The 2023 Genesis Scottish Open will get underway from the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland, United Kingdom. After a couple of weeks without golf’s top players, the vast majority of the FedExCup and OWGR top ten will be competing in the Genesis Scottish Open field, headlined by World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler. Other notable names include Rory McIlroy, Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth, defending champion Xander Schauffele, and 2021 winner Min Woo Lee, who more than doubled Schauffele’s winning scorecard during his victory two years ago.
While the Genesis Scottish Open has been an event since opening in 2007, this is only the second year with the PGA Tour serving as a co-sanctioning entity, along with the DP World Tour, which is Europe’s version. 75 players from each Tour are set to compete at Renaissance Club this week, where the coastal winds, big greens, tall fescue, and deep-walled sand bunkers will be a stark contrast from the birdie fests we’ve watched during the Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic the last couple of weeks.
Ball striking will be huge, along with quality putting, per usual. Look for players from the United Kingdom, such as McIlroy, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, and Matt Fitzpatrick, to feel a bit more comfortable competing at this links course, which is what most of them grew up playing on. That’s not to say fading players from other countries is a smart decision, as California native Xander Schauffele secured the outright win here a year ago with his sharp iron play. However, Rai, a British golfer, won this event in 2020.
Let’s explore the outright betting odds leaderboard as it currently sits, then recap previous winners, a few relevant betting stats, and an in-depth course overview of the Renaissance Club. Finally, I’ll reveal my favorite golfers with lucrative outright odds to wager ahead of Thursday’s first round from North Berwick, Scotland.
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Genesis Scottish Open Betting Odds
2023 Genesis Scottish Open Betting Preview
Previous Winners
- 2022 - Xander Schauffele (-7)
- 2021 - Min Woo Lee (-18)
- 2020 - Aaron Rai (-11)
- 2019 - Bernd Weisberger (-22)
- 2018 - Brandon Stone (-20)
Relevant Betting Stats
- Strokes Gained Off-the-Tee
- Strokes Gained Approaching the Green
- Greens in Regulation percentage
- Sand Save percentage
- Scrambling
- Total driving
Course Layout
The Renaissance Club is a par 70 that runs over 7,200 yards with all of the signature designs of a British golf links course. Designed by Tom Doak and opened in 2007, the Renaissance Club will use coastal winds, deep sand bunkers, and massive greens to challenge golfers throughout the event.
Greens in regulation remains an important stat to focus on from an outright betting perspective, but hole proximity needs to be factored in as well. The deep walled sand bunkers are another staple of British golf links, punishing errant lies, along with the tall fescue serving as the primary rough, demonstrating why strong tee shots and approach shots will determine the fate of a player’s round. There are more trees located at Renaissance Club than seen at other golf links, while the doglegged fairways and lengthy par 3s are other difficult aspects to overcome on the quest of winning the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open.
Top Players To Bet For Outright Genesis Scottish Open Winner
Rory McIlroy (+750) (Bet $100 to collect $850) Go to DraftKings for the best Rory McIlroy odds
It’s a bit chalky to start, but I like the form we’ve seen from Rory McIlroy during his last five events. The 34-year-old native of Northern Ireland struggled for a duration but has since tallied finishes of T7, T7, T9, second, and T7 entering the Genesis Scottish Open. McIlroy is well-known for his powerful driver, and strokes gained off-the-tee, ranking first in driving distance. However, his irons are pristine and do not get discussed enough. McIlroy ranks second tee-to-green, second off-the-tee, eighth approaching the green, and 13th around the green in strokes gained metrics. However, his putter is a liability on links courses with bigger greens than the standard 5,500 square foot average on the PGA Tour. This could wind up being an advantage for McIlroy. Let’s jump on these +750 odds now before McIlroy begins to climb the leaderboard.
Matt Fitzpatrick (+2200) (Bet $100 to collect $2,300) DraftKings has the best Matt Fitzpatrick odds
Last year, Matt Fitzpatrick logged a T6 finish at the Genesis Scottish Open, going -4-under-par in the second round to pull himself out of an over-par opening round. Fitzpatrick had an outright win at the RBC Heritage earlier this spring while ranking 18th in strokes gained putting, 24th in strokes gained around the green, and 38th tee-to-green. He’s a quality driver, ranked 42nd, which will be helpful at a links course like Renaissance. At 22/1, oddsmakers are bullish on Fitzpatrick, as we should be. He’s ranked 17th in scrambling, 11th in total putting, and 21st in bogey avoidance. Let’s lay a unit on Fitzpatrick to ball on a course layout he’s well versed in, relying on his irons and sound putting to go on a run this week at Renaissance.
Sungjae Im (+4000) (Bet $100 to collect $4,100) Head to DraftKings for the best Sungjae Im odds
Sungjae Im went +7 and missed the cut at the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open, but I have faith in his outlook this week. He’ll be seeking revenge, which starts with making the cut. We’ve seen the 25-year-old South Korean native dip down a bit lately, but he’s still got seven T10 finishes this season. Plus, Im ranks as one of the best overall iron players, going 28th strokes gained tee-to-green, 21st off-the-tee, and 30th around the green. His putter is an asset, not a weakness, ranked 48th in strokes gained putting, along with ranking 22nd in total driving. Im has converted over 34 percent of birdie attempts, which is top-15 on the PGA Tour this year. I’m betting on a strong bounce-back but only laying half a unit, which is more than enough to remain valuable at 40/1 odds.
Aaron Rai (+7500) (Bet $100 to collect $7,600) For the best Aaron Rai odds go to DraftKings
2020 Genesis Scottish Open winner, Aaron Rai, has enjoyed a strong campaign on the PGA Tour in 2023. The 28-year-old Englishman has three T10 finishes, two of which have come in the last three events Rai has competed in. He’s ranked 24th in strokes gained tee-to-green, 36th approaching the green, and 33rd in total driving. His driving accuracy percentage is ranked sixth, which affords Rai the ability to avoid bad lies, such as fescue and sand traps. Rai’s strongest asset is finding greens in regulation, ranking 12th at a 69 percent conversion rate, but his putter will have to perform better in order to secure his second victory at this event in four years. 70/1 is pure value, so even sprinkling Rai’s outright odds is enough to return value on investment this week.
Seamus Power (+10000) (Bet $100 to collect $10,100) DraftKings has the best Seamus Power odds
We’re digging deep into the high-value with Seamus Power’s outright 100/1 odds to win the Genesis Scottish Open. The 36-year-old Irishman has three T10 finishes this season, alongside two career wins, including earlier this season at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Power just logged a T13 finish at a birdie fest at TPC Deere Run, but he’s another UK golfer who should feel comfortable early on adapting to the links course. Power ranks 48th in strokes gained around the green, 24th in strokes gained putting, and 18th in total putting. He converts over 32.8 percent of birdie attempts, which is 42nd on the PGA Tour, and he’s 15th in three-putt avoidance. A hot flat stick usually keeps a player in contention, even with other mediocre aspects to their game, so sprinkling on Power’s 100/1 odds feels like an obligatory longshot wager to place. Plus, he’s ranked 31st in par breakers, 12th in bounce back, eighth in par 3 scoring average, and 23rd for consecutive greens in regulation. This number is too long, and we need to take advantage of it before Power gets off to a solid start on Thursday at the Renaissance Club.
