Golf Glance: Rory McIlroy defends in Scotland; LPGA, Champions go major hunting

Field Level Media’s Golf Glance provides weekly news and storylines from each of the major North American golf tours.

PGA TOUR

LAST TOURNAMENT: John Deere Classic (Davis Thompson)

THIS WEEK: Genesis Scottish Open, North Berwick, Scotland, July 11-14

Course: The Renaissance Club (Par 70, 7,237 Yards)

Purse: $9M (Winner: $1.62M)

Defending Champion: Rory McIlroy

FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 10:30-11 a.m. (Golf Channel – world feed), 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (GC); Saturday-Sunday: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (GC), 12-3 p.m. (CBS)

Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 2 a.m.-2 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 4:15 a.m.-3 p.m.

X: @ScottishOpen

NOTES: The PGA Tour is co-sanctioning the event for the third consecutive year, with the field including 75 tour players along with a similar number of DP World Tour players. … It is the final event of The Open Qualifying Series, with three spots available into next week’s field at Royal Troon. The top three players who make the cut and are not otherwise exempt will earn spots into The Open. … McIlroy defends his title as he tees it up for the first time since losing the lead on the back nine of the U.S. Open to finish second. No one has successfully defended at the Scottish Open. … Thirty-five players in the field competed at last week’s John Deere Classic. … Cole Rueck will make his PGA Tour debut after recently finishing his sophomore year at Boise State. He earned a sponsor exemption by winning the Genesis Collegiate Showcase at The Riviera Country Club in February. … Thompson is coming off his tournament-record 28-under par 256 at TPC Deere Run to earn his first spot in the Scottish Open. He has three consecutive top-10 finishes.

BEST BETS: Rory McIlroy (+800 at DraftKings) hasn’t played since the U.S. Open, but does have a win among three top-5s while posting top-15 finishes in five consecutive starts. … Xander Schauffele (+900) won the Scottish Open two years ago, his last tournament victory until claiming the PGA Championship this year. His 11 top-10 finishes on tour this year are five more than any other player in the field. … Ludvig Aberg (+1600). … Collin Morikawa (+1600). … Tommy Fleetwood (+2000) and Tom Kim (+2500) are the only players to post top-10 finishes in the event each of the past two years. … Viktor Hovland (+2200). … Robert MacIntyre (+4000) finished second last year and the Scotland native won his maiden PGA Tour event at the RBC Canadian Open last month.

PGA TOUR

THIS WEEK: ISCO Championship, Nicholasville, Ky., July 11-14

Course: Champions at Keene Trace Golf Club (Par 72, 7,328 Yards)

Purse: $4M (Winner: $720,000)

Defending Champion: Vincent Norrman

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 4:30-7:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday: 4-7 p.m. (GC)

X: @ISCOChamp

NOTES: Florida State junior Luke Clanton is in the field after becoming the first amateur on record since 1958 to post consecutive top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. He is also the +900 pre-tournament favorite at DraftKings ahead of Michael Thorbjornsen at +1400. … The 150-player field includes 50 players from the DP World Tour as part of the Strategic Alliance between the tours. The winner will receive a PGA Tour exemption through 2026 for current tour members and through 2025 for non-tour members, along with a DP World Tour exemption through 2026. … The field also includes 42 players who have previously won on the PGA Tour. … Sponsor exemption Neal Shipley was the low amateur at this year’s Masters and U.S. Open.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: The Open Championship, Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland, July 18-21

LPGA Tour

LAST TOURNAMENT: Dow Championship (Atthaya Thitikul, Ruoning Yin)

THIS WEEK: Evian Championship, Evian-les-Bains, France, July 11-14

Course: Evian Resort Golf Club, Champions Course (Par 71, 6,693 yards)

Purse: $8M (Winners: $1.2)

Defending Champion: Celine Boutier

Race to the CME Globe leader: Nelly Korda

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday: 6-10:30 a.m. ET (Golf Channel/Peacock), 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m. (Peacock); Saturday-Sunday, 4-10 a.m. (GC/Peacock)

X: @EvianChamp

NOTES: This is the 11th edition of the event since it was elevated to a major in 2013 and serves as the fourth of five majors this year. … The 132-player field will be cut to the top 65 and ties after 36 holes. … Korda returns after missing her title defense at last week’s Ladies European Tour at Centurion Club due to a dog bite. Korda won six of her first eight starts this season, but has now missed three consecutive cuts for the first time in her career. … Boutier cruised to a six-shot victory over Brooke Henderson last year to become the first Frenchwoman to win the Evian. … The Champions Course opened in 1904 alongside the Hotel Royal. Originally a nine-hole course, it was re-designed in the late 1980s. … Forty-one players in this week’s field will compete in the Paris Olympics next month.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: Dana Open, Sylvania, Ohio, July 18-21

PGA Tour Champions

LAST TOURNAMENT: 44th U.S. Senior Open Championship (Richard Bland)

THIS WEEK: Kaulig Companies Championship, Akron, Ohio, July 11-14

Course: Firestone Country Club (Par 70, 7,248 yards)

Purse: $3.5M (Winner: $525,000)

Defending Champion: Steve Stricker

Charles Schwab Cup leader: Stephen Ames

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Thursday-Friday, 2-4:30 p.m. ET (Golf Channel); Saturday-Sunday, 12-4 p.m. (GC)

X: @KauligChamp

NOTES: This is the fourth of five majors on the Champions tour this season. … The 78-player field includes Stricker along with Wisconsin native Jerry Kelly. Both are seeking to become just the second player to win the event three times. … The field also includes five World Golf Hall of Fame members: Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Vijah Singh Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: The Senior Open Championship, Carnoustie, Scotland, July 25-28

LIV Golf League

LAST TOURNAMENT: Nashville (Individual: Tyrrell Hatton; Team: Legion XIII)

THIS WEEK: Andalucia, Spain, July 12-14

Course: Real Club Valderrama (Par 71, 7,010 Yards)

Purse: $20M Individual, $5M Team (Winner: $4M Individual, $3M Team)

Defending Champion: Talor Gooch (Individual), Torque GC (Team)

2024 Leaders: Players, Joaquin Niemann; Team, Crushers GC

HOW TO FOLLOW

TV: Friday, 7:15 a.m. ET (CW App, LIV Golf Plus); Saturday, 7:15 a.m. (CW Network, CW App, LIV Golf Plus); Sunday, 7:05 a.m. (CW Network, CW App, LIV Golf Plus)

X: @livgolf_league

NOTES: This is the 10th of 14 events on the 2024 schedule, which will be followed by the team championship in Dallas Sept. 20-22. … The 54-player field will compete in a three-day event with shotgun starts. There are 12 four-player teams and two independent wild card players. … Hatton is coming off his first LIV Golf individual title at Nashville. His Legion XIII team will make its debut in Andalucia captained by Spanish star Jon Rahm. … Fireballs GC captain Sergio Garcia was born in Borriol, Castellon, and is an honorary member at Valderrama, which his calls his favorite golf course in the world. … Sixteen players in the field are scheduled to play in next week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon.

NEXT TOURNAMENT: LIV Golf UK, United Kingdom, July 26-28

–Field Level Media