This Thursday marks the start of the Scottish Open in its fourth edition as a co-sanctioned tournament by the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. Saying that the American circuit is the most powerful in the world is almost stating the obvious, but then, when it comes down to it, it must be proven. Well, in this event, at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, the PGA Tour has certainly made its dominance clear.
Since the tournament was first played in 2022 as a shared event between the two most important circuits in the world, the three winners that have emerged (Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, and Robert MacIntyre) have been from the PGA Tour, including of course McIlroy and MacIntyre, who were PGA Tour players at the time of their victory, although both maintain playing rights on both circuits, and whose access to the tournament came through the category that reserves 75 spots for PGA Tour players.
It is important to emphasise this idea: it is assumed that the best players are on the American circuit and, moreover, the best players from the DP World Tour are gradually joining the ranks of the PGA Tour, but then, in a tournament of this nature, shared, you have to come and demonstrate such prowess with actions, especially when you cross the pond and play on a course where, for example, this tournament has been held in previous years (at the Renaissance since 2019). If you look at the top ten of the three editions already held under both flags, the dominance of the PGA Tour is overwhelming.
In these three editions, a total of 38 players finished within the top ten, and thirty of them were PGA Tour players and only eight from the DP World Tour. Interestingly, the best performance by a DP World Tour player was that second place by Robert MacIntyre in 2023, just the year before becoming a PGA Tour member. Last year, no less, a total of fourteen players finished in the top ten, and twelve of them were from the PGA Tour (MacIntyre, Scott, Aberg, Im, McIlroy, Morikawa, Rai, Theegala, Clark, Conners, Noren, and Perez), with only two from the DP World Tour (Langasque and Mansell). It is a curious fact that Langasque was also a member of the PGA Tour last year, although he entered the Scottish Open through his category in the DP World Tour.
In this regard, it should be noted that the Spanish Armada has not contributed much. In none of the three editions of the Scottish Open shared by the two major circuits has any Spaniard, a member of the DP World Tour, appeared in the final top ten. Alex del Rey, who finished 15th last year, came the closest, although at least the Madrid native had the honour and merit of signing the lowest card of the week, a 62 in the second round… Honour and merit shared with a PGA Tour player, as Justin Thomas recorded the same score in the first round.
