Genesis Scottish Open 2025 Picks, Best Bets and Golf Odds:
Brian Campbell first made the PGA Tour in 2017 but was unable to keep his card. He spent the next seven seasons battling injuries and just trying to stay on the Korn Ferry Tour. Now, Campbell is a two-time winner on the PGA Tour.
For the second time this season, Campbell won in a playoff. In February, he defeated Aldrich Potgieter, the winner two weeks ago in Detroit, in a playoff at the Mexico Open. This past weekend, the 32-year-old journeyman outlasted Emiliano Grillo in extra holes to take his second PGA Tour title at the John Deere Classic. Campbell, priced as high as 400-1 at ESPNBET, now moves up to 28th in the FedEx Cup Standings and No. 55 in the Official World Golf Rankings.
The Midwest swing takes a break for most of the top players (some are playing the ISCO Championship in Louisville, Ky.) as many travel to Scotland for Genesis Scottish Open event that is co-sanctioned by the PGA and DP World Tours.
Next week is the British Open at Royal Portrush, and all of the major champions for the 2025 season are in Scotland this week to prepare for the following week’s final major. Scottie Scheffler (+360), the PGA champion, and Rory McIlroy (+750), the Masters champion and 2023 winner of this event, are typically atop the odds board, and this week is no exception. U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun (60-1) is also in the field this week.
Tommy Fleetwood (22-1), who lost the 2020 Scottish Open playoff to Aaron Rai (70-1), is making his first appearance since giving away what would have been his long-awaited first PGA Tour victory at the Travelers Championship three weeks ago.
Xander Schauffele (20-1) was the winner of the Scottish Open three weeks ago and is looking for a good outing in preparation for his defense of the Claret Jug next week at Royal Portrush.
Speaking of title defenses, Robert MacIntyre (33-1) is doing just that this week as the winner of last year’s Scottish Open.
Collin Morikawa (25-1), Ludvig Åberg (30-1), Justin Thomas (35-1) and Viktor Hovland (35-1) make up the next rung on the odds board.
The Event
The Genesis Scottish Open has been a signature event on the European Tour (now DP World Tour) since 1986. It is part of the five-event Rolex Series on the DP World Tour. However, in 2022, it became a co-sanctioned event between the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour. Genesis Motor, LLC, which is the luxury car division of South Korean vehicle manufacturer Hyundai, took over as the title sponsor for the event. With the new sponsor and the partnership with the PGA Tour, the purse increased to $9 million.
The Scottish Open began in 1972 as part of the inaugural European Tour season but ceased to exist as an event from 1974 to 1985. In 1986, the tournament returned and has been a mainstay on the schedule ever since, rotating through many of the great courses in Scotland. Previous winners include Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els, Ian Woosnam, Justin Rose, Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Rickie Fowler, Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Retief Goosen and Tom Lehman.
Aside from the prestige of winning this event and the competitive preparation of playing in a competitive event on a links-style course the week preceding the Open, like last week, the top three finishers here (that are not already qualified) earn spots into next week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
The Field
The 156-player field at this week’s Genesis Scottish Open is split evenly between the PGA Tour members and DP World Tour members.
Eight of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Rankings are in this week’s group.
The low 65 players and ties make the weekend cut.
The Course
The Renaissance Golf Club will play host for a seventh consecutive year and is scheduled to host through 2026. The course is in Dirleton, North Berwick, Scotland, which is located about 20 miles east of the capital city Edinburgh. Renaissance was designed in 2008 by American Tom Doak, and the course is located next to Muirfield, which is a regular track on the British Open rotation. It is a modern links course that is going to play at 7,282 yards for the par 70.
Renaissance is not a pure classic links course instead, it is more of a hybrid of a parklands, heathlands and links course.
The links-like qualities here include 83 pot bunkers, zero water holes and extremely firm turf.
The course agronomy is Fescue throughout, including the large, 7,000-square-foot greens, which will roll at a slow 10 on the stimpmeter. The rough (up to five inches in some spots) is also a little thicker here than most links-style or pure links courses that you will find in the U.K.
Here is the official scorecard for this week’s Genesis Scottish Open courtesy of PGATOUR.com:
Golf Digest provides us with a hole-by-hole flyover of the Renaissance Golf Club.
