Genesis Scottish Open
North Berwick, Scotland
The Renaissance Club - Par 70 - 7,282 yards
Field - 156 entrants
Purse - $9M
The Preview
The muggy Midwestern Swing concluded with a former member of the Fighting Illini, 32-year-old Brian Campbell, clinching his second victory of the season at the John Deere Classic on Sunday afternoon. But the PGA Tour now travels across the pond and into DP World Tour territory for the Genesis Scottish Open, which serves as a links-golf primer for the final major championship of the season.
Featuring large, sloping greens and long fescue, The Renaissance Club in Scotland plays host for a seventh consecutive year, this time 12 months after crowning a proud Robert MacIntyre as champion on native soil in 2024. The par-70 venue's wide landing areas off the tee favor the bombers, but this layout requires stout iron play and cromulent lag putting as well. However, North Berwick's weather forecast calls for a tame breeze after Thursday's opening round, which could produce a plethora of scoring chances throughout the weekend as the even-par mark becomes unprotected by a proper defense.
Recent Champions
2024 - Robert MacIntyre
2023 - Rory McIlroy
2022 - Xander Schauffele
2021 - Min Woo Lee
2020 - Aaron Rai
2019 - Bernd Wiesberger
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Driving distance
Birdie or Better percentage
Three-putt avoidance
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
The best player in the world remains a mindless click at Yahoo's affordable $45 maximum salary, and Scheffler tied for third during his most recent Renaissance Club appearance in 2023. I won't bore you with all the absurd metrics, but he's gained at least five strokes from tee to green in 12 consecutive starts dating back to The Genesis Invitational.
Rory McIlroy - $45
McIlroy's iron play has been a concern since his game cooled off after completing the career grand slam at Augusta National in April, but his driver lends a massive advantage here at The Renaissance Club where he won just two years ago. He's coming off a sixth-place finish at the Travelers Championship where he gained a season-high seven strokes putting.
Tommy Fleetwood - $41
It was another heartbreaking defeat for Fleetwood in his most recent outing at the Travelers Championship where he lost by one shot to Keegan Bradley in dramatic fashion on the 72nd hole, but the Englishman ultimately gained a season-high 10.7 strokes from tee to green at TPC River Highlands. Fleetwood has placed T6 or better in three of five previous trips to North Berwick, highlighted by a runner-up effort here in 2020.
Glue Guys
Adam Scott - $36
Last year's runner-up to Robert MacIntyre, Scott gained five strokes with the putter on these fescue greens, but it's been the ball striking that's carried him as of late. He's seventh in SG: Ballstriking over his last 12 rounds, most notably gaining 4.8 strokes off the tee and five strokes on approach en route to a T12 at the U.S. Open.
Matt Fitzpatrick - $32
Fitzy is finally rounding back into form with eight straight top-40s dating back to the Masters, most recently tying for eighth at the Rocket Classic where he gained a career-high 11.9 strokes from tee to green. The Englishman placed T2-T6 here at The Renaissance Club in 2021 and 2022, and over his last 24 rounds, he's top-15 in each of Prox: 200-plus, three-putt avoidance and P4: 450-500 Efficiency.
Harry Hall - $32
Everyone's caught on to the fact that Hall is one of the best putters in the world, but he's also gained strokes on approach in six of seven starts since the beginning of April, ascending to third in Opportunities Gained and 11th in SG: Par-5 over his last 24 rounds. This combination has helped produce a streak of six consecutive top-25s dating back to the ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic.
Bargain Bin
Luke Clanton - $27
This is simply a bet on Clanton's raw talent and upside in GPPs as he makes his Scottish Open debut at just 21 years old. Although he disappointed his backers with a missed cut at last week's John Deere Classic, he still managed to gain 5.1 strokes with his ball striking across just 36 holes at TPC Deere Run, and Clanton ranks top-15 in both SG: APP and Prox: 175-200 over his past 24 rounds.
Chris Gotterup - $21
Sitting No. 1 in SG: Off-the-Tee and fifth in driving distance over his last 24 rounds, Gotterup's bully-ball style should travel nicely to The Renaissance Club where he can constantly rip the big stick. He's placed T26 or better in three straight outings dating back to the U.S. Open, and he probably just needs an average putting week to return value at these lowly salaries.
Bud Cauley - $20
Cauley posted the third-best SG: OTT performance of his 2025 campaign last week at the John Deere Classic, where he also ranked fifth among the field in putts per GIR on the way to 22 total birdies. Over his past 24 rounds, he's top-25 in both SG: APP and Opportunities Gained as well.
Looking for the best golf picks on Yahoo? Find the top Yahoo PGA DFS picks and value plays for every tournament from RotoWire golf expert Bryce Danielson.
