McIlroy commits to Scottish Open
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland on the 18th hole during the first round of the 101st PGA Championship held at Bethpage Black. Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America)
Rory McIlroy has confirmed he will prepare for The Open by teeing it up in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick from July 11-14.
Bar a last minute change of heart, he will skip the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Lahinch the previous week, avoiding a run of four events in a row.
The Holywood star will head from Scotland to Royal Portrush and then to Memphis for the WGC-FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind.
He clinched his 23rd worldwide title at The Players Championship in March and will tee it up at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open with one eye on claiming a second Claret Jug and adding to a Major collection which also includes the 2011 U.S. Open and the US PGA Championship in 2012 and 2014.
With his 2014 victory at Royal Liverpool, McIlroy became one of six of the last nine winners of The Open who prepared for their Major triumph by taking part in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open the previous week.
He is joined in that illustrious group by Ryder Cup team mate Henrik Stenson, who lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Troon in 2016 and will also be part of a stellar field at The Renaissance Club this summer.
Now in his 13th consecutive season as a European Tour member, McIlroy is making his sixth appearance at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and his first since 2017 at Dundonald Links.
The three-time Race to Dubai winner will contest the event on the world-famous stretch of East Lothian coastline known as Scotland’s Golf Coast for the first time.
McIlroy will be part of a world-class field, which also includes The 2016 Open Champion Stenson, American star Matt Kuchar, defending Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open champion Brandon Stone of South Africa, and his fellow Rolex Series winners – local favourite Russell Knox and former World Number One Lee Westwood, with further star names to be announced.
This year the tournament will be played for the first time at The Renaissance Club - which was founded in 2008 and nestles on 300 picturesque acres along the Firth of Forth - when it takes its place as the third event in the 2019 Rolex Series, the premium category of tournaments on the Race to Dubai, each with a minimum prize fund of US$7million.
It will once again be followed by the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open, which will be played over the same course, from August 8-11, 2019.
