Genesis Scottish Open Picks, Best Bets and Golf Odds:
Chris Gotterup was the co-favorite at 14-1 to win last week’s John Deere Classic. He looked as if he was headed for a high finish but not a victory as he was five strokes off the lead to begin Sunday’s final round. However, Gotterup won his third event of the season and fourth in 12 months by shooting a 9-under 62 in the final round.
He received some help from Ben Kohles down the stretch. Kohles, whom we tipped in this column at 82-1 last week, had a three-stroke lead to begin the back nine and was the first player to reach 20 under, the eventual tournament-winning score posted by Gotterup. Kohles hit his approach to the 18th left and into the water, winding up with a double bogey.
History repeated itself for Kohles as he bogeyed the 72nd hole two years ago at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson only to lose in a playoff. This time his double bogey cost him not only a victory but also a spot in the British Open next week, as that went to Max Homa, who finished second.
This week, Gotterup (25-1 this week) and most of the world’s best head overseas to Scotland for the Genesis Scottish Open, where he is the defending champion, having held off 2023 Scottish Open winner Rory McIlroy (10-1).
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (5-1) has finished eighth (2025) and third (2023) in his last two appearances here. Scheffler is seeking his first victory anywhere since late January and will defend the Claret Jug at the British Open next week.
Xander Schauffele (22-1), the 2022 Scottish Open winner and 2024 Open champion, is still seeking his first win in 2026.
Since the Genesis Scottish Open is a co-sanctioned event with the DP World Tour, Jon Rahm (14-1) and Tyrrell Hatton (33-1), a couple of LIV Golf’s best, get the rare chance to compete against the PGA Tour’s best outside of a major championship.
Matt Fitzpatrick (18-1), Tommy Fleetwood (22-1) and 2024 Scottish Open winner Robert MacIntyre (35-1) certainly have aspirations to win next week in England but will not lack motivation for this week in Scotland. Ludvig Åberg (22-1), Viktor Hovland (30-1), Nicolai Højgaard (45-1), Kristoffer Reitan (55-1), Alex Fitzpatrick (55-1) are also part of a strong European contingent this week.
U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark (30-1) and PGA champion Aaron Rai (70-1), the 2020 Scottish Open winner, have both won majors in the last two months.
Along with former event winners Gotterup, McIlroy, Schauffele, MacIntyre and Rai is another winner here at Renaissance Golf Club, 2021 Scottish Open champion Min Woo Lee (45-1), and 2019 winner Bernd Wiesberger (175-1).
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 among many of the great courses in Scotland. Previous winners of the event 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 (who are not already qualified) earn spots into next week’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
The Field
156 players will be playing for a $9 million purse with $1.575 million going to the winner. While this is not a PGA Tour “Signature Event,” this is an elite field with six of the top 10 ranked players in the OWGR.
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 about 20 miles east of the capital city of 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 Open rotation. It is a modern links course that will play at 7,282 yards for the par-70.
Renaissance is not a pure classic links course; 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:
Correlated courses to Renaissance include Royal Birkdale, Royal Portrush, Royal St. George’s, Royal Troon, Royal Liverpool, St. Andrews, Shinnecock Hills, and Los Angeles Country Club.
Golf Digest provides us with a hole-by-hole flyover of Renaissance Golf Club.
Weather
The AccuWeather forecast shows moderate wind conditions. Scoring looks likely to be in the mid to high teens.
The wind is the primary defense for this course. Since 2019, the average round score in calm conditions is 68.3 (-1.70 under par) and the average round score in windy/rainy conditions is 70.73 (+0.73 over par).
Genesis Scottish Open Recent History
The Genesis Scottish Open was moved to Renaissance in 2019 and is scheduled to be held here through 2030.
2025: Chris Gotterup (-15/265); 110-1
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, the top 12 finishers averaged 3.1 strokes gained approach for the event. In 2024, 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 (2026 season)
- Alex Fitzpatrick 0.936
- Patrick Reed 0.932
- Jon Rahm 0.849
- Antoine Rozner 0.821
- Matt Fitzpatrick 0.773
- Shane Lowry 0.757
- Daniel Hillier 0.749
- Ewen Ferguson 0.739
- Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra 0.723
- J.J. Spaun 0.704
- Adam Scott 0.696
- Scottie Scheffler 0.678
- Si Woo Kim 0.666
- Kurt Kitayama 0.663
- Bernd Wiesberger 0.642
- Hennie du Plessis 0.639
- Oliver Lindell 0.635
- Brooks Koepka 0.626
- Ludvig Åberg 0.623
- Paul Waring 0.593
- Austin Smotherman 0.578
- Casey Jarvis 0.572
- Viktor Hovland 0.562
- Tom Kim 0.562
- Ryan Gerard 0.534
- Matteo Manassero 0.532
- Tyrrell Hatton 0.522
- Patrick Cantlay 0.503
Driving distance last year was 300.6 yards, which is well above the tour average of 292.7 yards. Players used driver off the tee around 72% of the time here last year.
