Fantasy Golf Predictions
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2022 Genesis Scottish Open
Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open
Genesis Scottish Open Fantasy Preview
The Poston always rings twice!
J.T. Poston opened up a PGA TOUR event with a round of 62 for the second week in a row, but this time at the John Deere Classic he really made it count.
The 29-year-old continued his fine renaissance with irons and wedges in hand to close out a three-shot, wire-to-wire win at TPC Deere Run – the second of his career following his 2019 triumph in the Wyndham Championship.
The unassuming Poston has tied up his playing privileges until 2024, with tickets to the British Open next week and The Masters and PGA Championship next year all punched. The man known as ‘the Postman’ truly delivered in Illinois.
Matters take a European turn for the next couple of weeks, with the Scottish Open this week acting as ideal prep for the final major of the year, the British Open, next.
Last Week’s Fantasy Results
Last week was a huge breakthrough win for our Mid-Tier pick, J.T. Poston! In case you missed it, here is what we had to say about J.T. in last week’s column:
There was a fairly a-typical performance from J.T. Poston at the Travelers Championship last time out.
He ranked second for SG: Approach, and that’s interesting because a lot of greens are attacked from the 125-150 yard range at TPC River Highlands – which is also the case at TPC Deere Run, too.
If Poston brings his hot flat stick to Illinois then he will also have another string to his bow – he ranked thirteenth for SG: Putting for the tournament and fifth in the final round, so he is carrying plenty of confidence in his bag.
Genesis Scottish Open Field
Just for reference, this is a fully sanctioned PGA TOUR event that is being played in Scotland.
It’s vital prep for the British Open too, and that’s why such a high-quality field is assembling despite the rather cool and breezy conditions.
Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler take headline honors, as they do everywhere they go, and they will be joined in Scotland by U.S. Open victor Matt Fitzpatrick, Travelers Championship winner Xander Schauffele and defending British Open champion Collin Morikawa.
You would think that Cameron Smith and Patrick Cantlay would love Links golf, and they will get a chance to prove it alongside a confirmed fan of these conditions, Jordan Spieth.
For all the studs in the field at the Renaissance Club this year and last, it’s a rather more unheralded name that will defend the trophy this week – Min Woo Lee taking the spoils 12 months ago after a playoff win over Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry.
This Week’s Course Preview
It’s off to the Renaissance Club in Berwick we go for Scotland’s inaugural PGA TOUR event of the modern era.
We’re in classic Links territory with this Tom Doak design, which was given a Padraig Harrington approved overhaul last year. There’s pot bunkers, wild fescue rough and superfast, super firm undulating greens which are bone dry due to the local winds.
It will play at around 7,300 yards for its Par 71, with three Par 5s and an array of holes that play into the breeze and with it at the player’s tails as well. One of the Par 4s can play as long as 505 yards, although scoring has been relatively low here in recent years – this is a friendly coastal layout, as opposed to a British Open worthy one.
There’s elevation changes and some crosswinds to consider, so club selection, course management and a knowledgeable caddie will all come in handy this week.
There have been three editions of the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club, but only two in this July timeslot – winning scores of -18 and -22 confirm that this won’t be too taxing a test if the ocean win stays down.
Weather Forecast for North Berwick, Scotland
“The windier and firmer it is, the more ball-striking plays a premium,” so says Tom Doak on the PGA TOUR website. “If it’s soft, it becomes more of a putting contest, and that’s not what the best players want to see.”
So what can we expect this week? Well, it looks set to be a dry four days of action, if nothing else.
But keep your eyes peeled for the weather forecast, because the early predictions show that the wind could pick up from 8mph on Thursday to as high as 15mph on Friday – if it does, there could be an almighty draw bias to work with.
Note that while the sun is shining, the temperatures are not exactly stratospheric – the mercury will bobble around the 68˚F mark throughout the week.
Last Year’s Results from the Genesis Scottish Open
To suggest that Min Woo Lee’s victory 12 months ago was something of a surprise would be a massive understatement.
The Korean was ranked 240 in the world heading into the Scottish Open, but he bested a field that included the likes of Scheffler, Rahm and Justin Thomas to land only his second professional level title.
Locked on -18 at the end of regulation time, Lee took down Matt Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff, and as a result he would book his place in the British Open a week later.
Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the Genesis Scottish Open this Week
With some distractions this week – LIV Golf makes its DFS debut, alongside a classy Irish Open – it will be interesting how popular the JDC contests are. With a weak field and a feature-less golf course, these are not stellar conditions….but they can create winning opportunities nonetheless.
- PGA $800k Pitch & Putt: Events played on Links courses tend to bring a certain player to the fore, and so we can take advantage by picking a couple of different rosters and putting them to work. This contest, at $20 a time, isn’t cheap, but the winner will bank a heavyweight $200k.
- PGA $35k Albatross: Because we have such a strong feeling about our main lineup this week, we can try our luck in a single entry contest – you could win $4k for your efforts here against 3,400 other players.
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This Week’s Fantasy Notes for the Genesis Scottish Open
Quite simply, some players thrive when it comes to Links golf, and others do not.
That will become evident simply by researching such events from years gone by – you’ll notice the same names appearing time after time.
And there’s good reason for that. These are the guys that are able to control their ball off the tee in gusting winds – usually because they have a low ball flight, and then what happens is that they can approach super-firm greens with a higher trajectory….ball-run in these fair fairways can be the difference between a wedge in for accurate drives compared to a 7-iron for those tangled up in the fescue.
