Welcome to GOLF.com’s “Seen & Heard” video sequence, wherein we offer you an inside take a look at golf’s greatest occasions via the eyes and ears of our onsite crew. On deck this week: the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Membership in North Berwick, Scotland. Let’s go!
Genesis Scottish Open week began out with an actual bang with the bombshell information on Monday that Keegan Bradley would lead the U.S. Ryder Cup crew as captain for the 2025 matches.
That announcement was making waves greater than 3,000 miles away at The Renaissance Membership, web site of this week’s occasion the place our Sean Zak was desperate to get gamers’ takes on the choice. Zak known as it a “stunning” announcement.
The primary participant to present his ideas was PGA champ Xander Schauffele.
“On the course, he’s intense,” Schauffele mentioned. That’s simply how he competes and the way he’s. I’m positive as a captain he’s going to have form of a combined bag. He gained’t be afraid and can get everybody going. I don’t know if he’s coached or captained some other groups in his life, whether or not it’s his youngsters’ groups or one thing like that, however when somebody is absolutely enthusiastic about one thing, they normally do very well.”
Provided that Bradley remains to be very a lot in kind, because the Nineteenth-ranked participant on the earth and having been snubbed from the U.S. crew for Rome a yr in the past, Zak questioned if Schauffele and different gamers have been serious about the potential for Bradley to be a taking part in captain.
Schauffele couldn’t recall when that had final occurred.
“Yesterday, once I discovered, I believed that is going to be a lot enjoyable. That is going to be chaotic,” Zak mentioned. “And now I wakened at the moment pondering this might be unhealthy. It might be the craziest Ryder Cup of all time.”
On the course, we joined James Colgan who, straight off a flight, performed The Renaissance Membership within the Tuesday pro-am with PGA Tour professional Matt Wallace and DP World Tour member Todd Clements.
His caddie? GOLF multimedia wiz Darren Riehl. (Though Colgan, Riehl and their crew completed useless final within the pro-am.)
It was a baptism by hearth to hyperlinks golf for Colgan, however Zak and Riehl acquired their rounds in at a unique type of UK format: The Bruntsfield Brief Gap Course, the place the greens charges have been free!
Clad in hoodies and shorts, our crew loved the pitch and putt course earlier than heading to a close-by tavern for Riehl to get pleasure from his first ever Tennents Lager, a Scottish delicacy.
Earlier than calling it a day, Zak headed again to North Berwick and walked up the 18th gap of the namesake membership’s West Hyperlinks, one in every of his favourite locations on earth, he mentioned.
To compensate for all of the GOLF crew’s actions in Scotland, take a look at the complete playlist under — and keep tuned for extra Seen & Heard all through the week.