Rory McIlroy will headline a deep 2026 Genesis Scottish Open field, with World No.1 Scottie Scheffler also returning and LIV Golf stars Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton set to tee it up at The Renaissance Club.
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned event is positioned as a key tune-up ahead of The Open Championship, offering many of the world’s leading players a competitive test before the season’s final major.
McIlroy, the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open champion, is listed among the leading names for 2026 after the tournament again attracted a high-profile entry list.
Star power across PGA Tour, DP World Tour and LIV Golf
Scheffler and McIlroy are the headline acts for the 2026 edition, returning after strong results in 2025. Defending champion Chris Gotterup is also in the field as he looks to become the first back-to-back winner in the tournament’s history.
Home favorite Robert MacIntyre, the 2024 winner, is also listed to play, adding further intrigue to an event that regularly draws elite talent to Scotland.
The entry list includes a host of major winners and established stars, with Wyndham Clark, Matt Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka, Shane Lowry, Aaron Rai, Xander Schauffele, JJ Spaun and Justin Thomas all named among the notables. Ryder Cup figures Tommy Fleetwood and Ludvig Aberg are also included, reinforcing the tournament’s reputation as one of the strongest non-major fields on the calendar.
Alongside the PGA Tour and DP World Tour contingent, a number of LIV Golf players are set to compete, led by two-time major winner Jon Rahm. The Scottish Open’s co-sanctioned status means DP World Tour members can play, and Rahm is entered after paying outstanding fines linked to his move to LIV Golf in order to return to the DP World Tour.
Rahm must play in five events in 2026 to remain eligible for the Ryder Cup, and the Scottish Open is one of the tournaments he is scheduled to play, with another DP World Tour start later in the year also referenced in the field update.
Hatton, Rahm’s Legion XIII teammate, is also in the field at The Renaissance Club. Their participation means Rahm and Hatton will tee it up in a PGA Tour event for the first time since the 2023 Tour Championship and the 2024 Sony Open in Hawaii, respectively.
Rahm last played the Genesis Scottish Open in 2022, and his return adds another layer of interest given the growing number of LIV Golf players appearing in DP World Tour events.
Other LIV Golfers listed for the Scottish Open include David Puig, Laurie Canter, Tom McKibbin, Adrian Meronk and Victor Perez. The article also notes recent LIV Golf additions to DP World Tour events more broadly, citing Joaquin Niemann’s appearances at the Open d’Italia and BMW International Open, while Sergio Garcia, Carlos Ortiz, Martin Kaymer, Jose Luis Ballester, Elvis Smylie, Branden Grace, Thomas Detry and Abraham Ancer have all featured in at least one of those tournaments.
Why the Scottish Open matters with The Open Championship next
The Genesis Scottish Open is framed as a prime opportunity for leading players to fine-tune their games before The Open Championship, which follows the week after. As of the field update, 12 LIV Golfers are set to play at Royal Birkdale for The Open Championship the week after the Scottish Open.
The schedule detail included in the update also notes that Scheffler will look to defend his Claret Jug at Birkdale on July 16-19.
With McIlroy, Scheffler, the defending champion Gotterup, and a wide range of major winners and Ryder Cup players all entered—plus the added storyline of Rahm and Hatton appearing in a PGA Tour co-sanctioned event—the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open is set up as one of the most significant lead-in events to The Open Championship.
