RORY McILROYWorld ranking — 2Best finish at Scottish Open: Winner (2023)The most globally popular player on the planet, McIlroy will once again be the star man this week and the biggest draw for the crowds at The Renaissance. His record in this event over recent years is outstanding; winner in 2023, tied for 4th in 2024, tied for 2nd in 2025. Who could ever forget the 2-iron stinger he hit on the final hole on his way to victory three years ago? McIlroy started his season by winning a second successive green jacket at the Masters and will be a strong contender once again this week in East Lothian. Rory McIlroy will be the main attraction at the Renaissance Club World No 1 Scottie Scheffler will have his sights fixed on a first Scottish Open titleSCOTTIE SCHEFFLERWorld ranking — 1Best finish at Scottish Open: Tied 3rd (2023)Any doubts about Scheffler’s ability to play links golf were disabused in emphatic fashion when he won The Open Championship at Royal Portrush last summer. That victory came during the most dominanttwo-year run compiled by any player since prime Tiger Woods. He is likely to view this as largely a tune-up prior to his defence of the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale next week. But such is his ability, he will almost certainly still be in contention come Sunday, even if he does experiment with some shots a little more often.CHRIS GOTTERUPWorld ranking —7Best finish at Scottish Open: Winner (2025)IF you are going to the Scottish Open this week and you only do one thing, go and watch Gotterup smash it with driver. Watching him muscle a ball 350 yards down the middle of a fairway is quite incredible. That power saw him dismantle the course in the second round last year, carding a nine-under-par round of 61 to equal the course record. That paved the way for a deserved win which saw him hold off McIlroy and several others. Now looking to defend his title, he is in excellent form given that he won the John Deere Classic last weekend.MATT FITZPATRICKWorld ranking — 4Best finish at Scottish Open: Tied 2nd (2021)Fitzpatrick is a consistent performer at the Scottish Open, with two top-10 finishes in the past four years. He is enjoying an excellent season, with three wins already on the PGA Tour. What makes Fitzpatrick such a danger is his natural affinity for links golf and his accuracy. He leads the PGA Tour in strokes gained from around the green, indicating a razor-sharp short game, and sits second in the category for strokes gained for his approach play. All of this should make him a serious contender in East Lothian and next week at Birkdale. Matt Fitzpatrick boasts a good Scottish Open record and enjoys links golf Home favourite Bob MacIntyre won this event two years ago and will have plenty of supportBOB MacINTYREWorld ranking — 20Best finish at Scottish Open: Winner (2024)MacIntyre started the season inside the world’s top 10 but has since seen his ranking fall to 20. It hasn’t been disastrous by any stretch, and there is still plenty of time for him to come good, but he’s still searching for his best golf. He became a father for the first time back at the start of the year and such a major change in personal circumstances has definitely taken time to adapt to. But this could be the week where he catches fire. He won his home event two years ago and few would back against him being right in contention.JON RAHMWorld ranking — 11Best finish at Scottish Open: 7th (2021)Rahm is back playing in this event for the first time since 2022 and the uncertainty over LIV Golf continues to cast a cloud over his future. But there’s no doubt he remains a class act on his day and has more than enough game to contend this week. He also has a pretty good record around links tracks in the past.Other notable mentions: Ludvig Aberg, Ewen Ferguson, Tommy Fleetwood, Wyndham Clark, Tyrrell Hatton, Viktor Hovland, Aaron Rai, Shane Lowry, Adam Scott, Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka.