoured as the “best Golf destination in the World” for the very first time. This prestigious accolade marks a significant moment in the nine-year history of the World Golf Awards.

Given Scotland’s continuous growth and trajectory in the golfing world, it is highly anticipated that it will continue to receive this esteemed recognition in the future.

In its impressive history, the competition has witnessed only two multiple winners, highlighting the intense level of competition. Among them, Ian Woosnam from Wales holds the record for the most victories, with three impressive wins. South African golfer Ernie Els has also achieved notable success in the tournament, securing two wins. This fact underscores the highly competitive nature of the event and the exceptional skill displayed by these renowned golfers.

Throughout the article, we will take you through the following; When the Tournament started? Where is the Scottish Open held, and what are the dates for this year’s events? Who are the Scottish Open champions, and what should we expect in the tournament’s future? Stay tuned as we highlight one of the spectacles of the golf world and take you through the significant moments in the Scottish Open to the Golf World.

The History and Importance of the Scottish Open

The Scottish Open was established in 1935, but only lasted two years, before returning in 1972, with the first tournament held at Downfield Golf Club. The official sponsor in its early years was Sunbeam Electrical, and it was broadcasted on television till 1974 when they couldn’t broker a deal for coverage.

It was until 1986 that the event revived and returned to the European tour brokering a new sponsorship deal with Bell’s. The then Glasgow Open was rebranded to Scottish Open and moved to Gleneagles in 1987, the same year the secured BBC live coverage.

In 1995 and 1996, Bell’s stepped aside, and the event held at Carnoustie went on without a sponsor. The event was entirely rebranded without the Scottish Open name from 1997 to 2000, when Loch Lomond World Invitational, until later when they amended the clauses because of name ownership rights.

2001 the event went on without a sponsor, but Barclays Bank came through in 2002 and renamed the Barclays Scottish Open hosted at Loch Lomond until 2010. There were concerns about the Loch Lomond arena where the event was hosted as it differed from the links courses in which the Open Championships are played. The course gave the PGA Tour players an advantage against the European Tour players, who spent extra seven days in Ireland practising for the Open on links courses.

For the same reason, in 2011, the venue was changed to Castle Stuart Golf Links. The reason for selecting the course was the financial constraints suffered by Loch Lomond. The tournament had to adjust the format because of heavy rains resulting in the venue being flooded and some sections having landslides.

Aberdeen Asset Management was the new sponsor for the 2012 event, but the venue was unchanged played at Castle Stuart. There was a subsequent change of venue; the Royal Aberdeen Golf Club in 2014, the Gullane Golf Club in 2015, and back to the Castle Stuart Golf Club in the 2016 edition. The 2016 event was disappointing, with the number of fans over the four-day event reducing by over 20,000, thus the inevitable shift to Ayrshire, which held the event for the first time in 2017 and then headed to the Gullane in 2018. In 2019, the Renaissance Club hosted the event and has been the most consistent venue in recent years till today, scheduled to be hosted there till 2026.

The Venues of the Scottish Open

In this next section, we shall explore some of the picturesque venues that have hosted the Scottish Open. There have been five venues that have had the honour of putting on Scottish golf’s premier event.

Renaissance Club

The Renaissance Club is the new home for the Scottish Open, having hosted the event since 2019, the Scottish Senior Open since 2017 and the Ladies Scottish Open in 2020. The Genesis Scottish Open is expected to be played there till 2026, the second most consistent host after Loch Lomond, which hosted the event for fifteen consecutive years.

The golf club is located in North Berwick, Scotland, twenty miles east of Edinburgh. A work of art courageously designed from scratch to meet the level of Muirfield and North Berwick, two of the world’s top links courses, on a patch of ground crammed between them. All this was the genius plan and execution of Jerry Savardi, a wealthy American, who put it all into practice to design one of the marvel golf courses in the world.

The structure was created by Tom Doak, possibly the most influential architect of the modern era. Doak has been quite open about being asked to design a layout suitable for professional championship competitions. Given the unusual nature of the client’s request and Doak’s natural tendencies, you get the idea that this has been a challenge for him, but on completion, it’s a precise work of art. The perfection would be why the organisers and the sponsors settled for the arena after switching Golf courses six times in six years from 2013 to 2018 before they finally settled for Renaissance.

Loch Lomond

The Loch Lomond Golf Club is located in Luss, Argyll & Bute, Scotland, on the shores of Loch Lomond. The clan’s mansion, the Rossdhu House, serves as the course’s clubhouse and is located on land once owned by Clan Colquhoun. The medieval Rossdhu Castle and the private chapel of St. Mary of Rossdhu were architectural masterpieces by Sir John Colquhoun dating back to 1457.

