Weekly Preview: Genesis Scottish Open

Genesis Scottish Open

The Renaissance Club
North Berwick, Scotland

The PGA Tour -- along with the DP World Tour -- heads to Scotland for the latest edition of the Scottish Open.

For those that didn't expect to see this event on the PGA Tour schedule, yes you read that right. The Scottish Open is now considered -- at least partially -- a PGA Tour event. What that means of course is that most of your fantasy leagues will be including this tournament. What it also means is we won't have to go consecutive weeks of fields that are, uh, less than ideal. The Barbasol Championship will be held this week as well, but as usual, most of the focus will be on the main event. 

The Scottish Open is hardly a new event, but for many fantasy players and bettors it may as well be, as most of us aren't following the DP World Tour as closely as the PGA Tour. We have a mixed bag of course history, which is always interesting. This will be the fourth consecutive year this tournament is played at The Renaissance Club, so for those (mostly European) golfers who have played here over the past three years, we should have a feel for how they might perform. For everyone else, well, it's all about recent form. 

However it turns out, it should be fun. You can stay up late to catch the first tee times or wake up early to catch the late tee times. It's a nice change of pace that only happens once -- or rather, twice -- a year.

All odds via golfodds.com as of 9:00 PM ET Tuesday.

LAST YEAR

Min Woo Lee shot a final round 64 on his way to a playoff victory over Matt Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry.

FAVORITES

Jon Rahm (12-1)

We are running out of time for Rahm to make anything of his season. Sure, he picked up a victory a couple months ago, but so much more was expected. A win in Scotland would make his numbers look better, but nothing outside of an Open Championship win will salvage things. As for this event, Rahm's prospects look good, as he posted a T7 here last year. However, at this rate, there's simply not enough value.

Scottie Scheffler (12-1)

Scheffler is the opposite of Rahm, having already exceeded expectations for his season regardless of what happens over the next two months. With that said, I don't see Scheffler as the type to relax now that he's hit so many goals. He has cooled from his insane early-2022 pace, but he has been a factor even when not winning. Scheffler recorded a T12 in the last edition of this event and should be considered on a win ticket, even at a short price.

Justin Thomas (14-1)

Isn't this great? Up until this year, the tournament held the week before the Open Championship was usually a dud, but that's no longer the case with all these big names on hand. Thomas enters this week off a disappointing showing at the U.S. Open, but I don't expect that result to hamper him moving forward. He finished top-10 two of the past three years here.

THE NEXT TIER

Matt Fitzpatrick (20-1)

As is the case with all first-time major winners, it will be interesting to see how Fitzpatrick responds. My hunch is that he's not a guy who will relax, and that his big win will likely spawn more of those in the years to come. Whether that starts this week is the question though. He did finish T2 here last year, but prior to that he finished T42 and T14. That's a good but not great track record at this course. With that said, a confidence boost via his U.S. Open win could open the floodgates.

Will Zalatoris (25-1)

Zalatoris has played well in the majors this season, and while this isn't a major, it kind of has a feel of one with the star power and the Open Championship right around the corner. Perhaps Zalatoris can put on his "major" cap and play some big-time golf again. I've been saying it's only a matter of time before he wins for a while now, and yes, it's getting a little old. But seriously, he has to break through soon, right? Once he does, the days of getting him at 25-1 will be long gone.

Collin Morikawa (25-1)

Much like Rahm, this season has been a disappointment for Morikawa. On the bright side, he played some quality golf at the U.S. Open and appears to be trending in the right direction. He didn't fare well in his debut here last year, but we can chalk that up to getting acquainted with his surroundings. With a year under his belt and his game coming around, look for Morikawa to make a run.

LONG SHOTS

Tommy Fleetwood (40-1)

For years it seemed we had Fleetwood pegged as a grinder who would play well in the majors and maybe not elsewhere. However, in recent years he's become harder to predict, as he's no longer a lock to show up at the biggest events. Not surprisingly, though, Fleetwood's best showing this season was at a major, as he finished T5 in the PGA Championship. While this isn't a major, he will be close to his home turf, and his track record -- a T26 and a runner-up -- on this course is solid.

Lucas Herbert (60-1)

Herbert has a couple things going for him. The first is his history here: Herbert placed top-5 each of the past two editions at this event. In addition to that, he picked up a PGA Tour win earlier in the season and fared pretty well at the PGA Championship in May.

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-owned Pick: Matt Fitzpatrick - A lot of OAD players will be on Fitz, as those who haven't used him will be hesitant to use him at the Open Championship given how hard it is to win consecutive majors. My only question about him is his mindset on the heels of a big win, but as I mentioned before, I think he's pretty level-headed and should be fine.

Moderately-owned Pick: Will Zalatoris - His popularity this week might come down to his availability in most leagues. If OAD players have him to use, this looks like a good spot, but then again, he's proven to be so reliable at the majors, perhaps some will wait one more week to deploy him.

Lightly-owned Pick: Tommy Fleetwood - Fleetwood is not having a great season, but I have a feeling he's going to play well both this week and next. He knows his way around this course and should undoubtedly feel more comfortable in Europe. As for his usage this week, I think he's fallen off the radar for most OAD players, so this play has the potential to be huge if you need to make up ground.

Buyer Beware: Jordan Spieth - Spieth hasn't been the same since winning the RBC Heritage and following that up with a runner-up at the Byron Nelson. His game hasn't fallen off of a cliff, but you can tell he doesn't have that extra gear right now. If anyone in the field is looking at this event as more of a tune-up for the Open Championship, it's Spieth.

Last Week: Sahith Theegala - T14 - $97,803

Season Total: $10,118,765

This Week: Tommy Fleetwood - This wasn't my top pick, but with nine events left, I have to plot out my picks somewhat the rest of the way. Using Fleetwood here leaves Rahm, Hovland and Fitzpatrick available for the stretch run. I thought about using Fitzpatrick, but he's going to be very popular and I'm not sure what to expect from him. I'd love to use Hovland here, but I need him to show some better form before I can use him in this format.

FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Will Zalatoris ($11,200)
Middle Range: Tommy Fleetwood ($10,600)
Lower Range: Erik van Rooyen ($8,600)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

Last Week: Charles Howell III - T13

Streak: 4

This Week: Tyrrell Hatton - Hatton has a very strong track record at this event and while he was better on the previous courses, he's been pretty good on this one. Hatton has finished T18 and T14 in his two starts at this event, on this course.