This week we head to The Renaissance Club in Scotland for the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open where SportsLens’ resident golf expert Joe Lyons is offering up some of our very own betting tips and predictions.
The Scottish Open, together with last week’s John Deere Classic, provides hopefuls of one last chance to qualify for The Open in Liverpool next week. It is one of five tournaments that are part of the Rolex Series and one of the European Tour’s premier events.
In 2022, the tournament was co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and title sponsored by Genesis. The Renaissance Club has hosted the Scottish Open since 2019 and is scheduled to remain there until 2026.
Best Scottish Open Betting Offers
Genesis Scottish Open 2023 Preview
This year’s defending champion is world number six Xander Schauffele, who beat Kurt Kitayama by one stroke with a score of -7 in 2022. The 29-year-old is available at a price of 14/1 with the best golf betting sites.
The Renaissance Club, a Tom Doak design, provides a challenge unlike many others on the PGA Tour this season and links golf always provides an entertaining spectacle for fans.
The course offers an ideal week of preparation before the field move on to the final major of the season, The Open at Royal Liverpool. As always on a links course, ball-striking grouped with distance off the tee, experience on these types of courses and a tidy short game are the keys to victory.
Nine of the Official World Golf Ranking’s top 11 players will tee it up this week, with LIV’s Cameron Smith ineligible and Jon Rahm opting to skip the event.
The weather will play an important role and is something to keep a close eye on over the opening two rounds. Schauffele’s victory last year came under severe windy conditions and birdies were hard to come by, a stark contrast to Bernd Wiesberger and Benjamin Hebert’s scores of -22 each in calm conditions four years ago.
Genesis Scottish Open Betting Tips
Odds are correct at time of publishing and are subject to chance
Genesis Scottish Open Tip 1: Scottie Scheffler To Win @ 7/1 with BetUK
Scheffler missed the cut here last year but his game is in a much better place heading in to the 2023 edition, posting some of the best statistical numbers we’ve seen on the tour since Tiger Woods in 2006.
The 27-year-old has gained 2.81 strokes from tee-to-green on average this season, behind only Woods (2006, +2.98) and ahead of Rory McIlroy (2012, +2.35) since tracking began in 2004.
He really should have more than two wins on the tour this season and he’s come painfully close on one too many occasions, but for a player of his calibre it’s to be expected that the penny will drop sooner rather than later.
Scheffler’s putting is his main stumbling block at the minute but he has shown a vast improvement on the greens in his last two events, gaining 0.37 and 0.19 strokes at the US Open and Travelers Championship.
He doesn’t need to be gaining groundbreaking numbers with his putter to win a tournament either, showcased by +0.14 at the Players Championship in March – but the greens in Scotland will provide a much tougher test to his bid to add a third title this season.
In terms of skill rankings, he’s ranked as the best player around the green by datagolf this year (+0.34) and if he can put the ball close enough to the hole he’ll see his chances drastically increase.
Scheffler is also ranked as the best ball-striker (SG off-the-tee and approach) in golf since the beginning of 2023 (min 15 measured rounds) by quite some distance at +2.7 strokes gained ahead of Rahm and McIlroy (+1.8) and Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay (+1.7).
It’s been a historic season for the American who will look to find a bit of gold dust at the perfect time ahead of Royal Liverpool next week. He’s played too well not to have more trophies to his name, having not finished outside of the top 12 since early November 2022.
Priced with the best golf betting sites at 7/1, Scottie Scheffler is our headline pick to win the Genesis Scottish Open.
Genesis Scottish Open Tip 2: Shane Lowry To Win And Each-Way (8 Places) @ 30/1 with BetUK
Irishman Shane Lowry is a known performer on links courses and the 2019 Open winner arrives fresh in Scotland from a two-week break following his tied-19th finish at the Travelers, where his short game was in good form (+0.27 putting, +1.50 approach).
He finished tied-21st at The Open last year and tied-12th in 2021, but is still waiting to grab his first victory since the BMW PGA Championship on the DP World Tour last season.