The main component of the existing house, Rossdhu Mansion, was completed in 1773. Sir James Colquhoun constructed the lavish Georgian manor home, most likely designed by renowned architect John Baxter to replace the 15th-century fortification. Lady Colquhoun and Sir Ivar Colquhoun, 8th Baronet, lived there until the late 1970s. Giving numerous original furniture and artwork to the rebuilt manor residence in 1994 assured Rossdhu Mansion would be historically preserved despite club ownership.

Tom Weiskopf and Jay Morrish designed the 7,100-yard course, which is regarded as the top 100 in the world. According to Golf Magazine, the course was ranked sixty-sixth in 2005, which is remarkable given how long the arena has existed and remains relevant. The course debuted in 1993 and became part of the Scottish Open in 1996 when it hosted the tournament for the first time, going on for fifteen consecutive years till 2010. The iconic stadium stands out as the most decorated stadium and its history with the Scottish Open played a huge part in raising the tournament’s profile.

Gullane

Gullane, located in the heart of Scotland’s so-called “Golf Coast,” is undeniably a golf community. Three golf courses numbered one, two and three can be found at the beginning and end of the town. The fact that Number 1 is in such good company hurts it a little. Gullane 1 sometimes goes unrecognised since Muirfield and North Berwick have such excellent reputations, yet it can contend with many of the world’s top links courses.

The arena hosted the Scottish Open twice, in 2015 and 2018, and received great appreciation remarks from the players for the challenge. The greens are regarded as among the best in the UK, no matter what time of year you play. The grass is characteristic of a links course.

Castle Stuart

Castle Stuart is located about 6.5 miles northeast of Inverness on the banks of the Moray Firth. When Mary, Queen of Scots, returned to Scotland in 1561, she handed the land for the Castle to James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray. The Castle was formerly opulent, but it fell into disrepair as the fortunes of the House of Stuart deteriorated during the English Civil War and Charles I was executed. The Castle was abandoned for 300 years before refurbishing and is now a magnificent hotel.

Two Americans, managing partner Mark Parsinen and golf course designer Gil Hanse, collaborated on the oceanfront links golf course at Castle Stuart along the Moray Firth in 2009. It was rated the best new course in 2009 by Golf Magazine. The attention they got from building the spectacle got the organisers’ attention, and they had the privilege to host the Scottish Open in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016.

Royal Aberdeen

The Royal Aberdeen Golf Club, founded in 1780 in Aberdeen, Scotland, is the world’s sixth-oldest golf club. The Aberdeen Golf Club was founded in 1815 as the Society of Golfers in Aberdeen and later changed its name to that. Royal Aberdeen hosted the Senior British Open in 2005, the Walker Cup in 2011, and the Scottish Open in 2014. Aberdeen has a direct relationship to the history of golf; the first reference of a golf hole in Scotland dates back to 1625, according to local Aberdeen archives.

The club moved to its current location, Ballgownie Links, on the other side of the River Don estuary, in 1888. After obtaining royal assistance from King Edward VII in 1903, the golf course changed to Royal Aberdeen Golf Club. The current configuration of the course was re-bunkered and extended by James Braid after being designed by Archie Simpson and Robert Simpson. Royal Aberdeen has hosted several notable amateur and professional golf championships, including the Scottish Open, Senior British Open, and Walker Cup.

It’s an out-and-back along the North Sea coastline. The outward nine runs through some stunning dune formations and is recognised as one of the world’s top links golf courses. The inland nine traverses the flatter plateau and proceeds south once more. It’s an old-school Scottish links course with wavy fairways. It has two traditional par five courses, strong par four holes, difficult par three holes, and a signature hole protected by nine bunkers on the eighth hole. The continually fluctuating wind, narrowly protected greens, and magnificent finish make Ballgownie a challenge for the best players. Participants in the 2005 Senior British Open praised it highly.

The Champions of the Scottish Open

This next section will cover the recent winners of the Scottish Open over the last decade. A full list of all winners is provided since the first edition which took place in 1984.

The 2022 Genesis Scottish Open

The most recent edition of the event was the fourth in the history of the event held at the Renaissance Club. Xander Schauffele won the tournament, ending a two-year winless run after recovering a challenging middle round with two key birdies and a par for an even-par 70. The American golfer beat fellow country mate Kurt Kitayama by a -7 to par with a one-stroke margin of victory to take home £1.44 million from the purse of £8 million.

