North Berwick, UK, June 14: In-form American duo Sam Burns and Billy Horschel, along with European Major winners Francesco Molinari and Danny Willett, will add further star power to the world-class field at the Genesis Scottish Open, the third Rolex Series event of the 2022 season.
Scotland’s national open will welcome four of the top five and 12 of the top 20 players in the Official World Golf ranking with the addition of numbers nine and 11, Burns and Horschel respectively. Molinari and Willett join a group of ten Major winners including all four current champions – Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Jon Rahm, who defends his U.S. Open title at The Country Club, Brookline, this week.
The Genesis Scottish Open will be co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR for the first time, as part of a historic Strategic Alliance, when it returns to The Renaissance Club from July 7-10, in the week before the 150th Open Championship.
Burns will make his second appearance at the historic event, following a top 20 finish on his debut at Renaissance Club last year. The 25-year-old has taken his tally of PGA TOUR titles to four with two wins this season, lifting the Valspar Championship trophy for the second time in March, before overhauling a seven-shot deficit and going on to defeat World Number One Scheffler in a play-off at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
“I enjoyed teeing it up at the Renaissance Club last season and this year the Genesis Scottish Open is shaping up to be another great week, especially leading in to The Open at St Andrews,” said Burns, who finished in a share of fourth position at the RBC Canadian Open last week.
Horschel also looks set to arrive in East Lothian in fine form, after winning his seventh PGA TOUR title at the Memorial Tournament earlier this month. Last season he became just the second American – and the first since Arnold Palmer in 1975 – to lift the BMW PGA Championship trophy, capturing his first Rolex Series title in the process.
The 2014 FedExCup winner said: “I was hugely proud to win at Wentworth last season and I would love to add another Rolex Series win on European soil at the Genesis Scottish Open. It’s a great event and it’s a bonus that it is now co-sanctioned by the PGA TOUR too.”
Fellow Rolex Series winner Molinari achieved his greatest career victory in Scotland, the Home of Golf, when he claimed his first Major title in The Open at Carnoustie in 2018. That historic win was part of a stellar year that saw the six-time DP World Tour winner claim five points from five at the Ryder Cup in Paris and go on to become the first Italian to be crowned European Number One.
“My Open victory in Carnoustie was a career highlight, so it’s no surprise that Scotland holds great memories for me,” said Molinari, whose previous Scottish Open results also include a runner-up finish in 2012. “I’ve always enjoyed playing this tournament over the years and it’s exciting that it leads into another Open in Scotland this season.”
Willett’s Major breakthrough came in 2016, when he became the first European for 17 years to win the Masters Tournament. The English Ryder Cup player has also enjoyed recent success in Scotland, winning his eighth DP World Tour title at the 2021 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
“I’m looking forward to getting back to the Genesis Scottish Open this summer,” said the two-time Rolex Series winner. “It’s a tournament that I’ve always enjoyed playing, and I’m excited that it’s co-sanctioned by the PGA TOUR now as well.”
The 2022 Genesis Scottish Open field also includes Major winners Brooks Koepka, Hideki Matsuyama, Justin Rose and Jordan Spieth, the reigning Olympic Champion Xander Schauffele, 2021 FedExCup winner Patrick Cantlay, former European Number One Tommy Fleetwood, multiple DP World Tour winners Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton, defending champion Min Woo Lee and Scotland’s number one male player, Robert MacIntyre.
The Genesis Scottish Open is co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR, counting on both the DP World Tour Rankings and the FedExCup, and boasts a new title sponsor in Genesis, the luxury automotive brand from South Korea.
The tournament benefits from the continued commitment of the Scottish Government, managed by VisitScotland, and retains its place in golf’s global calendar the week ahead of The 150th Open (July 11-17), as part of these agreements through to 2025. The player field will be a split between members of both the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR.
