This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Genesis Scottish Open
North Berwick, Scotland
The Renaissance Club - Par 70 - 7,237 yards
Field - 160 entrants
Purse - $8M
The Preview
Co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour for the first time, the Genesis Scottish Open now fills the Yahoo DFS lobby with golf contests while an absolutely loaded field in attendance at The Renaissance Club provides more standalone value than any other Open Championship primer maybe ever. However, tame weather conditions in North Berwick could have this par-70 layout playing more like a TPC Deere Run than a St. Andrews, so don't expect too much carnage with a relatively calm breeze in the forecast for Rounds 1, 3 and 4. Although only three par-5s appear on the scorecard here this year, plenty of birdie opportunities are anticipated as GIR percentages skyrocket on these large, but undulating putting surfaces. This isn't exactly a true links-style course, but creativity on approaches can still be tested with essentially no bunkers guarding the center of the necks into The Renaissance Club's greens. Five par-3s further emphasize the importance of stout iron play, which also factors into three-putt avoidance in an effort to find the correct pockets from which to roll the rock.
Recent Champions
2021 - Min Woo Lee (Renaissance Club)
2020 - Aaron Rai (Renaissance Club)
2019 - Bernd Wiesberger (Renaissance Club)
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: Approach/Proximity
Birdie-or-Better Percentage
SG: Off-the-Tee
Three-Putt Avoidance
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Jon Rahm - $46
Rahm comfortably paces the PGA Tour in SG: Off-the-Tee and he's second to only Scottie Scheffler in GIR percentage this season, but the Spaniard also led last year's Scottish Open field in driving distance, GIRs and par-3 scoring en route to his solo-seventh finish. Rahm's driving prowess is so impressive that his average SG: OTT per measured round (1.106) more than doubles that of the 15th-ranked player on Tour in this category, Justin Thomas (.551). Rahm also ranks seventh in three-putt avoidance over his last 24 rounds and his irons were in great shape from 150-plus in his most recent measured event at the Memorial Tournament.
Will Zalatoris - $42
Zalatoris is the only player in this week's field to reside top 10 in both SG: OTT and SG: Approach over their last 24 rounds, and he's second to none in par-4 efficiency during this stretch as well. The 25-year-old broke par all four days in his Renaissance Club debut in 2021, playing the par-5s in 11-under. The flat stick can be a concern with Zalatoris, but he actually gained strokes putting in three of four events from the PGA Championship through the U.S. Open and he's fifth in three-putt avoidance throughout his past 24 measured rounds.
Xander Schauffele - $41
Schauffele finally won a regular old-fashioned PGA Tour event for the first time in what seemed like ages at the Travelers Championship before immediately returning to his quirky winning ways earlier this week, securing yet another odd victory at the JP McManus Pro-Am where he set Adare Manor's course record with an eight-under 64 in Round 1 of 2. Nonetheless, his recent metrics on the PGA Tour speak for themselves. Over his last 24 measured rounds, Schauffele is first in SG: APP, first in par-3 efficiency, first in proximity from 200-plus yards and third in Birdie or Better percentage.
Glue Guys
Tommy Fleetwood - $34
Clicking on a potentially popular Fleetwood rarely lends a warm feeling, but he's back in Europe, and the Englishman went a collective 21-under-par throughout the past two editions of the Scottish Open where he's placed T26-2 since 2020. He's third in proximity from 175-200 yards, fifth in par-3 efficiency and 10th in SG: Putting over his last 24 rounds, and Fleetwood hasn't lost strokes with his irons in a measured event since the first week of March.
Cameron Young - $34
Young is second to only the aforementioned Rahm in terms of SG: Off-the-Tee, but Young also ranks fifth on Tour in one-putt percentage and he's No. 1 in overall proximity over his last 36 rounds, so he makes a ton of birdies as a result of this elite combination. The Renaissance Club's setup should allow for Young to bounce back from a missed cut at the U.S. Open as he continues to make a case for Rookie of the Year honors.
Ryan Fox - $30
The Ras Al Khaimah Classic champion might only have one win under his belt in 2022, but Fox has notched eight consecutive top-15s on the DP World Tour with a trio of runner-up efforts along the way, including last week at the Horizon Irish Open where he fired an eight-under 64 twice. He's No. 1 on the DPWT in birdie average this season, while also ranking second in stroke average, third in SG: Approach and third in putts per GIR.
Bargain Bin
Lucas Herbert - $24
With Scottish Open finishes of T4-T4-T62 since 2019 , Herbert is the SG: Total leader by two full strokes over the past three years at The Renaissance Club, and he paced last year's tournament in both putting average and par-5 scoring. Herbert is right up there with the Denny McCarthys of the world when it comes to hot putters, and the former is now coming off a top-10 performance in Ireland this past week.
Robert MacIntyre - $22
MacIntyre may also have found something in Ireland, rebounding from back-to-back missed cuts at the Porsche European Open and the BMW International Open by tying for 13th at Mount Juliet Estate while racking up 12 birdies across his final 36 holes. He's ninth on the DP World Tour in par-3 scoring and 16th in one-putt percentage, and he also placed T18-T14 back home in Scotland the past two years.
Patrick Rodgers - $20
Rodgers has placed T35 or better in six of seven starts dating back to the Mexico Open, and he just posted the second best SG: Approach performance of his career last week at the John Deere Classic. Over his last 12 measured rounds, Rodgers ranks first in SG: Putting, sixth in proximity from 175-200 yards, sixth in Birdie or Better percentage and eighth in par-5 efficiency.