The 2021 Aberdeen Scottish Open

The tournament’s thirty-ninth edition was also held at the Renaissance Club. Austrian Min Woo Lee triumphed in the event beating Belgian Thomas Detry and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick in playoffs to win his second European tour title. The trio were tied on the eighteenth under par but birdied the first extra hole. The twenty-two-year-old emerged as the winner of the £1,33 million at the Renaissance Club and booked a place in the British Open.

2020 Aberdeen Standard Investment Scottish Open

Aaron Rai won the thirty-eighth edition of the Scottish Open, with fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood taking second place. The margin of victory was negative eleven in the playoffs at the Renaissance, putting in an impressive Sunday charge. The grand prize for the winner was £1.17 million from the purse of £7 million. The maestro was in great form, going ahead to finish second in the Irish Open secured his second European tour win.

2019 Aberdeen Standard Investment Scottish Open

Austrian Bernd Wiesberger’s turn to triumph in the thirty-seventh edition of the games had to be settled in the playoffs. It was the first Scottish Open at the Renaissance Golf Course. He outdid Frenchman Benjamin Hebert by negative twenty-two. The thirty-three-year-old had dropped to number 289 in the World Golf Ranking before the event marked his second win in six starts. He won the third hole after a three-putt bogey by Hebert at the Renaissance Club to take home the £1.17 million prize money.

2018 Aberdeen Standard Investment Scottish Open

South African Brandon Stone, the Scottish Open winner for the thirty-sixth edition, beat England’s Eddie Pepperell by four strokes. He won by four shots missing out on a golden chance to shoot fifty-nine on the European tour. The failed historic shot was his inability to convert a birdie at the final, but the sixty under par was enough to win him a third European tour and his first outside his home country. Jens Dantorp was the overnight leader but settled for the third Open berth tieing on the fifteenth under with Luke List and Trevor Immelman.

2017 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open

The thirty-fifth edition of the Scottish Open was the first European Tour of the Rolex Series. Spain’s Rafa Cabrera-Bello was the winner beating England’s Callum Shinkwin in a playoff by a negative thirteen score to triumph. A landmark tournament that saw the purse double from £3.25 to a whopping £7 million raising the standard of the competition and attracting the best golfers in the world to challenge for the colossal token. The winner took home double the price from the previous year with a new share of £1.16 from the initial prize of £541,000.

2016 Scottish Open

Alex Noren of Sweden won the 2016 Scottish Open by one shot against a strong field on Sunday at Castle Stuart Golf Links. Noren finished with a score of 14 under par. Noren led by two after 54 holes, and despite some fantastic finishes from his opponents, he could hold on and finally win. Tyrrell Hatton finished alone in second place after a final-hole birdie, while Nicolas Colsaerts, Danny Lee, and Matteo Manassero shared third place at 12 under. Noren got £554,556.13 in prize money after a successful week of competition in Inverness, Scotland.

2015 Scottish Open

Rickie Fowler won the 2015 Scottish Open at Gullane Golf Club. A competitive edition that proved to be a genuine test of golf ability took place on Gullane’s No. 1 course. The historical links, which are usually ranked among the top 100 golf courses in the world and are at the top of many players’ bucket lists, supplied Fowler with an outstanding finale. After birdies on holes 15, 16, and 18, Fowler finished at 12 under par. Fowler defeated Matt Kuchar, Marc Warren of Scotland, and Raphael Jacquelin of France in his maiden European Tour victory.

2014 Scottish Open

Justin Rose won his second straight contest, becoming the only person in history to do so. The Englishman strolled to a two-shot lead at Royal Aberdeen with rounds of 65 and 66 over the final 36 holes of the Scottish Open. At the Scottish Open, players from both sides of the Atlantic tee it up for a week of links practice before the Open Championship, which boasts one of the deepest fields on the Euro Tour all season. The thirty-fourth edition included some of the big names in golf, including incumbent winner Phil Mickelson, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler, and Luke Donald. Due to Mickelson’s winning streak in the Scottish and British last year, more players, including Rose, were in this edition, bringing more relevance as it now attracted the best players.

2013 Scottish Open

Despite putting himself in a solid position to win, Phil Mickelson’s putting produced more drama than necessary in the final round of the 2013 Scottish Open on Sunday in Inverness, Scotland. On the first hole of the playoff, though, Mickelson didn’t need to put against Branden Grace since he chipped the ball just feet from the hole, resulting in a tap-in birdie and the championship. Mickelson has not won a European title since the Tournoi Perrier de Paris in 1993. Mickelson led Grace by a stroke coming into the tournament’s final hole, but he bogeyed it by three-putting from 20 feet out, requiring extra rounds. In the playoff, he scored a straightforward tap-in birdie after his chip shot on a 607-yard par-5 rolled backwards just past the green. Grace missed a long putt that would have required a second playoff hole, and Mickelson triumphed. Henrik Stenson of Sweden led Lefty and Grace by two shots entering the final round at Castle Stuart Golf Links. Lefty and Grace shot 3-under par on the day, bringing their total to 17-under.

