Genesis Scottish Open - Day One Digest

Rory McIlroy is part of a five-way tie at the top of the leaderboard, Bernd Wiesberger continues to enjoy a run, Bob MacIntyre compares himself to a kettle. and Aaron Rai might just be the nicest man in golf. Here's what you need to know from day one of the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open.

Five tied at the top after day one

Former champions Rory McIlroy and Bernd Wiesberger were part of a five-way tie for the lead on a packed leaderboard after day one of the Genesis Scottish Open.

On a day of glorious sunshine and calm wind at The Renaissance Club, the pair – who have six Rolex Series titles between them – carded rounds of 65 to get to five under and join South Korea’s Tom Kim and American Patrick Cantlay at the summit.

They were all briefly passed by Rasmus Højgaard as the twilight began to set in on the East Lothian coast but the Dane could not hold on and he too finished the day at five under.

Read the round one report here

Is Aaron Rai the nicest man in golf?

At a time where he has been open about his struggles on the course, Pablo Larrazábal revealed that US PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai is a 'true champion' and left a hand-written note of encouragement in his locker the day before teeing up in the Genesis Scottish Open.

We asked both of them about it after their opening rounds, with both men revealing a that it came about after a conversation on the range on Monday.

"I arrived on Tuesday afternoon to my locker after practice and I saw three photos and a beautiful note from a young kid that I saw him grow up on the DP World Tour and now he’s a full member on the PGA TOUR for five years and a Major Champion," said Larrazábal.

"To receive a note like that makes me very happy that I’ve been doing the right things around for the last 19 years."

"A quick conversation, he was very congratulatory on winning the PGA a couple of months ago and I asked him how his season was and he said he was struggling a little bit," added Rai.

"I hadn’t really checked the Race to Dubai so I haven’t really kept track of what players are doing so it was the first that I heard of how his season has been. Then yeah, continued practising but it kind of stuck with me a little bit what he had said.  He’s won nine times and been one of the strongest players on the DP World Tour for 15 years now. I thought, those periods can be extremely difficult for anyone, let alone someone who has been as successful as what he has. I just felt like it’d be a nice little bit of encouragement to write a little note for him."

Read the full article here

Bernd Wiesberger says 'golf is fun' right now

Wiesberger spent much of the day at the top of the leaderboard during the opening round, recording his sixth under par round in a row on the DP World Tour.

Earlier this season he ended a 1,793 day wait to win a ninth DP World Tour title at the Volvo China Open, marking the end to a difficult stretch of mixed form, having retained full playing privileges for this season through a career money list exemption.

He immediately finished with back to back tied 13th place finishes at the Turkish Airlines Open and Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship, before a tie for fourth in Austria. Last week in Munich, he held a share of the 54-hole lead, ultimately finishing in third but taking more positives.

Thursday's opening round was bookended with dropped shots but included seven birdies to set the clubhouse target at five under par.

"I'm in a really good place," he said afterwards.

"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. I feel like I'm playing good, and got another win under my belt. Like you said, last week I finished high in Munich. Nice and comfortable. Hopefully it doesn't go by too quickly but golf is fun right now."

Robert MacIntyre compares himself to a kettle; talks about the importance of acceptance and mindset

MacIntyre sounded in a good place after his three‑under 67, much in thanks to his current mindset.

Back playing in front of home crowds, he was asked about why he thinks the mental side of the game is far more important to him than the phsyical side.

"Everyone knows that I'm like a kettle, always boiling away, ready to erupt," he said. "It's one of them ones where I've just got to, when life is good off the golf course, that's one part, and it's going on the golf course and it's being able to accept... my biggest thing is acceptance. And everyone is the same. If you can accept the bad, you probably won't play many bad rounds of golf.

"And it's like that shot on 18, my last hole there. Hit a lovely five iron, a couple of yards right of the target. I think it's landed just short of the pin on the slope. It's ran all the way down and come back in the bunker. If I'm not in a good head space, I'm going ballistic. How unlucky is that? Yeah, it's a bit unlucky.

"But I know I've got the skill and tools to deal with the next shot, whereas when I'm not in that mind frame, it's like, I'm dead in here, I'm in the worst spot possible. But when the mind frame is the way it is now, I know I can hit those bunker shots. Just go and do it."

Danny WIilett's highlight reel

Danny Willett was a one-man highlight reel on Thursday, holing out from a bunker at the ninth, and then rolling in a putt from off the green in true links style five holes later. He even finished with a birdie from 35 feet.

Even Rory McIlroy gets 'oh no' moments on the golf course....

McIlroy produced a piece of brilliance from the greenside bunker, but he revealed that's not what he thought was going to happen when it came off the club face.