Choi Seung-bin, Ok Tae-hoon, Kim Baek-jun, Lee Jeong-hwan to tee up at Genesis Scottish Open

Choi Seung-bin, Ok Tae-hoon, Kim Baek-jun and Lee Jeong-hwan will compete in the Genesis Scottish Open, a $9 million tune-up event for The Open Championship.

The four South Korean golfers tee off Thursday at Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland — a par-70 layout stretching 7,282 yards — with the tournament running four days. Each is eyeing a spot in The Open; to earn an exemption, a player must make the cut and finish among the top three qualifiers who do not already hold an Open berth.

Choi earned his invitation by finishing tied for seventh at last year's Genesis Championship, the result that secured the entry reserved for the top KPGA Tour finisher. Ok and Kim qualified on the strength of their 2025 Genesis Points standings. Lee enters on a DP World Tour card he received for winning last year's Genesis Championship.

Choi arrived in Scotland six days before the tournament to acclimatize. "I'm just grateful to be playing in this event, given how much I want to compete on overseas tours," he said. "There's a lot of wind here, and the turf is very different from courses back in Korea. I understand the course plays quite firm overall, so I've been focusing on my short game."

Ok, who won last year's Genesis Award, said the overseas experience he gained through the award's perks — including the PGA Tour Q-School final stage and DP World Tour events — had been invaluable. "Playing in different countries and experiencing all kinds of course conditions and weather has been a big help to my career," he said. "This is my first time at the Genesis Scottish Open and my first look at this course, so there will be challenges, but I'll give everything I have until the end."

Lee is making his third consecutive appearance at the event this year. He finished tied for 46th in 2024 but missed the cut last year.

Joining the four KPGA-based players this week are PGA Tour regulars Kim Si-woo, Im Sung-jae and Kim Ju-hyung, who are using the pre-Open warmup to adjust to the time difference and local conditions.

Seven South Korean players are in the field in all: Choi, Ok, Kim Baek-jun and Lee, along with Im Sung-jae (28, CJ Group), Kim Si-woo (31, CJ Group) and Kim Ju-hyung (24, Nike).

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler of the United States and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland headline the field. LIV Golf representatives Jon Rahm of Spain and Tyrrell Hatton of England are also in the lineup.

Defending champion Chris Gotterup of the United States — who has three wins this season, including last week's John Deere Classic — is also in the field, along with fellow Americans Xander Schauffele, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Wyndham Clark, England's Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood, and Norway's Viktor Hovland.