This article is part of our FanDuel PGA DFS Picks series.
Genesis Scottish Open
Course: Renaissance Club (7,237 yards, par 70)
Purse: $8,000,000
Winner: $1,440,000 and 500 FedExCup points
Tournament Preview
When the PGA and DP World Tour announced their strategic alliance back in November of 2020, there were a number of small changes made to enhance the future of both tours going forward. The most noticeable, however, comes this week at the Genesis Scottish Open. This event has been a part of the Rolex Series on the DP World Tour for the last few years and has also become a flocking ground for top players to get their feet wet on links golf prior to the Open Championship. In 2022, the Scottish Open will be co-sanctioned between the PGA and DP World Tours with 75 players from each tour making up almost all of the 160-man field. FedExCup points, Race to Dubai points, and OWGR points will all be awarded so this is a great opportunity for those going for the season long title on both tours to make a big move with a strong showing at The Renaissance Club.
Speaking of The Renaissance Club, this Scottish gem was designed by Tom Doak with some input from Padraig Harrington. The course was carved out of 300 acres of pine forest and features both inland holes protected by trees and some seaside holes exposed to the elements. The Renaissance Club is located right between two legendary Scottish courses in New Berwick and Muirfield, both of which have hosted their share of Open Championships. This week will have the feel of an Open Championship with the best field in the history of the DP World Tour set to do battle on the 50th anniversary of the Scottish Open. A whopping 14 of the top 15 players in the OWGR will be teeing it up at The Renaissance Club.
This will be the fourth straight year that the Scottish Open will be contested at The Renaissance Club. The first three editions saw very good scoring conditions with a lot of rain to soften the golf course and a relative lack of wind. This year's edition calls for much drier conditions and consistent 15-25 mph winds throughout the tournament. That will allow the course to be played more how Doak designed it with balls chasing out both in the fairways and on the greens.
Recent Champions
2021 – Min Woo Lee (Renaissance)
2020 – Aaron Rai (Renaissance)
2019 – Bernd Wiesberger (Renaissance)
2018 – Brandon Stone (Gullane)
2017 – Rafa Cabrera Bello (Dundonald)
2016 – Alex Noren (Castle Stuart)
2015 – Rickie Fowler (Gullane)
2014 – Justin Rose (Royal Aberdeen)
2013 – Phil Mickelson (Castle Stuart)
2012 – Jeev Milkha Singh (Castle Stuart)
Key Stats to Victory
- SG: Off-the-Tee
- SG: Approach
- Scrambling
- Par-3 Scoring Average
Champion's Profile
The Renaissance Club is a challenging driving course. The fairways are narrow, and with the firm conditions we should see more balls chase into bunkers and the long fescue rough. The main thing that the American players need to be wary of is the tight and firm fairways on a seaside links course like this. It takes some time to get used to it, but getting that experience early last year paid off for Collin Morikawa in winning the Open at Royal St. George's the following week.
This year The Renaissance Club will play as a par 70 after the seventh hole was reduced to a 505-yard par 4. The guys that played well in the first three editions all tore up the par 5s, but with now just three long holes that will mean slightly less scoring opportunities. With five par 3rs on the card, I expect that to be a solid factor in determining the champion this week. And who usually plays well on par 3s? The best iron players.
The greens will also be a subject of discussion this week. They are quite big for PGA Tour standards, as most links courses are. The fescue surfaces also feature a lot of humps and hollows that players can use to work the ball closer to the hole locations. If you find yourself on the wrong side of one, however, it can lead to a very difficult two-putt. The greens will run around 11.5 on the Stimpmeter, which is pretty slick for a links course. Tightly mown grass around the greens will allow for creativity from players trying to get the ball up and down.
FanDuel Value Picks
The Chalk
Jon Rahm ($11,900)
Any course that is challenging off the tee is one that the best driver in the world will thrive on. Rahm leads the PGA Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee and total driving. He is also second in GIR percentage and fifth in SG: Tee-to-Green. Rahm has always played well in the U.K. and Ireland in his young career, including a solo seventh at The Renaissance Club last year.
Justin Thomas ($11,800)
Thomas was not good in his first few showings on links golf courses, but he collected a pair of top-10s in his last two starts in the Scottish Open in 2019 and 2021. Thomas has discovered how to control trajectories to play better in windy conditions. He ranks top-20 on the PGA Tour in so many critical stats such as SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach, GIR percentage, scrambling and putts per GIR.
Jordan Spieth ($11,300)
A links course is where a player's creativity can take over and that's exactly the type of scenario in which Spieth thrives. The 2017 Champion Golfer of the Year has never missed a cut in eight appearances at the Open with four top-10 finishes. The firm conditions should allow Spieth to continue to lean on his revamped ball striking. He ranks 29th in SG: Off-the-Tee, 36th in SG: Approach and 20th in SG: Tee-to-Green.
Sungjae Im ($10,500)
Im has terrific value this week and really fits The Renaissance Club perfectly. He ranks 12th in SG: Off-the-Tee, fifth in SG: Around-the-Green, 12th in GIR percentage and second in scrambling on the PGA Tour this season. Prior to a missed cut at the U.S. Open in his last start, Im had made eight straight cuts with six top-25 finishes in that span.
Longer Shots with Value
Ryan Fox ($9,800)
Fox has been on a crazy roll over the last few months. Over a 10 tournament stretch that began which his win at The Ras Al Khalmah Classic, Fox has totaled five top-three finishes and eight top-15s. The New Zealander leads the DP World Tour in birdies per round and is also third in SG: Approach, 20th in SG: Around-the-Green, third in SG: Tee-to-Green and 16th in putts per round.
Chris Kirk ($9,100)
Kirk is ninth on the PGA Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green, and it's hard to find another player close to that number this far down the board. Kirk hits a lot of fairways and has one of the most underrated short games on Tour. He has rested since a T7 at the Canadian Open, which was his third top-15 in his last four starts.
Jordan Smith ($8,900)
You'd be hard-pressed to find many that have struck the ball better in 2022 that Smith. The Englishman leads the DP World Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee and GIR percentage. Smith is also 15th in SG: Approach and eighth in scrambling. He is 12-for-13 this year with a whopping 11 top-25 finishes. Smith played in all three previous editions of the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club.
Edoardo Molinari ($8,300)
Molinari has been very consistent over the last few months. In his last eight starts, Molinari has posted three top-10s and six top-25s. The Italian has been on the of the best ball strikers on the DP World Tour this season, ranking fifth in SG: Approach, seventh in SG: Tee-to-Green and fourth in GIR percentage. Molinari finished T18 last year at The Renaissance Club.
Strategy Tips This Week
Based on a Standard $60K Salary Cap
For some of the WGC events or majors in the U.S. over the past few years, it was easy to not even focus on some of the DP World Tour players. You absolutely can't do that this week, however. The grasses and conditions will play in favor of a lot of those players who have a lot of experience on links style courses. The narrow fairways with fescue grasses also eliminate the bomb and gauge mentality that is perfectly okay using for a lot of normal setups on the PGA Tour. The real prize for the top players is next week at St. Andrews, so don't be surprised at all to see a number of players in the $10,500 and up range miss the cut as they try to work their game back into major championship form.
