This week is action-packed in the world of golf. The PGA Tour will be playing the John Deere Classic and the European Tour is playing the abrdn Scottish Open. With a lot of the big names heading over the Atlantic Ocean…I have decided to cover the Scottish Open this week. During my research, I came across MANY names I am unfamiliar with, as I have very little experience playing EURO DFS. There were a decent amount of PGA regulars to choose from and some names I recognized from years past. With Rahm, Morikawa, McIlroy, Thomas, Schauffele and Zalatoris to name a few, this is a heavy-hitting field…why not play where golf was founded!

The European Tour will be playing at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick. Located on the Northern sea shore of Scotland, it looks like a beautiful course. With 7,300 yards of length and rainy weather…the approach game will be crucial to success. I do think that familiarity with the course will play a factor, but the ability to manage the wind will be key. We will be looking at 50-60 degree Fahrenheit highs lows possibly in the high 40’s. Managing to read celsius proved to be difficult…anyhow I believe the ability to scramble will play a key factor in the weekend as well, with a course challenging like this one, you want a golfer who can re-adjust their game.

Tier 1: Collin Morikawa ($11,100)

This is clearly a homer choice…if I am playing in a tourney that I am slightly unfamiliar with…I go with the best second-shot golfer in the world 9 times out of 10. Collin has never played in Europe either, but the field will realize who they are dealing with soon enough. Morikawa grew up playing the west coast courses, so while the ocean courses are not all that foreign…Scotland is. I cannot say with pure certainty, but the weather this weekend looks a lot like San Francisco…mild and wet. Pro Golf Weekly has him at 14/1.

Tier 2: Andrew Johnston ($7,800)

The British product has great results in his past 10…when he makes the cut he finishes near the top of the leaderboard each and every time. Andrew is a top-50 putter on the Euro Tour and is 7th in scrambling. Another thing that I liked about Johnston was that he is a little better than the field at 99% of the statistical categories. Do not be shocked to see “Beef” take the win at 100/1.

Tier 3: Laurie Canter ($7,200)

While I did not go with any Scottish golfers…I do have another Englishman named Laurie Canter. He is 3rd in Strokes gained off of the Tee…top-50 in distance…top-50 in approach and 3rd in Greens-in-Regulation. Albeit he is a bad putter…Canter has the tools to stay the course for the win. The 125/1 odds are crazy to me, but I do realize he has never won a tourney…it could be this weekend in Scotland.

References: europeantour.com, wiki, course.bluegolf.com

abrdn Scottish Open DFS Preview