The Genesis Scottish Open DFS Golf Picks
Make the most of the data, predictions, and insights from this article to help with your fantasy golf picks for the Genesis Scottish Open, and check out our PGA Optimizer to make more informed player selections for your DFS DraftKings lineups. Best of luck this week!
The Genesis Scottish Open
Preview for the Genesis Scottish Open: This has been a fairly popular event for PGA Tour players to partake in over the years, but this will be the first year that the PGA Tour is officially involved, in collaboration with the DP World Tour. This tournament dates back to 1972 when it began its journey at the Downfield Golf Club near Dundee, Scottland. The record for the Scottish Open belongs to Bernd Wiesberger, who shot a -22 in 2019 – the first year that this event saw the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland. Winners of the Scottish Open over the past five years include Min Woo Lee in 2021, Aaron Rai in 2020, Bernd Wiesberger in 2019, Brandon Stone in 2018, and Rafa Cabrera-Bello in 2017.
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Tournament purse: The prize money for this week’s event is $8M, the winner collects $1.44M and also earns himself 500 FedEx Cup points.
Course and key stats: The Renaissance Club is 7,303 yards in length, is a par 71, and the greens are bentgrass. The winning score at this tournament over the last decade ranges from -12 to -22, but five courses have been played during this stretch – the winning score has ranged from -11 to -22 on this particular track over the last three years, so wild weather can really play a huge factor here. Some key stats to pay attention to this week are strokes gained: approach, strokes gained: tee to green, driving distance, strokes gained: off the tee, and strokes gained: around the green.
The field: It’s an interesting mix of golfers this week between the PGA Tour, the DP World Tour, the KPGA, and there are three sponsor exemptions also. We got 75 players from the PGA, 75 from the DP World Tour, and 3 from the KPGA. 14 out of the top 15 players in the world are in action this week including Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, and other elites, as well. The top 65 golfers plus ties after round 2 will move on to play rounds 3 and 4. On a scale ranging from A to D, I rank the field strength to be a B+.
Three questions I have about the Genesis Scottish Open:
1. Will weather play a large factor? This event is played in Scotland and we have seen the wind play havoc here several times in years past, so expect the unexpected. The weather forecast this week for North Berwick, Scotland, looks breezy, especially on Friday and Sunday, so look to European golfers and others who are used to playing in the wind – Texans also come to mind along with coastal players. You may also want to go with the Thursday afternoon wave of players, but check into the weather conditions on Wednesday to see where things stand at that point.
2. Which 10 players have gained the most strokes total over the last 24 rounds? Will Zalatoris, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Sam Burns, Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Billy Horschel, Jordan Spieth, Sunjae Im, and Jon Rahm.
3. Which 10 players does my custom model like the most this week? Jordan Spieth, Scottie Scheffler, Will Zalatoris, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im, Mito Pereira, Max Homa, and Corey Conners.
DraftKings lineup construction strategy this week: We have a large field this week, and it’s quite top-heavy, so I recommend going in the stars and scrubs direction by grabbing as much win equity at the top of the board as possible. Take a look at projected ownership on Tuesday/Wednesday to see how the numbers are shaking down, and leave a wad of cash on the table if you want unique lineups in large GPP contests.
All the best in your journey to win or at least be in the money in some contests this week – here are my 15 DFS golf picks which feature my top 3 players from each tier on DraftKings (DK) in no particular order, plus I include player salaries for DK, as well. I consistently provide recent and seasonal finishes for each of my picks, their performances at the event over the last 5 years, and add in some tasty pieces of information, also.
The $10K+ Range
Matt Fitzpatrick (Salary: DraftKings – $10.1K) – Fitzpatrick is coming off the huge win at the U.S. Open where he gained 10.51 strokes ball-striking and 5.65 strokes around the green. He has four top 10’s in his last five starts and his game is so solid in every way, so now is the time to jump on the Englishman. Add to it that he finished co-runner-up here last year and T14 three years ago, and the stars seem to be extremely well aligned for Matt this week. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T2, 2020 – T42, 2019 – T14, 2018 – T14, and 2017 – T66.
Justin Thomas (Salary: DraftKings – $10.6K) – I expected much better than a 37th place finish at the U.S. Open for Thomas, but he still has eight top 8’s in 2022 and is sound in every facet of his play. With two top 9’s here since 2019 and in just two starts, JT should be in contention throughout the week, and nobody will be surprised if he ends up winning after hole 72. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T8 and 2019 – T9.
Scottie Scheffler (Salary: DraftKings – $11.2K) – Scheffler still maintains the top spot in the world rankings, and he deserves it as he has been outstanding since February with four wins, two 2nd’s, a T7, and four more top 18’s since that elusive victory at the Phoenix Open. He also had a T12 here last year in his first look at the Renaissance Club, so the sky is the limit for the talented Texan and he should be able to hold his own if the winds really get wild, as well. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T12.
