Rory McIlroy and Bernd Wiesberger, both former champions at The Renaissance Club, were part of a five-way tie for the lead after the opening round of the Genesis Scottish Open. The pair carded 65s to sit at 5-under alongside Tom Kim, Patrick Cantlay and Rasmus Højgaard on a leaderboard compressed by sunshine and calm wind on the East Lothian coast.

Seven players finished one shot back at 4-under, including five-time major winner Brooks Koepka, Min Woo Lee, Kurt Kitayama, Andrew Novak and Michael Thorbjornsen. A further 14 players sat two shots off the lead, among them 2024 champion Robert MacIntyre, major winner Danny Willett and Ryder Cup players Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick.

McIlroy’s 13th straight round in the 60s

McIlroy’s 65 extended his run to 13 consecutive rounds in the 60s at this venue, where the par-70 Tom Doak design measures 7,237 yards. Starting on the tenth, he sandwiched early birdies with bogeys at the tenth and 18th before an 18-foot eagle at the first lifted his round. A birdie at the seventh and a hole-out from off the green at the eighth pulled him into the share of the lead.

“I felt like I drove the ball particularly well and I started to see that at Shinnecock as well a couple of weeks ago,” McIlroy said. “A continuation of putting the ball in play and then once I do that, I feel like I can attack courses and I can set up scoring opportunities. I did that today.

“Overall, good to get my first round of competitive golf on a links golf course, and it’s obviously a great start to the tournament.”

Wiesberger’s resurgence continues

Wiesberger won the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in 2019, setting the tournament record of 262 in the process, and was as low as 380th in the world earlier this year. A win at the Volvo China Open and a third-place finish in Munich last week have signalled a return to form.

After an opening bogey on the tenth, the Austrian birdied five of his next seven holes to turn in 31. Further gains on the first and second made it seven birdies in ten holes before a bogey at the eighth brought him back into the tie.

“I’m in a really good place,” Wiesberger said. “I had a couple of rough years and worked my way through it. Right now, golf feels really nice and easy and now I’ll take as many rounds that feel like this as I can.”

Kim, Cantlay and Højgaard share lead

Kim announced himself at this event with a third-place finish in 2022 and has not finished worse than tied-17th since. He carded six birdies, including four in his last seven holes, against a single bogey. Cantlay went round bogey-free with five birdies, continuing a strong record at a venue where he placed fourth in 2022.

Højgaard briefly held the outright lead in the evening sunshine but could not sustain it. Playing his first competitive round since the end of May, the Dane scrambled well from the rough, eagled the seventh and birdied the 13th and 14th despite wayward driving, before a double bogey at the 16th dropped him back into the tie. A birdie at the par-three 17th steadied the card.

“There’s some really good things going on,” Højgaard said. “I would just like to hit some more fairways. Head to the range, hit a few drivers and see if I can narrow it in a little bit.”

With Koepka, MacIntyre, Fleetwood and Fitzpatrick all within two shots of the lead after 18 holes, the tournament already has the depth of field to produce a compelling weekend at North Berwick.

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