Weather
The AccuWeather forecast looks ideal and certainly provides a respite for the players who have been playing in hot and humid conditions stateside. These conditions likely indicate that we should expect better scoring as opposed to 2020 and 2022 with much windier conditions.
Genesis Scottish Open Recent History
The Genesis Scottish Open was moved to Renaissance beginning in 2019 and is scheduled to be held here through 2026.
2024: Robert MacIntyre (-18/262); 40-1
2023: Rory McIlroy (-15/265); 8-1
2022: Xander Schauffele (-7/273); 18-1
2021: Min Woo Lee (-18/266); 100-1*
2020: Aaron Rai (-11/273); 50-1**
2019: Bernd Wiesberger (-22/262); 40-1***
Playoff Win over Matt Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry – *
Playoff Win over Tommy Fleetwood; Event Held in October – **
Playoff Win over Benjamin Hebert – ***
Statistical Analysis
The greens at Renaissance are large and fairly easy to hit. However, because the greens have a variety of slopes and undulations, players have to hit the greens on the proper sides. Last year, 13 of the top 17 players gained at least 1.6 total strokes on approach. In 2023, six of the top seven on the leaderboard gained at least 2.3 with their irons.
Strokes Gained: Approach — Average Per Round (2025 PGA Tour season)
- Scottie Scheffler 1.283
- Sepp Straka 0.922
- Viktor Hovland 0.896
- Collin Morikawa 0.800
- Henrik Norlander 0.770
- J.J. Spaun 0.684
- Tommy Fleetwood 0.622
- Nick Taylor 0.583
- Lee Hodges 0.566
- Justin Thomas 0.563
- Nicolai Højgaard 0.559
- Ryan Gerard 0.531
- Xander Schauffele 0.520
- Tom Hoge 0.493
- Daniel Berger 0.487
- Ryan Fox 0.484
- Bud Cauley 0.481
- Antoine Rozner 0.465
- Joel Dahmen 0.459
- Kevin Yu 0.432
With half of the field being from the DP World Tour, I will include some numbers from there as well.
Strokes Gained: Approach — Average Per Round (2025 DPWT season)
- Haotong Li 1.17
- John Parry 0.95
- Eugenio Chacarra 0.91
- Martin Couvra 0.84
- Brandon Stone 0.82
- Ryan Fox 0.78
- Laurie Canter 0.60
- Thorbjørn Olesen 0.60
- Richie Ramsay 0.60
- Francesco Laporta 0.57
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 0.52
- Nacho Elvira 0.52
- Frederic LaCroix 0.47
- Connor Syme 0.46
- Daniel Hillier 0.44
- Adrien Saddier 0.40
- Thriston Lawrence 0.39
- Andy Sullivan 0.38
- Jacques Kruyswijk 0.38
- Ashun Wu 0.38
Driving distance over the last two years has averaged 294 yards at Renaissance and the course can play a little longer than its yardage.
Average Driving Distance (2025 PGA Tour season)
- Aldrich Potgieter 328.4
- Rory McIlroy 320.6
- Niklas Norgaard 319.3
- Jesper Svensson 318.8
- Chris Gotterup 316.5
- Rasmus Højgaard 315.2
- Nicolai Højgaard 314.6
- Keith Mitchell 314.3
- Alejandro Tosti 313.6
- Isaiah Salinda 313.4
- Matti Schmid 313.0
- Gary Woodland 312.4
- Wyndham Clark 312.0
- Jake Knapp 311.4
- Ludvig Åberg 310.4
- Taylor Moore 309.0
- Taylor Pendrith 308.8
- Xander Schauffele 308.4
- Max Greyserman 308.1
Average Driving Distance (2025 DPWT season)
- Niklas Norgaard 329.3
- Christian Bezuidenhout 323.9
- Marco Penge 319.9
- Rory McIlroy 319.3
- Rasmus Højgaard 310.9
- Ryan Fox 310.4
- Joe Dean 309.3
- Johannes Veerman 307.2
- Ryggs Johnston 307.2
- Alejandro Del Rey 306.9
- Sam Bairstow 306.4
- Richard Mansell 306.2
- Grant Forrest 305.6
- Brandon Stone 305.5
- Todd Clements 305.1
The fairways are narrower here at Renaissance, so players will need to gain off the tee both with distance and accuracy.
