Genesis Scottish Open: Rory McIlroy relishes ‘perfect’ prep for The Open and says event should be national open ‘blueprint’ | Golf News

Rory McIlroy believes the Genesis Scottish Open is the “perfect” preparation for The Open and should be used as a “blueprint” in incorporating national opens into the new PGA Tour schedule.

McIlroy returns to action for the first time since at the US Open and appears at the event for a fifth time in six seasons, with 15 of the world’s top 20 in action at The Renaissance Club ahead of The Open next week at Royal Birkdale.

The PGA Tour will implement a two-tier schedule from 2028, seeing promotion and relegation in place between a ‘Championship Series’ and ‘Challenger Series’, with this week’s event currently the only tournament in Europe co-sanctioned between them and the DP World Tour.

McIlroy has previously spoken out in support of national opens and their importance within the global game, with the six-time major champion keen to see the Scottish Open have a key place in the season but without significant changes to how the field is assembled.

“Since this event has been co-sanctioned, it really has went from strength to strength,” McIlroy said. “You look at the quality of the field this week, you get a great sponsor like Genesis on board. They have kept making improvements to the golf course and facilities each and every year.

“For these strong National Opens, this, to me, is the blueprint of what it can be and what can happen. This is a perfect lead-in to The Open Championship.

“I’ve thought could the Canadian Open become co-sanctioned, leading into the US Open as well. That could be interesting, as well, trying to build out this series of National Opens that have a bit more meaning behind them.

“I don’t know how that fits into the Track 1 and Track 2, but I see this event and I see how well it’s done over these past few years. I definitely I feel like it’s the blueprint for a lot of the other National Opens.”

He then added: “We’ve got to be careful with that because then these National Opens lose the fabric of what they are. You can’t call yourself a National Open anymore if it’s a closed-off tournament and there’s a certain number of guys.

“These events need to be treated differently than a Travelers Championship or RBC Heritage or whatever else that are going to be in the Champions Series. There’s a little bit more nuance with these tournaments for sure.”

McIlroy has based himself primarily in the UK since mid-May, taking a scouting mission to Royal Birkdale last month and a golfing trip to Cornwall ahead of back-to-back links golf events.

“Nice to play a little bit of links golf the last couple weeks and enjoy the run up to obviously this event and The Open,” McIlroy explained. “Always good to be back. It [Scotland] is not home, but feels like home in a way and excited to get a little bit of links golf under my belt these next few days.

“Birkdale was definitely just a scouting trip for The Open for sure. I would have liked to not have it known I was there but [Sir Nick] Faldo couldn’t put his phone away! I love Nick. In fairness, he’s great. I had a good time with him – he walked a few holes with me.

“It’s nice, you start hitting the ball off links turf again and start to play in a little bit more wind. Your links instincts come back, even if it is for fun. The stuff that you’ve grown up with starts to come back to you.

“Obviously Birkdale is a little bit different from what it was back in 2017. Getting an early look at new holes just takes pressure off the start of the week and not feel like you have to play 18 holes any day. If you want to just play nine, you I feel like you can and not feel like you’re underprepared.”

Who will win the Genesis Scottish Open? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage begins on Thursday from 8.30am on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream golf with no contract.

When is The Open live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open in the UK and Ireland, with over 75 hours of live coverage from across the seven days of tournament week at Royal Birkdale.

Live coverage begins at 9am for each of the three practice days, before wall-to-wall action from the final men’s major of the year gets under way at 6.30am on Thursday July 16 on Sky Sports Golf.

There will be at least 15 hours of action on both the first two rounds, with bonus feeds available on Sky Sports+ or the Sky Sports App, with extended coverage then starting at 9am on Saturday July 18 and 8am on Sunday July 19.

Who will win The 154th Open? Watch exclusively live from July 16-19 on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.