List of winners from 1984 – 2012;

Year Winner Country
2012 Jeev Milkha Singh India
2011 Luke Donald England
2010 Edoardo Molinari Italy
2009 Martin Kaymer Germany
2008 Graeme McDowell Northern Ireland
2007 Gregory Havret France
2006 Johan Edfors Sweden
2005 Tim Clark South Africa
2004 Thomas Levet France
2003 Ernie Els South Africa
2002 Eduardo Romero Argentina
2001 Retief Goosen South Africa
2000 Ernie Els South Africa
1999 Colin Montgomerie Scotland
1998 Lee Westwood England
1997 Tom Lehman USA
1996 Thomas Bjorn (Tied) Denmark
1996 Ian Woosman (Tied) Wales
1995 Wayne Riley Australia
1994 Carl Mason England
1993 Jesper Parnevik Sweden
1992 Peter O’Malley Australia
1991 Craig Parry Australia
1990 Ian Woosnam Wales
1989 Micheal Allen USA
1988 Barry Lane England
1987 Ian Woosnam Wales
1986 David Feherty Northern Ireland
1985 Graham Marsh Australia
1984 Neil Coles England

The Genesis Scottish Open: A Look into its Present and Near Future

Since 2021, the Genesis Scottish Open, previously known as the Aberdeen Standard Investments Open, has been taking place at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian, Scotland. This co-sanctioned golf championship is managed by the European Tour and endorsed by both the PGA and European Tour.

The tournament’s strategic scheduling, just a week before The Open Championship, allows players to acclimate to a top-tier links golf course before vying for the prestigious Claret Jug in golf’s oldest major, The Open Championship. The competition was held at The Renaissance Club from July 7 to July 10, 2022, right before The Open Championship kicked off on July 11. The Genesis Scottish Open is set to continue its annual occurrence, one week prior to The Open Championship, until 2025. By then, it will have been hosted seven times at The Renaissance Club, a fact recently confirmed by the PGA Tour.

For many years, the Scottish Open was held at the esteemed Loch Lomond Golf Club. In 2022, the tournament returned to The Renaissance Club for the fourth consecutive year, following a period of discontinuation and subsequent revival. Despite being a co-sanctioned event, the Scottish Open holds significant importance in the Race to Dubai for the European Tour and the US FedEx Cup Rankings.

The Renaissance Club, established by American Tom Doak, is situated in East Lothian, Scotland, approximately 30 minutes from Edinburgh. This exclusive golf club neighbors Muirfield and Gullane. The course, which opened in 2008, is relatively new compared to other golf courses. Padraig Harrington has recently taken on the role of the club’s “player consultant” for the course, and he will collaborate with Tom Doak on future course design considerations.

Sports fans who enjoy wagering at the best betting sites will be getting ready for an electrifying display of golf at the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open, set to take place from July 13-16. The tournament will feature global golfing star Rory McIlroy, making his eighth appearance in Scotland’s national Open. McIlroy, who has already won his first events of the 2023 season on both sides of the Atlantic, including a maiden Rolex Series title in Dubai, is sure to bring an extra layer of excitement to the event.

“Although there is a star-studed lineup for the Scottish Open, I really fancy Rory McIlroy to win this year’s tournament. The 34-year-old is in great form and the Scottish Open is like a second home to him.” – Luke Andrews, Betting Expert – UK Market.

The field is packed with talent, including World Number One Scottie Scheffler, Major champions Matt Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, and Justin Thomas, defending champion Xander Schauffele, European Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton, and PGA TOUR winners Sam Burns, Max Homa, Im Sungjae, and Séamus Power. Scotland’s number one, Robert MacIntyre, will also be participating.

The Genesis Scottish Open, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR, will take place at the Renaissance Club just a week before The Open at Royal Liverpool. With such a stellar lineup and the beautiful backdrop of the Renaissance Club, this year’s Scottish Open promises to be a thrilling spectacle.

The 2023 Scottish Open has a purse of £7,1600,000 ($9,000,000). In early betting, our bet365 review found it is offering a 12/1 special on Xander Schauffele winning the top prize.

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