Both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour visit Bonnie Scotland for the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, East Lothian. With both Tour’s arrival in Scotland, that can only mean one thing, The 150th Open Championship at the home of golf St Andrews is just around the corner, 14th-17th July.
In preparation for next week’s 150th Open Championship, the Scottish Open has attracted a star-studded lineup yet again with most of the world’s golfing elite on show at The Renaissance Club.
The Scottish Open is now not only a DP World Tour Rolex Series event but it also becomes for the first time ever, a recognised PGA Tour tournament. It now has one of the richest prize purses on the tour but more importantly, it’s the perfect preparation for The Old Course at St Andrew’s next week, hence the strong field with all the top-ranked players. Keep an eye out for next week’s special 150th Open Championship preview but in the meantime let’s focus on this week’s action in East Lothian.
Scottish Open Preview
The 156 field with the top 65 including ties making the cut will all be competing for a share of the $8M prize purse with the winner collecting the Scottish Open title and a winner’s cheque for $1,333,600.
Min Woo Lee returns to defend his crown in Scotland having won this event in 2021 when seeing off both Matt Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry in an exciting three-way play-off.
The type of players on my radar this week will all have good stats around the greens while good accuracy and precision figures will also prove pivotal come Sunday afternoon.
The weather is forecast to be mostly cloudy with sunny intervals throughout with breezes expected to peak at around 19mph.
This event will be screened on Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Golf with live coverage starting at 8 am on Thursday morning.
So let’s move on with our betting tips for the Scottish Open.
Xander Schauffele
For my first and main selection at The Renaissance Club I’m going to point you all in the direction of our last winner on the website just over a week ago, Xander Schauffele 20/1 EW Bet365.
The 28-year-old from San Diego, California is all over my radar at the moment and did the business for both us and him less than a fortnight ago when scooping the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. We had advised taking the 20/1 on offer and the world number eleven most certainly obliged.
It was Schauffele’s first victory since winning the gold medal at the Olympics in Tokyo more than one year ago but it was also his first PGA Tour title in three years since he bagged the Sentry Tournament of Champions in 2019. Schauffele has been on fire recently with five Top 20 finishes in his last five attempts.
He’s actually also leading a Pro-Am event in Ireland at the time of writing and looks almost certain to be heading to Scotland tonight with another victory.
His last five starts across the big pond go like this, Winner as mentioned above at the Travelers Championship, 14th at the US Open, 18th at the Memorial Tournament, 13th at the USPGA Championship and finally 5th at the AT&T Byron Nelson.
If you are a stats person then let’s have a look at some of the figures that matter.
On the PGA Tour this year Schauffele ranks 8th SG Tee To Green, 8th SG Approach The Green, 12th Greens in Regulation Percentage at 69.44%, and 5th Putting. Average and best of all 4th SG Total. Listen I’m no rocket scientist but it’s not exactly hard to do the maths here, if Schauffele arrives in Scotland producing the kind of figures listed above then it’s as simple as this, he will have his seventh PGA crown in the bag on Sunday evening, buts what’s ironic is that it won’t be on any American circuit, he’ll have bagged a historic PGA and DP World Tour crown on Scottish soil to make it his magnificent seventh and perfect preparation for St Andrews.
Keep an eye on Xander Schauffele, everyone, I’ve been telling you already recently and he’s already delivered.
Matthew Fitzpatrick
For my next suggestion I’m going to single out yet another of our most recent winners, Matthew Fitzpatrick 20/1 EW 1-8 places William Hill.
The talented 27-year-old from Sheffield is another who’s flashing up all over my radar and he’s also another who earned a place on the winner’s podium as predicted when he won the US Open at The Country Club only a matter of weeks back.
It was Fitzy’s maiden breakthrough victory on the PGA circuit and the Englishman certainly delivered in style when bagging a major into the bargain at the same time. This is Fitzy’s first time out in three weeks since winning the US Open and as I’ve previously mentioned in other reviews, especially with that US Open victory now in the bag. Fitzpatrick will be on more winners podiums than not.
He’s like a magician on the dance floors and if he keeps this consistent run going and gives himself birdie chances this weekend in North Berwick, then it could be two on the bounce for the Englishman.
Now whether you’re a stats person or not, it would be silly not to pay attention to the figures that follow, just check this out it’s phenomenal. On the PGA Tour this year Matthew Fitzpatrick ranks 1st SG Tee To Green, 1st Scrambling from the Rough, 2nd SG Total, 3rd SG Around The Green, 4th Going for the Green Birdie or Better, 4th Scrambling, 5th Longest Drives, and finally, 8th SG Off The Tee.
It would come as no surprise to see Matthew Fitzpatrick doubling up on his PGA crowns in as many attempts with yet another victory this weekend in North Berwick. It would be his eighth DP World Tour title as well, that’s the magic of the Scottish Open.
Collin Morikawa
For my next selection, I’m going back and forth from my shortlist but I have to make a decision so I’m sticking with Collin Morikawa 30/1 EW William Hill 1/8 places.
The 25-year-old from Los Angeles returns to British soil to defend his Open Championship crown next week and I just have a feeling he’s going to be all fired up for this one in preparation. Morikawa was 5th last time out at the US Open and it’s clear to see that the form may be returning just in time. To be fair it’s not gone away really with some fine performances since winning The 149th Open Championship at Royal St George’s in 2021.
He has since bagged the DP World Tour Championship and the WGC Workday Championship at the Concession. He can also back that up with two runners-up finishes at both The CJ Cup and The Memorial Tournament. This year Morikawa was also 5th at Augusta for The Masters and yet another second prize when runner-up at The Genesis Invitational. On the stats front the figures that stand out for Morikawa look impressive.
On the PGA Tour, he is 1st Scrambling from the Fringe, 5th SG Approach the Green, 5th Proximity to the Hole, 6th Scrambling from the Rough and 10th Scoring Average at 69.710%.
This stunning Renaissance Club course could all be set up for Morikawa’s game this week with his iron precision and what better preparation to defend his Open Championship title than a victory at the Scottish Open on Sunday.
For my final selection it’s the customary match bet and this week in North Berwick I’m going to advise Xander Schauffele again but this time to beat Scottie Scheffler over 72 holes 5/4 Nap Bet365.
Scottish Open Betting Tips
- Xander Schauffele 20/1 EW Bet365
- Matthew Fitzpatrick 20/1 EW 1-8 places William Hill
- Collin Morikawa 30/1 EW William Hill 1-8 places
- Xander Scauffele to beat Scottie Scheffler 5/4 Nap Bet365, 72 hole matchbet
The post Golf Betting Tips: Scottish Open 2022 Preview and Best Picks appeared first on MrFixitsTips.