Mid-July in professional golf has its own particular feeling. The links are calling, the weather (usually) turns properly miserable in the way only the British Isles can manage, and everyone’s attention starts drifting toward The Open Championship. This week delivered on that promise — Tom Kim won in Scotland, Haeran Ryu won in France, and Royal Birkdale is now just days away.
DP World Tour: Genesis Scottish Open — Tom Kim Claims Fourth PGA Tour Title
Tom Kim won the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open at -17 under par, his fourth PGA Tour victory and a result that sends him into next week’s Open Championship with real momentum. The win was convincing enough that it’s hard to argue he isn’t one of the players to watch at Birkdale.
One detail worth noting: Kim’s winning bag included a rare blade putter, which most modern players have moved away from in favor of mallets. It’s an old-school choice that requires genuine feel to pull off, and Kim holed the putts that mattered. Whether that translates to links golf next week is an interesting question, but he clearly trusts it.
The Scottish Open has always worked well as an Open warm-up, and Kim leaves it in better shape than just about anyone else in the field heading to Birkdale.
LPGA Tour: Evian Championship — Haeran Ryu Wins as TaylorMade’s Major Driver Streak Continues
Over in Évian-les-Bains, Haeran Ryu won the Evian Championship — one of five major championships on the women’s calendar. It was a controlled, patient performance, the type that doesn’t always generate big highlights but tends to hold up under pressure.
On the equipment side, TaylorMade’s run of driver wins at majors kept going with Ryu’s victory. At this point the streak is long enough that it’s worth paying attention to — whether it’s down to their ongoing engineering refinements, fitting, or simply the best players in the world choosing the same equipment, they keep showing up at the top of leaderboards when it matters most.
For Ryu, though, the equipment story is a footnote. She won a major championship at one of the more scenic venues in women’s golf, with the Alps in the background. That’s what she’ll remember.
Golf News: The Open Championship Is Here — Scheffler and McIlroy Lead the Conversation
The Open Championship begins at Royal Birkdale on July 16, and the betting markets have Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy as co-favorites. That feels about right.
Scheffler has been the most consistent player in the world for the better part of two seasons — it’s not that he plays robotically, it’s that he manages his game with a clarity that most players can’t sustain over 72 holes. McIlroy comes with a different kind of weight. A links course, a British crowd, a major title on the line — he thrives on that setting, and the people who turn out to watch him know it.
For the full Open Championship TV schedule, streaming details, and tee times, coverage starts Thursday. Worth planning ahead.
The Human Side: Aaron Wise and Golf’s Ongoing Conversation About Mental Health
While Charles Barkley was getting plenty of attention on social media for a very memorable reaction to a wayward shot, Aaron Wise was the more quietly significant story of the week. Not the scorecard version — the person behind it.
Golf tends to demand a certain stoicism from its players. You miss a short putt in front of thousands and the expectation is that you just walk to the next tee and keep going. Wise’s story this week looks honestly at what that costs, and what it takes to actually examine it rather than push through. His comeback is worth following — not for the birdies, but for the fuller picture of what a professional career in this sport actually looks like.
Around the Game: Bears, Birkdale, and the Business of Golf
The viral moment of the week went to a bear — more than one, actually. Reddit’s r/golf community called them the “bag bears,” and the videos spread fast. They helped themselves to golf bags with remarkable confidence and zero concern for the situation. Honestly, good for them.
On the facility side, The Kingdom at The Grove opened in Hertfordshire, UK — a TaylorMade-partnered fitting and performance center that’s positioning itself as the most advanced of its kind outside the United States. Worth knowing about if you’re a serious player on this side of the Atlantic looking to get properly fitted.
And the 43rd Annual Play Golf Myrtle Beach World Amateur Championship has hit its full 3,000-player field, with an alternate list now open. Three thousand amateurs playing golf with no world rankings or prize money on the line — just the game itself. That number says something about where the sport actually lives.
Royal Birkdale is ready. Thursday isn’t far off.
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