Robert MacIntyre believes the Genesis Scottish Open should remain in its traditional spot on the schedule despite the PGA Tour's planned restructuring.

The Scot argued that the event, co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour, is perfectly positioned as the final tune-up before The Open Championship and should not be moved elsewhere in the calendar.

“I think the Scottish Open has got to be before The Open. I think it will be. I think there will be exemptions. I don’t know, I have not spoken to anybody about it. I personally think The Scottish Open is going to be totally fine, if I’m being honest with you,” MacIntyre told reporters on Wednesday in an interview at The Renaissance Club.

The PGA Tour announced a historic change in the Tour’s structure.

Besides the two-tier system, there will be an ‘elevated’ international series of events that will take place between September and January. The Scottish Open might shift to that time period, as reported by Bunkered.

Ahead of The Open Championship, the Scottish Open routinely attracts many of the game's biggest stars. The event's links-style conditions offer players a valuable competitive test before heading to the final major of the season.

Thus, a change was discouraged by the Scot, who also wished his national open to remain one of the flagship tournaments on the DP World Tour.

“I see it being a Rolex Series/high-end European Tour event. I think it would be a bit mad to put a $20 million event in Scotland when the world we live in today, It’s not the same as America. It’s more realistic,” he added.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy echoed MacIntyre's concerns as he weighed in on the proposed changes.

McIlroy urges PGA Tour to be careful

Speaking on the two-track system, the Irishman talked about the essence of a national open.

"We've got to be careful with that because then these National Opens lose the fabric of what they are, right? You can't call yourself a National Open anymore if it's a closed-off tournament and there's a certain number of guys,” said McIlroy, as per Golfweek.

The Genesis Scottish Open has seen an uplift in its status after the PGA Tour started co-sanctioning it from 2022. The 37-year-old also wanted the same for the Canadian Open.

McIlroy and MacIntyre may differ on many things, but both believe the PGA Tour should be careful not to undermine the identity and traditions that have long defined national opens.

What are your thoughts on MacIntyre’s stance on the Scottish Open? Share them in the comments.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav