Weekly Fantasy Golf Preview: Genesis Scottish Open

Genesis Scottish Open

The Renaissance Club
North Berwick, Scotland

The PGA Tour heads to Scotland this week for another edition of the Genesis Scottish Open.

In almost every sport, there are multiple ways to get to the finish line and golf is no exception. In basketball, you can be 7-feet tall and primarily score from the paint, or 6-feet tall and do most of your damage from beyond the arc. Football is similar in that some QBs get a lot of work on the ground, while others mostly sling the ball through the air. Baseball, bomber vs. small baller, it goes on and on. 

When it comes to golf, the main separator is the length of the drive. You have bombers and you have guys that are short off the tee. There's really no other aspect of the game where we separate golfers so naturally. Sure, some are great putters and some aren't, but most are just in the middle of the pack and depending on the week, the good putters can be bad and the bad putters can be good. When it comes to length off the tee, you are what you are.

I bring this up because one of the shortest hitters on the PGA Tour just won his second event this season. Brian Campbell's stats off the tee are, well, not ideal. He ranks 174th in distance and 172nd in SG: Off-the-Tee. Luckily for him, there's a bit more to this game than driving. Imagine though, how much better you have to be than the rest of the field at your approach shots and putting to beat 150+ golfers when you're facing such a deficit off the tee every week…and he's done it twice now!

An amazing week from Campbell, it will be interesting to see how he fares against better fields now that he's got the confidence of a two-time winner.

Looking forward, we've got the Scottish Open this week, which was one of the better ideas the tours came up with to bridge the gap between the Opens. The Scottish Open doesn't have a huge purse, so technically it's not as important for fantasy purposes as a major or a signature event, but it feels like it's important, right?

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Maybe it's just the change of scenery that makes it feel more important and heck, it's certainly important to a lot of Europeans, but for me, I think this week is exciting because it gets us in "Open Championship" mode. The purse may be smaller, but the field is strong and we're getting a look at links golf for the first time this season, so I for one, am amped for this week.

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LAST YEAR

Robert MacIntyre shot a final-round 67 on his way to a one-stroke victory over Adam Scott.

FAVORITES

All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook as of 3:30 PM ET Tuesday.

Scottie Scheffler (+360) 

Unlike most of the other "Opens", the Scottish Open is, or at least has been, played on the same course for the past six years, which is great for us. With that said, the American players mainly started coming over four years ago when the event was co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour. All that to say, we've got some good course history in play this week. Scheffler's track record here is okay (by his standards), one top-10 and a T12 in three starts, but that probably won't have any bearing on his results this week. Unless things get weird weather wise, he should be in contention come Sunday. As for the +360 odds, I'd pass and maybe wait for a better number during the tournament.

Rory McIlroy (8-1)

McIlroy has struggled since completing the career grand slam in April, but I have a feeling these past few weeks are going to be the break he needed to reset. McIlroy's track record here has been all over the place, but when he's come to play, he's made some noise. McIlroy won this event in 2023, and he finished T4 a year ago. If his mind is right, and I think it will be, he's going to be a factor this week and the next.     

Xander Schauffele (18-1)

After Schauffele captured two majors this past season, there was a clear big-three on the PGA Tour, but an injury halted Schauffele's progress and now there's clearly a big-two at non-majors and the third wheel is Bryson DeChambeau at the majors. That's not to say that Schauffele is done, but for this season, I think we should reassess our expectations. As for this week, Schauffele's track record here is strong, with a win in 2022 and top-15s in 2021 and 2024, but it's all about the current state of his game. If he makes a run in Scotland, he just might be a factor at Portrush, but I don't think it's going to happen.

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THE NEXT TIER

Ludvig Aberg (30-1)

It's about time that Aberg plays to his potential again, right? It's been a while since we saw him at his best, and I for one and shocked that his win at the Genesis Invitational didn't propel him onto the next level, but for whatever reason, he's struggled for the past few months. Perhaps getting back to Europe will do wonders for his game, after all, that's where he built his reputation as the next big thing. His track record here is limited, only two starts, but he did finish T4 here this past year. 

Robert MacIntyre (33-1)

I'll be honest, I doubted MacIntyre coming into this season. I was in on him early, a few years ago, so his multiple wins in 2024 was not a big surprise, but I really thought he'd struggle to back that up this year, but he hasn't. MacIntyre was the only one pushing J.J. Spaun down the stretch at the U.S. Open last month, and as of this week, he's already earned more than $5 million this season. He's the defending champ in his home country, so there's going to be a lot to deal with, but he's already proved this season that he can deal with the added pressure.

Matt Fitzpatrick (34-1) 

Fitzpatrick has not played up to his standards this season, but he has shown some signs of life over the past couple months and a resurgence could be just around the corner. Fitzpatrick really struggled through the first four months of the season, missing four cuts in nine starts, but he's played better over the past couple months, landing in the top-40 in his past six events. I know, top-40 is not the goal, but it shows he's moving in the right direction. He's posted two top-10s in his past five starts, one of which came at the PGA Championship, and his track record here is pretty good with two top-6s in his past four starts here.  

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LONG SHOTS

Ryan Fox (65-1)

Fox probably shouldn't be a long shot this week, but I'll take it. Fox has already won twice this season and while he hasn't beaten a field like this, a win is a win, or in this case, wins are wins. Fox has not only won twice this season, but he's done fairly well against top fields. He finished in the top-20 at the Travelers in his most recent start and he also carded a top-20 the week prior at the U.S. Open. His track record here is probably why his odds are so high as he has just one top-10 in eight starts, but he's made the cut here in his last four starts, which gives him a leg up on most of the field.       

Tom Kim (80-1)

I remember writing a couple years ago that the days of getting 30-1 or better on Kim were coming to an end, but as we've witnessed over the past couple seasons, that's not the case at all. Kim's game has not progressed like many of us thought it would, but there's still a lot of time for him to figure it out. We know he's got the game to beat the best on the PGA Tour and we've seen him win already, so that's not the issue. Whatever is wrong with his game right now, once he gets it straightened out, he's going to be a problem for the rest of the tour. Figuring it out this week seems unlikely, but that's why he's 80-1. The reason I have him here is his track record here, which consists of a solo-3rd, a T6 and a T15. He obviously likes this track, perhaps a return here can kick start his game.   

ONE-AND-DONE LEAGUES

Highly-Chosen Pick: Robert MacIntyre – OAD players generally stay away from the defending champ, but I think they'll make an exception this week. The tough part about this week is that the purse isn't that large, yet you have all these big names in the field. It makes for a tough decision because you want someone that can go toe-to-toe with the big guns, but you also don't want to burn someone that you might use at the Open Championship or during the FedEx playoffs. MacIntyre seems like a perfect fit this week, though he could come in handy down the stretch as well.   

Moderately-Chosen Pick: Tommy Fleetwood – There's no denying that it's going to extremely tough for Fleetwood to close out a victory now that he's come so close so many times with no wins to show for it, but that doesn't mean he's a poor OAD selection and I think that's how many players will see the situation this week. If you haven't used him yet, this is probably the best spot remaining as he has a ton of experience at this event and on this course. Fleetwood has finished inside the top-6 here in two of his past three starts.                                                                  

Lightly-Chosen Pick: Ryan Fox – I might be underestimating his appeal to the masses this week, but at 65-1, he's probably going to scare away a lot of OAD players. Here's the thing though, he's playing the best golf of his life right now and he's played a lot of rounds on this course over the past six years. You're definitely taking a risk with this pick, but if you're looking to gain ground, you probably don't have much of a choice but to make risky picks at this point.    

Buyer Beware: Collin Morikawa – There's just simply too much noise with Morikawa right now. Whether it's feuds with the media or his ever-changing caddy situation, it just seems that there's too much going on with Morikawa for him to play his best. Let's not even get started on his inability to win over the past two seasons, which is probably wearing on him as well. I think he needs to get through this season, find some stability with his caddy situation, find some perspective on all the other stuff and then he can think about winning again.

My Pick: Ryan Fox – As much as I'd like to use a big name in this spot, the purse just doesn't justify it. If you're in the hunt in your league, then you should have the rest of your starts mapped out by now. If that's the case and you're going to have some big names left over, then by all means, go with a big name, but if you're looking for someone who might be a bit under the radar and someone that you won't miss for the remainder of the season, then Fox might be your guy. Fox already has two wins this season and he's got a ton of experience on this course. 

Previous Results

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FANDUEL PICKS

Upper Range: Robert MacIntyre ($11,400)
Middle Range:  Ryan Fox ($10,600)
Lower Range: Romain Langasque ($7,900)

SURVIVOR LEAGUES

My Pick: Tommy Fleetwood – Yes, there is a slight concern about the mindset of Fleetwood after coming so close in his most recent start, but that was a few weeks ago now and it's not like he hasn't dealt with this before. There will be more pressure to perform next week at the Open Championship, but this week should be a little more relaxed, allowing Fleetwood to simply play his game…which is really good by the way, just not quite good enough to win on the PGA Tour…yet.