Average Driving Distance (2026 season)
- Mikael Lindberg 329.8
- Aldrich Potgieter 328.7
- Rory McIlroy 323.2
- Michael Brennan 323.0
- Alejandro Del Rey 322.9
- Niklas Norgaard 322.1
- Rasmus Højgaard 321.1
- Jesper Svensson 320.1
- Marco Penge 319.7
- Nicolai Højgaard 319.3
- Chris Gotterup 319.3
- Min Woo Lee 317.7
- Hennie Du Plessis 317.6
- John Keefer 317.4
- Angel Ayora 317.0
- Jake Knapp 316.9
- Pierceson Coody 315.1
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju 314.4
- Daniel Hillier 314.1
- Ludvig Åberg 313.1
The fairways are narrower at Renaissance, so players will need to gain off the tee both with distance and accuracy.
Strokes Gained: Off The Tee — Average Per Round (2026 season)
- Rory McIlroy 0.875
- Angel Ayora 0.868
- Jon Rahm 0.831
- Michael Brennan 0.829
- Mikael Lindberg 0.819
- David Puig 0.743
- Scottie Scheffler 0.683
- Tom McKibbin 0.679
- Hennie Du Plessis 0.655
- Daniel Hillier 0.655
- Alejandro Del Rey 0.635
- Niklas Norgaard 0.622
- Doug Ghim 0.617
- Xander Schauffele 0.570
- Chris Gotterup 0.553
- John Keefer 0.545
- David Ravetto 0.529
- Marco Penge 0.523
- Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra 0.523
- Jesper Svensson 0.521
- Robert MacIntyre 0.519
Gaining strokes around the greens is very weather dependent here and substantially more difficult in inclement conditions.
Strokes Gained: Around The Green — Average Per Round (2026 season)
- Matt Fitzpatrick 0.586
- Patrick Reed 0.547
- Justin Thomas 0.539
- Matteo Manassero 0.494
- Scottie Scheffler 0.493
- Oliver Lindell 0.481
- Wyndham Clark 0.448
- Andrew Putnam 0.421
- Eric Cole 0.417
- Jon Rahm 0.417
- Julien Guerrier 0.414
- Sahith Theegala 0.396
- Sungjae Im 0.374
- Tommy Fleetwood 0.374
- Brandt Snedeker 0.344
- Martin Couvra 0.344
- Bud Cauley 0.317
- Patrick Cantlay 0.312
- Harry Hall 0.306
- Tyrrell Hatton 0.291
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 (2026 season)
- Marcus Armitage 0.853
- Calum Hill 0.747
- Oliver Lindell 0.686
- Jake Knapp 0.681
- David Puig 0.639
- Harris English 0.636
- Kota Kaneko 0.580
- Erik van Rooyen 0.574
- Eric Cole 0.568
- Robert MacIntyre 0.554
- Alex Noren 0.537
- Scottie Scheffler 0.473
- Brandt Snedeker 0.466
- Nacho Elvira 0.438
- Rikuya Hoshino 0.392
- Michael Kim 0.389
- Ryan Gerard 0.372
- Davis Riley 0.357
- Chris Gotterup 0.348
- Mikael Lindberg 0.342
- Wyndham Clark 0.337
- Danny Willett 0.331
- Jon Rahm 0.308
- Matthieu Pavon 0.306
- Mac Meissner 0.301
If the weather conditions are difficult, scoring opportunities will be tough to come by. If the forecast is clear, this course can be had and low numbers are out there.
