There was just enough wind whipping off the coast of North Berwick, Scotland, to give players something to think about in the first round of the 2025 Scottish Open. Yielding a scoring average just around par, the Renaissance Club welcomed the world’s best with a firm handshake in the final tournament before the final major championship of the season.
Standing atop the leaderboard after effectively navigating their way around the par 70 is a group of four men — Sepp Straka, Jake Knapp, Nico Echavarria and Victor Perez — who all signed for opening 64s to start at 6 under. Knapp, Echavarria and Perez look to enter the winner’s circle for the first time in 2025, while Straka aims to become the third three-time winner this season joining Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler.
“It’s a little bit unpredictable and it puts you in spots where you may be a little bit uncomfortable, and you hit shots that you normally wouldn’t hit,” Straka said. “I think that’s what makes it the most fun. You’ll hit a shot and end up in a place where you never hit the shot before and it’s fun to kind of try to pull that off.”
All four were brilliant on Thursday, especially Perez as the lone man tied for the lead to do so coming out of the afternoon wave. They will need to continue keeping their play up given Scheffler, Ludvig Åberg and Viktor Hovland all stand directly in their rearview mirrors seeking to climb up the leaderboard Friday. The world No. 1 began his tournament with a roar as he rolled in a long-distance eagle putt on his opening hole before he traded three birdies and two bogeys across his final 17 holes.
“It definitely got a bit breezy out there at times, not like it can really blow here but there’s definitely a breeze,” Scheffler said. “That’s something that’s got to be factored in on pretty much every shot. It was a good amount of wind to play on this course. It makes the course play really nice where you get rewarded for hitting high-quality shots and you get punished for hitting some poor ones.”
Meanwhile, Åberg found his stride with his ball striking amid a stretch of play which has been less than inspiring. Scheffler and Åberg signed for 67s without much help from their putters as they ranked outside the top 100 on the greens in the opening refrain.
As for Åberg’s Ryder Cup teammate from Rome, Hovland stole the show in the evening hours with a sensational 66. The Norwegian had it going early and often thanks to a stellar save to start and a birdie bid from outside 50 feet on the par-4 2nd. Birdies came every so often, but it was Hovland’s ability to keep the squares off the scorecard from out of position which ultimately propelled him forward alongside Xander Schauffele and McIlroy, who signed for 68s.
“It was a little bit breezy when we first started, but it was still gettable,” Hovland said. “But now towards the back nine, kind of the last 12 holes we played, it got pretty nice. So really wanted to take advantage of the good conditions.”
The leaders
T1. Sepp Straka, Jake Knapp, Nico Echavarria, Victor Perez (-6): The big Austrian let his short game do the talking on Thursday as he experienced the best performance in said category of his season. A straightforward first nine that featured four birdies and five pars was followed by nine holes that featured a little bit of everything. Straka did not make a par from Nos. 3-8 as he exchanged four more birdies for two bogeys.
“Short game was really nice. I chipped it really well,” Straka said. “Made some putts and I hit the ball OK, driver was a little bit squirrely, but yeah, short game saved me today. The wind picked up around the turn, and when I got the ball in play, my iron play was pretty good and took advantage of it. But a lot of squirrely drives as well. A few up-and-downs saved me. It was a nice way to finish.”
Contenders
T5. Matti Schmid, Marcel Siem, Calum Hill, Marco Penge (-5)
T9. Keith Mitchell, Wyndham Clark, Ryan Fox, Viktor Hovland, Tom Kim (-4)
T14. Scottie Scheffler, Ludvig Åberg, Maverick McNealy, Sam Burns and 15 others (-3)
Scheffler started with a bang and looked well on his way to shooting to the top of the leaderboard. Another circle on his scorecard did not arrive until the par-5 16th, but he turned in 3 under and got as deep as 4 under thanks to a birdie on No. 3 as he played the par 5s in 4-under fashion.
A frustrating run from Nos. 4-6 displayed what links golf can do even to the world’s best. A pair of bogeys sandwiched a par in which Scheffler showed clear frustration on the greens after missing his 8-foot attempt. The putter was the main problem on Thursday, and if able to be figured out, Scheffler should be able to start squeezing more out of his rounds.
“I feel like I could have got a little bit more out of my round,” Scheffler said. “I felt like I did some good things that I didn’t quite get rewarded for after my start but you know, 3-under, I wish I could have had a couple of bogeys back but overall, not too bad.”
Maiden stroll with Morikawa
For the third straight tournament, Collin Morikawa had a different mate by his side. Tapping Billy Foster as caddie for this two-week stretch of links golf, Morikawa acquitted himself nicely by carding an opening 68 highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 3rd.
“It was great,” Morikawa said. “I think he was liking the putts that were dropping. I made quite a few throughout that middle round of the stretch — or middle stretch of the round. But it’s just a lot of fun. He’s obviously got a lot of stories, and I enjoy those. Just asking questions about Seve, Westwood and Clarke and even Fitz. He’s not tried to change my game, but he’s already learned my game and how I need to play out here. And I’ve leaned a lot on him so far through one round, and I’m going to keep doing that the next two weeks.”
2025 Scottish Open updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
- Scottie Scheffler: 4-1
- Sepp Straka: 9-1
- Rory McIlroy: 14-1
- Jake Knapp: 14-1
- Victor Perez: 14-1
- Viktor Hovland: 16-1
- Nico Echavarria: 25-1
- Ludvig Åberg: 25-1
- Xander Schauffele: 25-1
Hovland had every aspect of his game rolling on Thursday, and his 66 felt like the highest scorecard he could have signed. He will have an opportunity to carry the momentum into Friday morning and put a charge up this leaderboard off the easier back nine where birdie chances are abundant. Sitting only two back, Hovland seems more than fair with his 16-1 price tag.