The $9K Range
Xander Schauffele (Salary: DraftKings – $9.9K) – He’s coming off the win at the Travelers Championship where his ball-striking and putting were outstanding gaining over 16 strokes combined. He also won the Zurich Classic with teammate Patrick Cantlay in April, so he has two wins in his last six starts and has finished no worse than T18 during that stretch. A top 10 here last year also signals that Schauffele should do quite well this week, and he’s worth his high salary number. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T10.
Will Zalatoris (Salary: DraftKings – $9.3K) – He’s pressing for his first PGA Tour win and it shows with six top 6’s over his last eight starts if you count the Zurich Classic where he and his partner finished 4th. His putter is finally working well and we already know how good his ball-striking is, so Zalatoris’ first win could very well come this week in Scotland. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T26.
Sam Burns (Salary: DraftKings – $9.2K) – Burns is quickly becoming an elite talent and with two wins over his last nine starts, that reinforces the point. He has five top 9’s since early March and three other top 27’s. His ball-striking has been a bit off over his last two starts, but that can return anytime, and he had a top 20 here last year, so I like the prospects of Sam playing well this week and his floor should be a top 20. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T18.
The $8K Range
Max Homa (Salary: DraftKings – $8.0K) – He’s such a consistent player with regular finishes in the teens, he won five starts ago at the Wells Fargo Championship, and two starts ago at the Memorial he had a T5 thanks to gaining strokes across the board. There’s so much to like about Homa’s golf game as he has gained strokes ball-striking in eleven consecutive starts and his short game has been on the plus side in four out of his last five starts including gaining 7.04 at the Memorial. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: None.
Jordan Spieth (Salary: DraftKings – $8.9K) – Spieth won the RBC Heritage seven starts ago, then he followed that up with a 2nd at the Byron Nelson, he had a T7 at the Charles Schwab Challenge four starts ago, and while he missed the cut at the Travelers Championship in his most recent start, the last time he missed the cut he came back with the win, so missing weekend play seems to motivate him. He also had a 2nd at Pebble Beach after missing the Farmers Insurance Open cut line earlier this year, so when he misses a payday, he quickly makes up for it. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: None.
Corey Conners (Salary: DraftKings – $8.6K) – I really like rolling out Conners often as he’s so strong on approach and with his ball-striking, and even his putter has been half-decent lately, as well. He has six top 13’s over his last eleven starts and I expect him to be much better than last year on this track since almost every part of his game is strong or at least average-ish – around the green and putting are his only glaring weaknesses. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: 2021 – Cut.
The $7K Range
Keith Mitchell (Salary: DraftKings – $7.8K) – Mitchell is playing really well right now with back-to-back top 7’s at the Canadian Open and the Travelers Championship, and he has been inside the top 34 over his last four starts. His stats look pretty good and his off the tee play and putting have been especially strong since late May. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: None.
Tyrrell Hatton (Salary: DraftKings – $7.8K) – He has two teen finishes here between 2021 and 2019, and I’m leaning on him for his course history this week since his recent results haven’t been as good, but he did finish 13th at the PGA Championship three starts ago and has seven top 26’s this year if you count the Zurich Classic, and he secured a T2 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. I believe he will put up a top 20 this week, but he has some work to do, especially on approach where he has lost over 8 strokes combined over his last two tournaments played. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T18, 2019 – T14, 2018 – T9, and 2017 – T66.
Chris Kirk (Salary: DraftKings – $7.4K) – Kirk has had a fairly strong 2022 so far with four top 7’s in his last ten stroke-play events, and he’s getting it done with solid play throughout his bag, so his results are reasonably sustainable. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: None.
The $6K Range
Matthew NeSmith (Salary: DraftKings – $6.9K) – The $6K range leaves lots to be desired, but NeSmith has played in eight straight weekends if you count the Zurich Classic, and he’s coming off a T19 at the Travelers Championship where he gained 8.36 strokes ball-striking. He’s my favorite $6K player this week, and he should be considered in your core stars and scrubs’ lineups. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: None.
Matt Wallace (Salary: DraftKings – $6.7K) – His results here have been quite respectable with three straight top 30’s including a T14 in 2019. Wallace hasn’t been so great for a while now, but does have two top 46’s in his last three starts including a T35 at the Canadian Open, so there’s some hope that he will keep his top 30 streak alive in Scotland this week. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: 2021 – T26, 2020 – T30, 2019 – T14, 2018 – Cut, and 2017 – Cut.
Alex Smalley (Salary: DraftKings – $6.6K) – Smalley has four top 27’s in his last seven starts which I like, but he also has three missed cuts mixed in there which I don’t like, but at least he can pop and for a mid $6K player, he’s an intriguing option. He has gained 6.10 to 10.09 strokes ball-striking in three out of his last seven starts, so his off the tee and approach play can be quite impressive at times, and it sets the table for good finishes. Scottish Open finishes over the last five years: None.
