Rory McIlroy will be hoping to bounce back at the Renaissance Club this weekend, as the Irishman looks to defend his title at the Scottish Open.
This week’s co-sanctioned DP World and PGA Tour event in North Berwick marks McIlroy’s first competitive action since his agonising loss at the U.S. Open last month which saw him register three bogeys in his final four holes to blow the chance of ending his 10-year wait for a fifth major.
There a strong field standing in the way of a winning return for McIlroy, including 2022 champ Xander Schauffele, the in-form Ludvig Åberg and two-time major winner Collin Morikawa.
The 2023 Scottish Open runs from Thursday to Sunday. Keep reading to find out the best live TV streaming services to use to watch each day of the tournament live wherever you are in the world.
Rory McIlroy birdied his final two holes to beat Robert MacIntyre by a single shot in last year’s Scottish Open.
What is the US TV schedule for the Scottish Open?
ESPN Plus provides full live coverage of all of the action on Thursday through to Sunday.
The Golf Channel and Peacock will also have a live simulcast of the action from 10:30 a.m. until 1:30 a.m. ET for rounds 1 and 2 on Thursday and Friday.
On Saturday and Sunday, the Golf Channel has early coverage from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. on both days, before coverage switches over to CBS for the key final play of rounds 3 and 4 from 12 p.m. until 3 p.m.
CBS coverage will also be available to stream via Paramount Plus.
Here’s the full TV schedule (all times ET):
Thursday and Friday
- 2:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. on ESPN Plus
- 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Peacock and The Golf Channel
Saturday and Sunday
- 4:30 a.m. – 3 p.m. on ESPN Plus
- 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. on Peacock and The Golf Channel
- 12 p.m. – 3 p.m. on CBS and Paramount Plus
How to watch the Scottish Open online from anywhere using a VPN
If you find yourself unable to view the tournament locally, you may need a different way to watch the Scottish Open — that’s where using a VPN can come in handy. A VPN is also the best way to stop your ISP from throttling your speeds on game day by encrypting your traffic, and it’s also a great idea if you’re traveling and find yourself connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you want to add an extra layer of privacy for your devices and logins.
With a VPN, you’re able to virtually change your location on your phone, tablet or laptop to get access to the game. Most VPNs, like our Editors’ Choice, ExpressVPN, make it really easy to do this.
Using a VPN to watch or stream sports is legal in any country where VPNs are legal, including the US, UK and Canada, as long as you have a legitimate subscription to the service you’re streaming. You should be sure your VPN is set up correctly to prevent leaks: Even where VPNs are legal, the streaming service may terminate the account of anyone it deems to be circumventing correctly applied blackout restrictions.
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ExpressVPN is our current best VPN pick for people who want a reliable and safe VPN, and it works on a variety of devices. It’s normally $13 a month, but if you sign up for an annual subscription for $100 you’ll get three months free and save 49%. That’s the equivalent of $6.67 a month with code SPECIALDEAL, which should be automatically applied.
Note that ExpressVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Livestream the Scottish Open in the US
As mentioned above, streaming service ESPN Plus will have live coverage of the entirety of the Scottish Open, while linear TV coverage will be shared between The Golf Channel and CBS. Peacock will also showing early action from all four days, while Paramount Plus will simulcast CBS coverage on Saturday and Sunday.
Four of the major live TV streaming services offer CBS. The catch is that not every service carries every local network affiliate, so check each one using the links below to make sure it carries CBS in your area.
CBS is showing the later parts of the last two rounds over the weekend, which means you can stream that coverage via Paramount Plus.
Paramount Plus has two main subscription plans in the US: Essential for $6 a month and Premium for $12 a month. Both offer coverage of theScottish Open 2024.
The cheaper Essential option has ads for on-demand streaming. It also lacks live CBS feeds and the ability to download shows to watch offline later. Newcomers can take advantage of a 30-day free trial, while students may qualify for a 25% discount. Black Friday savings are also still available, though we don’t know how long for.
Read our Paramount Plus review.
Peacock offers two Premium plans. The ad-supported Premium plan costs $6 a month, and the ad-free Premium plan costs $12 a month. You can use either Premium plan to watch the tournament.
Four of the major live TV streaming services offer The Golf Channel.
Livestream the Scottish Open in the UK
Golf fans in the UK can watch the tournament live on Sky Sports. The tournament will be broadcast on its Sky Sports Golf channel. Coverage begins at 8 a.m. BST on Thursday and Friday, while it’s a 10 a.m. start on Saturday and Sunday.
Viewers in the UK will be able to watch the Scottish Open on Sky Sports Golf, with extensive coverage of each day’s play. Subscribers can also stream the action via the Sky Go app. Sky subsidiary Now (formerly Now TV) offers streaming access to Sky Sports channels with a Now Sports membership. You can get a day of access for £12 (perhaps just for the final round), or sign up to a monthly plan from £35 per month to watch all four days of the tournament.
Livestream the Scottish Open in Australia
The Scottish Open can be watched Down Under on Fox Sports via Foxtel. If you’re not a Fox subscriber, your best option is to sign up for streaming service Kayo Sports.
A Kayo Sports subscription starts at AU$25 a month and lets you stream on one screen, while its Premium tier costs AU$35 a month for simultaneous viewing on up to three devices.
The service gives you access to a wide range of sports including F1, NRL, NFL, NHL and MLB, and there are no lock-in contracts.
Better still, if you’re a new customer, you can take advantage of a one-week Kayo Sports free trial.
Quick tips for streaming the Scottish Open using a VPN
- With four variables at play — your ISP, browser, video streaming provider and VPN — your experience and success when streaming the Scottish Open may vary.
- If you don’t see your desired location as a default option for ExpressVPN, try using the “search for city or country” option.
- If you’re having trouble getting the tournament after you’ve turned on your VPN and set it to the correct viewing area, there are two things you can try for a quick fix. First, log into your streaming service subscription account and make sure the address registered for the account is an address in the correct viewing area. If not, you may need to change the physical address on file with your account. Second, some smart TVs — like Roku — don’t have VPN apps you can install directly on the device itself. Instead, you’ll have to install the VPN on your router or the mobile hotspot you’re using (like your phone) so that any device on its Wi-Fi network now appears in the correct viewing location.
- All of the VPN providers we recommend have helpful instructions on their main site for quickly installing the VPN on your router. In some cases with smart TV services, after you install a cable network’s sports app, you’ll be asked to verify a numeric code or click a link sent to your email address on file for your smart TV. This is where having a VPN on your router will also help, since both devices will appear to be in the correct location.
- And remember, browsers can often give away a location despite using a VPN, so be sure you’re using a privacy-first browser to log into your services. We normally recommend Brave.