Links golf is often about recovery too, and finding ways to extricate one’s self from danger – be it a pot bunker or a hapless position having run off the greens. Imagination, and a variety of shots, around the green are also vital.
So bludgeoning length off the tee, confidence in high winds and a reliable short game are the three basic pillars of success in Links golf, and these should provide the foundation for your draft for the Scottish Open as well.
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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the Genesis Scottish Open
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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the Genesis Scottish Open
Top Tier Pick #1:
Xander Schauffele (Odds: 20/1, FPPG: 85.1, GPFP: 76.61 Salary: $9,900)
To get a recent PGA TOUR winner on board, and a clear Links golf fan, on board at a sub $10,000 price seems more than fair.
Yes, Xander Schauffele doesn’t win often enough given his undoubted talent, but who knows what that victory at the Travelers Championship could go on to do for the rest of his season.
This Links swing, as short as it is, could yield opportunities, because Schauffele is a former British Open runner-up who has won by the ocean at Kapalua in Hawaii. He also finished T10 at the Renaissance Club 12 months ago.
Key Stats:
- Total Driving – 4th
- Birdie Average – 5th
- SG: Approach – 8th
Top Tier Pick #2:
Jordan Spieth (Odds: 30/1, FPPG: 69.9, GPFP: 60.85 Salary: $8,900)
In his last six starts in the British Open, Jordan Spieth has four top-10 finishes to his name – including that famous win at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
Spieth’s record by the ocean is not in doubt, and if you were thinking of questioning it then how about wins at Pebble Beach, Kapalua and Harbour Town Links as if to further emphasize the point.
In his last seven starts, Spieth has won the RBC Heritage, finished second at the Byron Nelson and recorded another top-10 at the Charles Schwab Challenge, so there’s plenty to like about his chances.
Key Stats:
- SG: Off-the-Tee – 29th
- Birdie Average – 32nd
- SG: Approach – 36th
Mid-Tier Pick #1:
Corey Conners (Odds: 55/1, FPPG: 67.4, GPFP: 53.94 Salary: $8,300)
A quality ball-striker, Corey Conners also enjoys a day out besides the seaside.
The Canadian has served up top-10 finishes in the Sony Open, RBC Heritage and the RSM Classic, and he has backed those up on the big stage with top-20 returns from the British Open and the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, both in 2021.
A missed cut at the U.S. Open notwithstanding, Conners has been in decent form since the spring with a catalogue of strong performances headlined by T6 at The Masters.
Key Stats:
- SG: Off-the-Tee – 6th
- Scoring Average – 22nd
- SG: Approach – 27th
Mid-Tier Pick #2:
Justin Rose (Odds: 60/1, FPPG: 66.1, GPFP: 52.86 Salary: $7,900)
There have been reasons to be cheerful for Justin Rose of late.
T13 at the PGA Championship, he has since followed up with a sublime ball-striking show at the Canadian Open (T4) and a solid turn at the U.S. Open too.
You’ll need a good old memory to remember Rose finishing T4 in the British Open as an amateur in 1998, but he has a number of top-20 finishes in the event since including a T2 effort in 2018 – the Links pedigree of the former Scottish Open champion cannot be brought into question.
Key Stats:
- Birdie Average – 27th
- Total Driving – 45th
- SG: Approach – 85th
Low-Tier Pick:
Aaron Rai (Odds: 70/1, FPPG: 60.5, GPFP: 48.87 Salary: $7,400)
Fire up Aaron Rai’s profile page on the OWGR site and you will note than five of his twelve best performances have come on Links courses in England, Ireland or Scotland.
It tells us that he has the perfect game for these conditions, from wind management to an ability to get up and down with a variety of different chips and flicks from around the green.
Rai is a notoriously accurate driver – that tends to help on courses with wild rough too, and off the back of a top-10 effort in the Irish Open last week he has to be respected.
Key Stats:
- Driving Accuracy – 25th
- SG: Approach – 52nd
- Scoring Average – 63rd
Sleeper Pick for the Genesis Scottish Open
Haotong Li (Odds: 120/1, FPPG: 75.2, GPFP: 60.17 Salary: $7,200)
You might remember Haotong Li from the 2017 edition of the British Open.
He fired a round of 63 – one of the best ever recorded in a major, and which would have been a tournament record but for the brilliance of Branden Grace in the very same event.
Since then, the Chinese star’s career has enjoyed peaks and troughs, but wins at the Dubai Desert Classic and in his last start at the BMW International Open confirm that he is a player very much back on the up.
Key Stats:
- N/A
Alternative Sleeper Pick for the Genesis Scottish Open
Francesco Molinari (Odds: 180/1, FPPG: 52.8, GPFP: 55.41 Salary: $7,000)
The change in conditions and dynamics will catch a lot of in-form players out this week – especially those making the trip from North America.
And so opportunities will present themselves to those who are, on paper at least, out of form.
Once such individual who could thrive is Francesco Molinari, the former British Open champion who has five top-20s to his name in the UK and Irish major.
The Italian is another player with a stack of quality performances to his name on Links courses in Europe, and that is no coincidence.
Key Stats:
- SG: Around-the-Green – 20th
- Birdie Average – 67th
- SG: Putting – 78th
This Week’s Sample Fantasy Lineup
Note: Sample lineups provided as examples only. Be sure to mix-and-match players to best fit individual contests.
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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2021-2022)
Tourneys Played '21 -'22
Season Earnings YTD
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