{"id":687227,"date":"2026-07-12T06:36:37","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T06:36:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/687227\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T06:36:37","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T06:36:37","slug":"golf-news-rory-mcilroys-plan-leaked-as-pga-tour-stars-face-scottish-open-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/687227\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf news: Rory McIlroy\u2019s plan leaked as PGA Tour stars face Scottish Open ban"},"content":{"rendered":"

The best golfers in the world are currently in Scotland as preparations ramp up for The Open at Royal Birkdale next week\"Rory<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy will hope to claim a second major of the year at next week’s Open Championship(Image: Warren Little\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The world\u2019s best golfers are putting the finishing touches to their preparations for the 154th Open Championship<\/a> as the Scottish Open<\/a> gets underway. Held at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, the event has become the traditional warm-up tournament before golf<\/a>\u2019s oldest major.<\/p>\n

The likes of Rory McIlroy<\/a>, Scottie Scheffler<\/a> and reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark are all in action this weekend, using the tournament as the ideal opportunity to hone their games on a links-style course before tackling Royal Birkdale<\/a> next week. McIlroy claimed victory in the Scottish Open three years ago but has not lifted the famous Claret Jug since 2014.<\/p>\n

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World No.1 Scheffler, meanwhile, will be preparing to defend his Open crown he claimed so emphatically at Royal Portrush last year<\/a> and avoid a first major-less year since 2023. With a big couple of weeks on the way, Mirror Sport has taken a look at the latest talking points from the world<\/a> of golf.<\/p>\n

McIlroy\u2019s secret plan foiled<\/p>\n

In the weeks leading up to this year\u2019s Masters, McIlroy made several low-key visits to Augusta National to play the course. <\/a>That trick paid off, with the Northern Irishman going on to claim a second consecutive green jacket in style.<\/a><\/p>\n

McIlroy has now adopted the same formula ahead of The Open \u2013 although the plan has not stayed a secret for long. The six-time major winner was spotted at Royal Birkdale by golf legend Sir Nick Faldo<\/a>, who used the chance encounter to record an impromptu interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s good to get up here and play early,\u201d McIlroy told the three-time Open winner. \u201cI\u2019ve been trying to do that at every major championship, which is working for me \u2013 try to play a bit of links golf, try to get used to these conditions again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sir<\/p>\n

McIlroy (left) bumped into Sir Nick Faldo (right) while practicing at Royal Birkdale(Image: Ross Kinnaird\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Speaking to the press before the Scottish Open, McIlroy admitted he would have liked his trip to stay under wraps. \u201cBirkdale was definitely just a scouting trip for The Open, for sure,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have liked to have not have it known that I was there, but Faldo couldn\u2019t put his phone away! I love Nick. In fairness, he\u2019s great. I had a good time with him. He walked a few holes with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Warning over Scottish Open ban<\/p>\n

The Scottish Open has long-served as a useful warm-up for the world\u2019s top players before The Open. But some of the sport\u2019s biggest names could soon be banned from taking part.<\/p>\n

\"Rory<\/p>\n

McIlroy famously won the Scottish Open in 2023(Image: Octavio Passos\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Last month, the PGA revealed last month that the PGA Tour<\/a> will be divided into two tiers \u2013 the Championship series, featuring the world\u2019s elite, and the Challenger series. Those who play in the Championship series will be ineligible to compete in Challenger events, meaning the likes of McIlroy could be barred from a range of prestigious tournaments <\/a>from 2028, such as the Scottish Open.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to be careful with that because then these national opens lose the fabric of what they are,\u201d McIlroy warned. \u201cYou can\u2019t call yourself a national open anymore if it\u2019s a closed-off tournament and there\u2019s a certain number of guys.<\/p>\n

\"Scottie<\/p>\n

Scottie Scheffler said the Scottish Open was vital preparation for The Open<\/p>\n

\u201cThese events need to be treated differently than the Travelers Championships or RBC Heritage or whatever else is going to be in the Championship series.\u201d<\/p>\n

Defending Open champion Scheffler agreed, adding: \u201cIt needs to work within the new schedule. It\u2019s an important one that we keep it in the Championship series, just because you get so many guys that come over here and play the week before [The Open].\u201d<\/p>\n

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package<\/p>\n

This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more<\/a>\"Content<\/p>\n

Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.<\/p>\n

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The best golfers in the world are currently in Scotland as preparations ramp up for The Open at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":687228,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[158492,5904,66772,2623,3026,2946,101,2626,56,54,55,10157],"class_list":["post-687227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-augusta-national-inc","tag-golf","tag-nick-faldo","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-scottie-scheffler","tag-sky-sports","tag-sports","tag-the-open-championship","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-us-open-golf"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=687227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/687227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/687228"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=687227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=687227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=687227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}