Tommy Fleetwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick typically make an impact when they tee up in regulation European Tour events and the dynamic English duo are being shown plenty of respect by the bookmaking community for this week’s Scottish Open.
The Renaissance Club, East Lothian, which hosted the Scottish Open for the first time last year, again takes centre stage, but conditions are set to be much tougher compared with how the course played for the inaugural edition.
Heavy rain and strong winds are forecast for the weekend, so it could be a battle for survival on the links. Fleetwood, who finished third in the Portugal Masters on his last start outside of America, possesses the tee-to-green class to handle the assignment. But the Southport lad is making his course debut, so may take time to settle on the previously uncharted terrain.
Fitzpatrick finished tied for 14th place at the Renaissance last year, but there was more run on the ball given the July date. The weather could make this a slog for the short driver. Fleetwood is 9/1 and Fitzpatrick is 11/1.
Defending Champion Has High Hopes of Repeat Success
The only course winner in the field is Bernd Wiesberger, who bravely won a playoff for the title at the Renaissance Club last summer, having covered 72 holes in 22-under-par. The Austrian giant could prove the man to beat again and plenty of punters will be sniffing around the 20/1.
Wiesberger has played in just seven post-lockdown events, easing his way back to form, and fifth place in the UK Championship a month ago suggested he was close to finding his A-game. Since then, he has tied for 31st on unsuitable terrain at Valderrama, then 43rd in elite company at Winged Foot for the US Open.
The seven-time European Tour champion is difficult to ignore this week, given his strong record in the UK and Ireland. Wiesberger lost a playoff for the 2011 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles and the 2015 Irish Open at Royal County Down, and he was second to Jon Rahm in the 2019 Irish Open at Lahinch.
Pieters Hoping to Retain Positive Vibes
Fatherhood appears to have relaxed fiery Belgian Thomas Pieters and he claimed at the US Open that the recent arrival of baby Florence means he does not get angry on the course anymore.
If Pieters has really managed to develop an ice-cool temperament to marry to his undoubted golfing talents, then the rest of the European Tour are in trouble, and the 20/1 about him winning the Scottish Open could be an enormous price.
The theory looks set to be seriously tested this week – not only by the typically inconsistent putting of Pieters, but by the weather gods. With so much wind and rain expected in Scotland, thoughts of Florence may not be enough to keep a smile on the face of the former Ryder Cup star.
*All odds correct at time of writing