Strokes Gained: Off The Tee — Average Per Round (2025 PGA Tour season)
- Aldrich Potgieter 0.730
- Scottie Scheffler 0.707
- Rory McIlroy 0.703
- Niklas Norgaard 0.669
- Kevin Yu 0.614
- Jesper Svensson 0.587
- Taylor Pendrith 0.575
- Chris Gotterup 0.533
- Collin Morikawa 0.533
- Ludvig Åberg 0.507
- Keith Mitchell 0.495
- Corey Conners 0.490
- Isaiah Salinda 0.486
- Daniel Berger 0.466
- Alex Smalley 0.454
- Sungjae Im 0.411
- Aaron Rai 0.407
- Robert MacIntyre 0.398
- Byeong Hun An 0.374
- Alejandro Tosti 0.363
Strokes Gained: Off The Tee — Average Per Round (2025 DPWT season)
- Laurie Canter 0.99
- Niklas Norgaard 0.86
- Marco Penge 0.71
- Ewen Ferguson 0.67
- Jordan Smith 0.65
- Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen 0.65
- Keith Nakajima 0.60
- Brandon Stone 0.57
- David Ravetto 0.56
- Frederic LaCroix 0.56
- Kristoffer Reitan 0.54
- Daniel Brown 0.53
- Francesco Laporta 0.50
- Haotong Li 0.49
- Richard Mansell 0.47
- Julien Guerrier 0.45
- Grant Forrest 0.40
- Thorbjørn Olesen 0.40
- Sam Bairstow 0.37
- Dan Bradbury 0.35
Gaining strokes around the greens at Renaissance is easier when the weather is calm. If the winds pick up and the greens are firmer, then it can be difficult to scramble.
Strokes Gained: Around The Green — Average Per Round (2025 PGA Tour season)
- Matt Wallace 0.664
- Matteo Manassero 0.608
- Sungjae Im 0.545
- Andrew Putnam 0.523
- Si Woo Kim 0.401
- Taylor Moore 0.376
- Brian Campbell 0.342
- Harry Hall 0.316
- Tommy Fleetwood 0.301
- Alex Smalley 0.301
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 0.291
- Wyndham Clark 0.283
- Davis Riley 0.275
- Alejandro Tosti 0.261
- Scottie Scheffler 0.255
- Mackenzie Hughes 0.253
Strokes Gained: Around The Green — Average Per Round (2025 DPWT season)
- Ryan Fox 0.96
- Elvis Smylie 0.60
- Shaun Norris 0.46
- Pablo Larrazabal 0.41
- Yuta Katsuragawa 0.34
- Jorge Campillo 0.34
- John Parry 0.30
- Guido Migliozzi 0.30
- Marcel Schneider 0.29
- Alex Fitzpatrick 0.29
- Richard Mansell 0.29
- Matthew Jordan 0.29
- Julien Guerrier 0.28
- Bernd Wiesberger 0.27
The greens at Renaissance are some of the slowest that players will see all year, and the breaks are not the easiest to identify.