Despite some frustrating finishes, Lowry ranks well across the tour in SG: total (30th), off-the-tee (27th) and in approach (13th). Even when struggling to find fairways, he ranks third on the tour in approaches inside 125-150 yards from the rough and knows how to play out of sticky situations.
It’s been a disappointing year on the greens for him but like Scheffler has also shown improvements in the past two events, gaining strokes with his putter in four of his last five starts at the PGA Championship, Memorial Tournament, US Open and Travelers.
He feels at home on these courses and here’s hoping he can put it all together to mount a challenge this week and get his game back on form ahead of The Open where he is also expected to perform well.
Genesis Scottish Open Tip 3: Min Woo Lee To Win And Each-Way (8 Places) @ 33/1 with BetUK
Winner of the Scottish Open in a playoff two years ago, Min Woo Lee looks to be an intriguing name in the field this week at a price of 33/1 with the best golf betting sites.
The Australian has taken the golf world by storm and is quickly becoming one of the most popular names in the game with his confidence, charisma and a sharp mullet/moustache combo. He doesn’t take himself too seriously and that has seemed to resonate especially well with the younger demographic.
He’s enjoying a breakout season on the tour and doesn’t even have a full card yet, earning special temporary membership following his performance at the PGA Championship in May where he finished tied-18th.
Since then, Lee finished tied-5th at the US Open and tied-9th at the Travelers Championship. He’s gaining a substantial number of yards on the field with his spectacular driving distance, which could play a key role in Scotland this week (+32.7 yards at the US Open, +25.5 at the Travelers and +27.2 at the British Masters).
The 24-year-old is worth taking a shot on at 33/1 (8 places) to grab a second victory at The Renaissance Club this week with the best golf betting sites.
Genesis Scottish Open Tip 4: Tom Kim To Win And Each-Way (12 Places) @ 45/1 with BetUK
Tom Kim finished in outright third here last year in tough conditions and displayed the ability to thrive with his back up against the wall, who looks a promising name to be in the mix once again.
Kim has one win on the PGA Tour this season and seven finishes inside the top-11. Despite a disappointing missed cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic earlier this month mainly down to his short game, the Korean found good form off the tee which should translate well here.
The performance in Detroit was uncharacteristic for the 21-year-old, who ranks 2nd on the tour in approaches from 125-150 yards this season and 10th in overall approach play. With a hot putter this week he can firmly put his name in the hat, gaining +1.09 strokes on the greens here last year.
Finding the fairways will be a huge bonus and he ranks seventh on the tour in driving accuracy percentage this season (69.02%). At 45/1 (12 places), Tom Kim can continue his ascension within the sport with another strong performance in Scotland.
Genesis Scottish Open 2023 Odds
Take a look at the best UK sports betting sites and claim the best bookmaker free bets ahead of this week’s action in Scotland.
- Scottie Scheffler @ 7/1
- Rory McIlroy @ 9/1
- Xander Schauffele @ 14/1
- Patrick Cantlay @ 14/1
- Rickie Fowler @ 16/1
- Viktor Hovland @ 18/1
- Tyrrell Hatton @ 20/1
- Tommy Fleetwood @ 20/1
- Jordan Spieth @ 22/1
- Matt Fitzpatrick @ 22/1
Odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change
Other Content You May Like
- Best Sports Betting Sites – Your guide to the best sportsbooks to bet on sports.
- Best Golf Betting Sites – The best betting sites to place your golf bets.
- Best US Open Golf Betting Sites – Your guide to the best UK betting sites for your US Open golf bets.
- Free Betting Tips – Exclusive betting tips for various sports completely free of charge.
- Golf Free Bets – Work out all of your best sports free bets today.
- Best eSports Betting Sites – Your guide to the best eSports betting sites in the UK.
- Exclusive Cash Out Betting Sites – Best cash-out betting sites from various UK bookmakers.
- Best Betting Apps – Your guide to the best betting apps in the UK.
- Best UK Sports Streaming Sites – Best sites that you can stream sports in the UK.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!