Avid golfers are known to be junkies for the game, but they might even blush in appreciation for how all fans of the sport are treated to what the highest level of professional golf is poised to present.

Two weeks. Two continents. Four tournaments. Every field stocked with 156 golfers. It’s everything you’d want and so much more courtesy of the PGA TOUR and the DP World Tour.

It begins with the Genesis Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland, on Thursday, and continues later the same day with the concurrently contested ISCO Championship, the Additional Event in Kentucky. How the familiar host of the former, The Renaissance Club, sets up, what’s up for grabs and more are detailed below.

We all know a college basketball fan or three who has taken vacation days to devote undivided attention to the first round of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament. In fact, it’s expected. The behavior is baked into the familiar phrase that denotes the season – March Madness. Coincidentally, the first two rounds of most PGA TOUR events also are contested on Thursdays and Fridays, so join your friends, neighbors, and/or family members who are doing the same this week and next with what will be golf around the clock.

An obvious benefit is that the Genesis Scottish Open preps our body clocks in the United States. The Renaissance Club is situated on the southern edge of the Firth of Forth, 15 miles or so northeast of Edinburgh. That places it five hours ahead of Eastern Time in the U.S. So, balls will be in the air at 2 a.m. on the East Coast. That’s 11 p.m. Pacific Time. It’s long been a perk for all sports fans on the West Coast because of the time difference, and it applies directly to these two weeks. After this week’s treat, the back half of the fortnight includes The Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, which is in the same time zone as North Berwick.

The Renaissance Club is a par 70 with five par 3s and three par 5s, but each nine is played to a par of 35. This is the seventh year that it’s hosted the tournament, but this is just the fourth edition as an official PGA TOUR stop. Scoring has improved measurably since it debuted as a dual-tour backdrop in 2022, but that’s surprising only because the wind hasn’t howled enough in classic fashion. En route to a field average of just 68.75 last year, all four rounds ranged from 68.45 to 68.98.

With its exposure to the sea, it should be an extreme test, and it actually is, at least analytically. Despite a first cut of rough at two inches and the thickest stuff reaching five inches, hitting fairways and greens isn’t a heavy lift in pursuit of par breakers, but the large targets have yielded the longest and fourth-longest average in proximity to the hole in the last two years, respectively. That’s directly proportional to the shortest average of putts holed among all courses the PGA TOUR utilizes in both seasons, despite winning aggregates of 15-under 265 (2023) and 18-under 262 (2024).

Contributing to the challenge are primarily fescue surfaces that could measure just 10 1/2 feet using a Stimpmeter. They could run another foot, if possible, but that depends on the wind. Early forecasts include a decent push from the west for the first round. It then could swirl counterclockwise until it matches the feel from the opposite direction by the finale. Passing clouds accompanying daytime highs that should reach 70 degrees serve as a compromise. Because relying on long-range predictions for weather is a folly in these parts, the combination of experience, course management, preparation and patience will be at a premium.

The last three exemptions reserved for automatic qualifiers into The Open are reserved for the top three, not otherwise exempt, who make the cut at The Renaissance Club. As of midday Monday, 77 commits to the Genesis Scottish Open have travel plans for the major.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton previews and recaps every tournament. Refer to the timing of his contributions below. He’s also active as @RobBoltonGolf on X where you can connect with him.

• MONDAY: Power Rankings (Genesis Scottish Open)
• TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (ISCO Championship); Fantasy Insider
• SUNDAY: Points and Payouts (Genesis Scottish Open); Points and Payouts (ISCO); Qualifiers

* - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf presented by PGA TOUR Superstore, which also publishes on Tuesday.