Bogey Avoidance Percentage (2026 season)
- Scottie Scheffler 9.1%
- Jon Rahm 9.2
- Alex Fitzpatrick 10.0
- David Puig 11.8
- Rory McIlroy 12.0
- Matt Fitzpatrick 12.0
- Tommy Fleetwood 12.0
- Patrick Cantlay 12.1
- Si Woo Kim 12.2
- Michael Thorbjornsen 12.2
- Doug Ghim 12.3
- Tom Kim 12.7
- Brandt Snedeker 12.9
- Shane Lowry 12.9
- Kurt Kitayama 13.0
- Xander Schauffele 13.0
- Tyrrell Hatton 13.1
- Alex Smalley 13.1
- John Parry 13.2
- Bud Cauley 13.4
- Mac Meissner 13.4
- Adam Scott 13.5
Birdie Or Better Percentage (2026 season)
- Scottie Scheffler 30.79
- Min Woo Lee 28.97
- Ludvig Åberg 27.31
- Rory McIlroy 26.98
- Matt Fitzpatrick 26.79
- Sudarshan Yellamaraju 26.19
- Robert MacIntyre 26.19
- Si Woo Kim 26.08
- Jake Knapp 26.07
- Pierceson Coody 25.93
- Ryan Gerard 25.87
- Harris English 25.74
- Wyndham Clark 25.20
- Chris Gotterup 25.19
- Harry Hall 24.79
- Max Greyserman 24.77
- Sepp Straka 24.67
- Ricky Castillo 24.48
- Tommy Fleetwood 24.44
- Alex Noren 24.44
- Ryan Fox 24.38
- Austin Smotherman 24.36
- Shane Lowry 24.17
Selections
Tommy Fleetwood (22-1, FanDuel)
While the Scottish Open has gravitated toward longer hitters off the tee in recent years, experience still matters, and Fleetwood has it with three top-six finishes in six appearances at Renaissance, including a playoff loss to Aaron Rai in 2020.
Next week is The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in Fleetwood’s hometown, but there should not be any lookahead here, plus Fleetwood comes in on arguably his most consistent form of the season with five top-15 finishes, including two top-5s, in his last six events, so he appears to be peaking at the right time for The Open.
Wyndham Clark (33-1, DraftKings)
The U.S. Open champion is perhaps being a bit overlooked this week with so many other top players in the field.
Nevertheless, no one is on a hotter run than Clark with two victories, a third, a fifth and an 11th in his last five starts.
Some will overlook him because he does not really jump out in stat models and perhaps lacks some links pedigree, but consider that he has finished 10th and 11th here the last two years when his game was not anywhere near where it is now. Plus, he posted his best career British Open finish with a T-4 last year at Royal Portrush.
Tyrrell Hatton (34-1, Circa Sports)
Hatton has not been playing a grinding schedule with all the gaps on the LIV Golf calendar, but he has finished first (LIV Andalucia) and seventh (U.S. Open) for his two starts in June.
He finished sixth here in 2023 when he was still playing the PGA Tour/DP World Tour full-time schedule.
Although there is a major championship next week and he is still seeking his first, Hatton should be focused and play well here considering he has won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland three times. In addition, he may relish competing against the best from the PGA and DP World Tours here, and with finishes of T-3 at the Masters and T-7 at the PGA Championship, Hatton has proven his mettle thus far this season.
Kurt Kitayama (52-1, Circa Sports)
Kitayama finished runner-up here to Xander Schauffele in 2022.
He ranks second in Ball Striking (behind Scottie Scheffler) and third in Total Driving (behind Ludvig Åberg and Scheffler).
Kitayama is especially better when the scoring conditions get tougher, like in his runner-up at Renaissance in 2022 and for his win at the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational.
Nicolai Højgaard (55-1, BetRivers)
Højgaard has certainly cooled a bit from earlier in the season, having missed three of his last four cuts, but he does have two runners-up, a third and a fourth in 2026.
The Dane has gone fourth and sixth here in two of the last three years and is an ideal fit for this course as one of the game’s longest hitters.
He broke his string of three missed cuts two weeks ago at the Travelers, finishing 14th, but closed with a final round of 62 on a tight course that is not exactly his best fit, so if he can keep his irons to that form, he is a definite mid-range price contender here.
Jake Knapp (85-1, Circa Sports)
This is a bit of a speculative play considering Knapp missed a little over two months in the spring with a sprained left thumb. He returned three weeks ago at the U.S. Open and missed the cut and then finished T-55 at the Travelers on a course that is not ideal for his game. Perhaps those two starts knocked off the rust.
Before his injury, Knapp had been one of the most consistent players in the world to start 2026, having not finished worse than 11th in seven of his first eight events, which included five top-10 finishes.
Not only is Knapp one of the longer hitters off the tee; he is also typically one of the best putters regardless of green surface or speed.
Jesper Svensson (200-1, Caesars Sportsbook)
Svensson is a big-hitting Swede who is one of the longer drivers in the game.
While he has had some gaps in the schedule, his last two finishes anywhere were a T-9 at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and a T-4 at the RBC Canadian Open.
Placement markets, matchups, and/or other bets, including for the ISCO Championship, will be available Wednesday at VSiN.com/picks.
