The 2023 Genesis Scottish Open gives golfers a warm-up on links-style golf before next week’s Open Championship. The tournament is one of the five Rolex Series events on the DP World Tour and is co-sanctioned along with the PGA Tour. Tournament play takes place at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland.
Xander Schauffele won here last season, picking up his third victory of the 2022 season. Schauffele finished the four-day individual stroke play event with a total score of 273 (seven-under par) to hold off runner-up Kurt Kityama by one stroke.
Players in the field are fighting for a shot at a $9 million dollar purse, a $1 million boost from last year. The winner takes home $1.62 million of the total purse.
Check out Genesis Scottish Open odds on BetUS
What to Know – The Renaissance Club
The Scottish Open was played at various courses around Scotland but the Renaissance Club has been the home of the tournament for the past five years. With a turn to a links-style layout, the tournament has appealed to players wanting to gain experience prior to the Open one week later.
The course is a par-70 that stretches approximately 7,200 yards in length. The course opened in 2001 and was designed by American golf course architect Tom Doak.
One quality about the course you don’t see around Scotland is the pine trees that dot the property and are strategically placed amongst the holes. Prior to the course’s existence, the property was home to 300 acres of pine trees planted shortly after World War II.
Winning scores have varied over the last four years, with scores ranging from 22-under to seven-under. The weather conditions, particularly the wind, play a huge role in the outcome of the tournament.
What to Know – The Scottish Open Field
Headlining this week’s field is world no. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Scheffler missed the cut at this course in 2022, a rare event for the 27-year-old who hasn’t finished outside the T12 since October. Rory McIlroy, the favorite to win next week’s Open Championship, is teeing it up this week for one last tune-up before the year’s final major.
Rickie Fowler, winner of the Rocket Mortgage Classic two weeks ago, is back in action this week. Fowler’s triumph was his first since winning the 2019 WM Phoenix Open. The 34-year-old won the Scottish Open in 2015 which was played at Gullane Golf Club.
Schauffele is back to defend his title and is joined by other top talent, including Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jordan Spieth, and Justin Thomas.
Betting Favorites
Scheffler (+700) is the pre-tournament favorite. With a pair of victories this season and a stretch of six-straight top-five finishes, the no. 1 player in the world is a solid choice.
McIlroy closely follows behind at (+850). The product of Northern Ireland has been knocking on the door since his win in the fall in South Carolina, finishing in the top 10 in his previous five events played.
Cantlay (+1400) is next in line, and another Tour pro primed for a breakthrough win. The eight-time PGA Tour winner finished T4 here last year and comes across the pond after a T4 result at the Travelers Championship at the end of June.
Schauffele (+1600), Fowler (+2000), Hovland (+2000), and Tyrrell Hatton (+2000) round out the betting favorites. All four players come into the week playing in solid form and could easily find themselves on top of the leaderboard on Sunday.
