Weekly Preview: Genesis Scottish Open

Genesis Scottish Open

The Renaissance Club
North Berwick, Scotland

The PGA and DP World Tours head to Scotland for another edition of the Genesis Scottish Open.

It's been just one year since the Scottish Open entered the PGA Tour schedule and it's safe to say it was a good addition. In years past, the lead up to the Open Championship on the PGA Tour was the equivalent of an opposite field event, with mostly non-Open participants in the field because the travel required in a small amount of time to get to the open from say the John Deere Classic, just wasn't worth it. Now we have an event which is near the site of the Open Championship, which means all the stars that are in Europe already, have a place to get ready for the Open. This has led to a stellar field, which this year includes almost all the top players in the world. The interesting thing about this event though is the purse, which is the equivalent of a non-elevated event in the states. I'm sure that doesn't matter much to the players at this point though as most of them have banked so much money this year, money is now a secondary concern. The main goal this week is to get accustomed -- or reacclimated in some cases -- to links-style golf.

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 7:20 PM ET Wednesday.

LAST YEAR

Xander Schauffele shot a final-round 70 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Kurt Kitayama.

FAVORITES

Scottie Scheffler (13-2)

No surprise here as Scheffler is easily the best player in the world right now. The fact that he hasn't been able to close lately is a bit of a concern, but when you are putting yourself in position to win each and every week, the wins are going to follow. Scheffler did miss the cut here this past year, so that's a little concerning as well, but there's no reason to think that he won't be a factor again this week. With that said, I'm not buying in at this price, it's too low considering all the factors.

Rory McIlroy (17-2)

Now that we're back in Europe, we should pay some extra attention to McIlroy. The problem this week is that he's never really fared well at this event. McIlroy has missed the cut here in three of seven starts and he's yet to post a top-10. Perhaps McIlroy uses this event as a tune-up for the Open, or maybe he just doesn't like this venue, but whatever the case, there's no reason to go in on him at this price.

Xander Schauffele (14-1)

He's the defending champion and we're on the same track as this past year, so there's certainly a reason to think he'll play well this week, but I wonder if Schauffele might be starting to get consumed by the chase for his first major. Golfers always want to play well when they tee it up, but sometimes their focus can be elsewhere. Considering Schauffele already conquered this challenge, perhaps he gets caught looking ahead to next week.

THE NEXT TIER

Matt Fitzpatrick (22-1)

Another guy that's assuredly looking forward to next week, but in Fitzpatrick's case, he's more at ease because he already has a major. As for this week, if his track record is any indication, he's in for a good week. Fitzpatrick finished T6 here this past year and T2 the year prior. He's yet to miss a cut at this venue on the current course.

Shane Lowry (29-1)

I hate to take the cliched road and put this many Euro's on the list, but if I'm to go that route, I'd rather do it this week vs. next week as we know the European players are more invested in the Scottish Open than are the players from the states, or at least I'm assuming they are. Anyhow, Lowry hasn't played this event since the venue change five years ago, but prior to that, he generally fared well at this event, which leads me to believe he's fully invested this week.

Wyndham Clark (34-1)

Clark's odds have dropped a bit since they opened, and that's probably due to the public expecting a prolonged hangover from his U.S. Open, but I'm not so sure that Clark will get complacent. Maybe Clark has some Scheffler in him and he just needed a spark? If that's the case, we should see a good effort this week as he posted a T16 here this past year and I dare say he's got a little more confidence this time around.

LONG SHOTS

Ludvig Aberg (50-1)

Aberg continues to play well and put himself in position to win, but as most young players do, he's been falling off late in the week. That will change with experience however and one of these weeks he'll close with style. Wouldn't it be nice to get him at this price when he gets that first win?

Kurt Kitayama (80-1)

I realize he hasn't played his best golf lately, but these are interesting odds for a guy having a breakout season and who finished runner-up here last year. The number seems a little high in my book. Kitayama posted a big win earlier in the season and he hasn't exactly been complacent since. He didn't take off quite yet, but he didn't disappear either. You don't often get odds like this on a guy who knows how to win against strong fields.

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-chosen Pick: Matt Fitzpatrick - This is a bit of a toss-up as I can see the OAD players on Schauffele this week as well, but as I mentioned above, I don't particularly like Schauffele this week. Fitzpatrick checks all the boxes this week, so he's going to be very popular, but he's still the play as long as you have someone of quality to use next week as well.

Moderately-chosen Pick: Shane Lowry - As is often the case when we are playing in Europe, the OAD players are going to lean towards the Europeans and that makes perfect sense. To be honest, I think outside of Schauffele and Fitzpatrick the selections will be all over the map, so take whoever you like and don't worry about that aspect this week.

Lightly-chosen Pick: Ludvig Aberg - Aberg is certainly on the radar of most OAD players at this point, but I dare say that most OAD players aren't ready to use him against a field like this. Keep in mind though that even though the field is stacked this week, the purse is relatively small, so you aren't really taking a big risk using him here. That and there just aren't that many spots left to use him as he'll likely be left out of the playoffs.

Buyer Beware: Xander Schauffele - I've already made the case here, so I won't go too much deeper, but I'll just reiterate that I think Schauffele is reaching a boiling point when it comes to the majors. He might not be there yet, but he's getting there and pretty soon it will be tough to stay in the moment when a major is right around the corner.

This Week: Ludvig Aberg - A few reasons for this pick. First, as you might imagine, I've used just about everyone listed above and my options are limited. Second, Aberg gives me a chance to gain some ground this week as I don't expect him to be on many teams. Third, as mentioned above, there aren't many spots left to use Aberg unless he picks up a win soon, so I might as well give him a shot here.

Previous Results

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Matt Fitzpatrick ($10,800)
Middle Range: Ludvig Aberg ($9,900)
Lower Range: Thomas Detry ($8,700)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

This Week: Thomas Detry - These are the things you can do when your streak is small -- get a little creative. Detry isn't someone that I'd normally peg for this type of contest, but his track record here makes the perfect pick. Detry has played this course at this event five times and has not missed a cut. He finished top-10 here in his past two starts, so he obviously has an affinity for this track.

Previous Results