Golf fans, welcome back and I hope you cashed in with us with last week's SWEEP of all three picks! That is always tough to do, but it's always the goal!
This week the tour heads overseas to Scortland to pay a visit to the Renaissance Club in North Berwick. I am looking forward to another exciting event with some big names in play!
The Course
This par 70 course is not regarded as an easy one on tour. This is due to the weather conditions, the number of bunkers, with 83, its link style setup, and the rough can be unforgiving.
This course almost never fails to give us windy and rainy conditions and that seems to be the outlook again this weekend.
Players that can navigate the windy conditions, drive the ball with length and avoid dangerous spots, while being able to scramble and putt will put players ahead in this event this weekend.
Back To Fleetwood We Go!
I love when we get a chance to back Tommy and he has rewarded us in most spots. Fleetwood is coming into this tournament in great form. He has finished top 20 in 3 straight events, while finishing 8 of his last 9 events in the top 30!
In 16 total events this season he has finished top 30 in 11. His recent success both here, and in the Open Championships suggest he is a good pick this weekend.
Fleetwood has finished T6(2023), T4(2022) in this event while finishing T10(2023), T4(2022) in his last 2 Opens. That is 4 straight top 10s in this type of environment and course play style.
Fleetwood ranks 15th in Total Driving, 35th Strokes Gained Total, 49th in Strokes Gained Putting, 10th in Scrambling, and 2nd Scrambling from the rough, all categories you want to succeed in for success here.
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Can Harman Cash For Us Again?
Look, most people probably don’t even think about Brian Harma, but the man is just consistent and he loves link style courses! Need proof?
Harman finished T12 in this event last season while winning the Open Championship the following week. In 2022, he missed the cut, but placed T6 at the Open. In 2021 he finished T19 at the Open, showing his strengths fall in line with this style of course!
He is also coming into this event in good form, finishing T9 in his last event, the Travelers. Over his last 7 events he has finished top 40 in 6 of them! Overall he has finished top 40 in 11 of 18 events, but is clearly in his best and most consistent form coming into tournaments he loves.
In Strokes Gained categories, Harman ranks 21st in Total, 54th in Approach, and 27th in Putting. He is accurate with his driver, ranks 39th in scrambling, and is one of the best putters on tour.
Tom Kim Loves This Event
It's no secret one of my formulas I look at in these picks is course history. This man has had some very good success in Europe. Finishing T2(2023) and 3(2022) in this event, while placing T2(2023), and T47(2022) at the Open.
Another player that loves the link style, also coming in on good form. Over his last 10 events he has placed top 30 in 7 of them!
Kim’s stats won’t jump off the screen, but he quietly is ranked 59th in Strokes Gained Total, 28th in Birdie Average, 25th in Driving, and 44th in Proximity. His key is avoiding the rough and hitting his greens in regulation leaving himself with good putting opportunities.
I Must Back Schauffele Here
Xander has been a player I have tried to pick every week. He is one of the best and most consistent players on tour. Xander has finished top 10 in 11 of his 15 events and this price is too good to pass up. He has finished top 10 in 7 of his last 9 events and has finished top 10 in every event prior to the major this year!
In 2022 he won this event, and finished 15th in the Open that year. Last season he finished T42nd here while placing 17th at the Open. He tends to play well on style links courses and his statistical rankings fit this course!
In Strokes Gained he ranks 2nd in Total, 10th Off the Tee, 5th in Approach to Green, and 12th in Putting. He is 6th in total driving, 14th in Greens in Regulation, 1st in Scrambling, and 9th Putting Avg. He may just win this thing again!
Best Bets:
Tommy Fleetwood Top 30 (-138) Bet365
Brian Harman Top 40 (-115) Bet365
Tom Kim Top 30 (-105) Bet365
Xander Schauffele Top 10 (+125) Bet365