Strokes Gained: Putting — Average Per Round (2025 PGA Tour season)
- Sam Burns 0.977
- Harry Hall 0.809
- Jacob Bridgeman 0.681
- Rory McIlroy 0.647
- Nico Echavarria 0.643
- Sami Valimaki 0.632
- Denny McCarthy 0.595
- Brandt Snedeker 0.578
- Justin Thomas 0.501
- Christiaan Bezuidenhout 0.472
- Andrew Putnam 0.469
- Scottie Scheffler 0.418
- Thorbjørn Olesen 0.407
- Harris English 0.396
- Ryan Fox 0.362
- Jake Knapp 0.362
- Matt McCarty 0.357
- Max Greyserman 0.346
Strokes Gained: Putting — Average Per Round (2025 DPWT season)
- Shaun Norris 1.57
- Niklas Norgaard 1.25
- Marco Penge 0.68
- Jacques Kruyswijk 0.59
- Ugo Coussaud 0.51
- Romain Langasque 0.51
- Ryggs Johnston 0.49
- Ashun Wu 0.48
- Daniel Hillier 0.43
- Daniel Brown 0.41
- Sam Bairstow 0.39
- Marcel Schneider 0.38
- Guido Migliozzi 0.38
- Sebastian Soderberg 0.38
- Jordan Smith 0.36
- Alejandro Del Rey 0.34
- Kristoffer Reitan 0.34
Bogey Avoidance Percentage (Last 36 rounds)
- Scottie Scheffler 9.4% (percentage of time player makes bogey)
- Justin Thomas 11.8
- Harris English 11.9
- Matteo Manassero 12.0
- Brian Campbell 12.0
- Collin Morikawa 12.3
- Victor Perez 12.3
- Matt McCarty 12.3
- Tommy Fleetwood 12.4
- Rory McIlroy 12.4
- Michael Kim 12.4
- Andrew Putnam 12.5
- Robert MacIntyre 12.6
- J.J. Spaun 12.6
- Lee Hodges 12.7
- Nico Echavarria 12.7
- Alex Noren 12.7
- Jordan Smith 12.8
Selections
Tommy Fleetwood (22-1, DraftKings)
It was yet another disappointment three weeks ago at the Travelers as Fleetwood fumbled the bag on the final hole and came up short yet again for his first PGA Tour victory.
The Englishman finished runner-up at Royal Portrush — next week’s Open Championship venue — in 2019 and was runner-up here at Renaissance in 2020.
Outside of the runner-up, Fleetwood has finishes of fourth (2022) and sixth (2023) here.
Collin Morikawa (25-1, BetMGM)
Morikawa has had an up-and-down 2025 both on the course and in the press room.
He finished eighth last time out in Detroit and travels overseas with yet another caddie on the bag this week and next, teaming up with Billy Foster. Foster split with longtime boss Matt Fitzpatrick earlier this spring and was certainly disappointed by his sacking.
It has been a dry spell for Morikawa, who has not won anywhere since October 2023 in Japan. He finished fourth here last year and perhaps the pairing with the experienced Foster, who also has worked with Seve Ballesteros, Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn, will be the ticket to get him back in the winner’s circle.
Matt Fitzpatrick (45-1, DraftKings)
Speaking of Fitzpatrick, he has shown some signs of life after a terrible 2024, which netted only two top-10 finishes. He has two of those just in the last eight weeks, including an eighth last time out in Detroit, where he ranked fifth off the tee and eighth on approach.
Two weeks prior, he rated first in the field for putting in the U.S. Open at Oakmont.
He was runner-up on debut here in 2021.
Adam Scott (55-1, Caesars Sportsbook)
Scott was an unlucky loser here last year in a runner-up finish to Robert MacIntyre.
He deserved a better fate than a T-12 last month in the U.S. Open at Oakmont, where he was in the Sunday final group.
Scott has finished top 20 in three of the last four majors and has won several times on links courses, so he should be a sneaky threat both this week and next.
Rasmus Højgaard (80-1, DraftKings)
Rasmus has had a frustrating 2025 season on the PGA Tour, although he did finish runner-up at the team event in New Orleans with twin brother Nicolai.
He ranks eighth on the PGA Tour for Driving Distance.
He finished 10th here in 2022.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (90-1, FanDuel)
The Dane has two runners-up (Qatar and Puerto Rico) this season and three additional top 10s.
He is sixth among the DPWT regulars for Strokes Gained: Off The Tee and 11th for Strokes Gained Approach.
Neergaard-Petersen finished fourth last year at the Dunhill Links, so he has some links golf pedigree.
Laurie Canter (175-1, BetMGM)
The Englishman did not keep his LIV Golf status last year and returned to the DP World Tour, where he won for the first time last summer in Germany. He has also already won in 2025, having captured the victory in Bahrain this past February.
Canter leads the DP World Tour for Strokes Gained: Off The Tee and is seventh for Approach amongst the DPWT regulars in this week’s field.
He finished seventh last week at the BMW International Open.
Other futures, placements markets, etc. for the Scottish Open, ISCO Championship and/or LIV Andalucia will be available Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks
