An American takes in golf in Scottish region (5)
I believe the answer is:
angus
'scottish region' is the definition.
(area of Scotland)
'an american takes in golf' is the wordplay.
'american' becomes 'us' (abbreviation for United States).
'takes in' indicates putting letters inside.
'golf' becomes 'g' (phonetic alphabet: alpha, bravo, charlie etc.).
'an'+'us'='anus'
'anus' going around 'g' is 'ANGUS'.
'in' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for angus that I've seen before include "A snug breed from Aberdeen" , "Scots man's name" , "Scot" , "Lamb of God - . . . Dei" , "Steer" .)