The Genesis Scottish Open has been on a really good run the last few years.

Xander’s win in 2022. Rory with that insane, sawed-off long iron in 2023. Bobby Mac winning his home Open. And, of course, the kid from New Jersey staring down Rory on Sunday last year.

All to say, the Scottish Open is quietly becoming one of the better events on TOUR.

The field is always strong because it falls the week before The Open, and guys want to get over there, get adjusted, and remember what golf looks like when it’s played the way it was meant to be played.

It would be great to see these guys play links golf more than twice a year. I’m not sure how feasible that is, but every time they do it, the product is better.

Who’s In The Field?

Chris Gotterup will be looking to defend his title against the best of the best.

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Xander Schauffele headline a full field of 156 players this week.

Full Field Here

Key Stats For The Genesis Scottish Open

Here are the key stats for this week at The Renaissance Club:

• Start with putting, then approach. SG: Putting has the strongest correlation with SG: Total here at 0.631, with SG: Approach next at 0.532. This is not a pure ball-striking week. Guys need to make putts when chances come, especially if conditions get firm or windy.
• Distance helps more than accuracy. Driving accuracy is way down at 48.1%, but the missed fairway penalty is only 0.31, which is actually lighter than TOUR average. Distance correlates better than accuracy here, so don’t over-penalize bombers who miss fairways.
• Long approach play matters. The approach distribution leans heavier from 200–225 yards and 250+ yards, so this is a good week to favor players who handle longer irons, hybrids, and fairway woods. Wedge-only profiles are less attractive than guys who can survive from distance and still convert on the greens.

The Details

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Coverage on ESPN+ begins at 3:15 AM ET.

Featured Groups Here

Weekly Bets: Genesis Scottish Open

We’ve partnered with Keith Stewart at Read The Line to share his weekly golf betting picks with the Caddyshanks crew. If you’re the type who enjoys breaking down matchups, spotting trends, and hunting for value, you’ll feel right at home in the RTL community.

Use code CADDYSHANKS2026 for 20% OFF.

Keith Stewart’s Picks

Matt Fitzpatrick (+2100 DraftKings)

T2 in Canada, T4 at the Travelers, and three top-six results at the Scottish Open in his last five starts. Matt Fitzpatrick is ready for win number four this year.

Elite ball striking has been the DNA of his 2026 campaign, and now he heads to a place where he has never lost strokes with the putter. In seven starts at the Scottish Open, Fitzpatrick has gained an average of +4.6 strokes on the field with his flatstick.

Combine that with gaining strokes tee-to-green in 11 straight starts dating back to API, and few players are more suited to seal the deal in Scotland.

Nicolai Højgaard (+4800 DraftKings)

Nicolai Højgaard was in a bit of a slump, but he turned things around at the Travelers. Not a bad time to find something, especially considering his history at The Renaissance Club.

He has two top-six results here in the last three years, along with the ball speed and putting touch to get the job done.

Højgaard’s secret weapon? Iron play.

In his last three Scottish Open starts, Nicolai has gained an average of +5.3 strokes on approach. Combine that with his driver, and that’s a pretty strong formula.

Did I mention Højgaard ranked first in the field over the last two months in making putts inside 10 feet?

Caddyshanks Picks

Scottie Scheffler (+480 DraftKings)

The “bet Scottie every week” strategy is running out of time, but we’ve still managed to pick four outright winners this year, so it hasn’t killed us yet.

He’s due.

Wyndham Clark (+3300 DraftKings)

Wyndham’s putter is on fire, and when you’re putting like that, it can become a superpower.

Matt Fitzpatrick and Chris Gotterup both already have three wins this season. Clark has a good chance to add his name to that list here.

Justin Thomas (+4000 DraftKings)

Justin Thomas has been rounding into form.

He has six straight top-20 finishes, and he’s in better form this year than he was last season, when he finished T22 at the Scottish Open.

Last week, we had a birdie-fest.

This week, we should have something more challenging (depending on the weather).

The host venue this week, Colonial, has a rich history. Ben Hogan won five times here, and it’s the longest running tournament held at the same venue on TOUR.

They’ve been playing here for 80 years, yet since Hogan’s time, no one has ever won back-to-back. He did it twice, by the way.

Secondly, Colonial is narrow, with small greens – it’s not a bombers course.

Now, I am no golf course architecture expert, but I’ve noticed a theme.

At courses like Riviera, Harbour Town, and Colonial, all of the sudden how far the pros hit the ball doesn’t matter as much, and the golf seems to be way more enjoyable to watch.

What do those courses have in common?

They were all built before 1950, they are all old-school, strategic “shot-maker” courses that reward precision over power. They emphasize placing tee shots in the right spots, controlling approach angles, and hitting accurate irons into smaller or well-protected greens.

Here are the key stats for Colonial:

• Prioritize elite iron players and putters. The two strongest within-event correlations with SG Total are SG Putting at 0.648 and SG Approach at 0.610, well ahead of off-the-tee and around-the-green. For betting, that points toward players gaining consistently on approach who also have a credible putting spike in their profile.
• Build around the 125–175 yard approach window. The biggest approach buckets are 125–150 yards: 20.1% and 150–175 yards: 20.9%, so roughly 41% of approaches come from those two ranges alone. Proximity and scoring from short-to-mid irons should matter more here than generic long-iron or wedge-only splits.
• Don’t overrate driving accuracy by itself. Colonial is narrow, with 29.9-yard fairways and only 54.7% driving accuracy, but the correlation of accuracy to SG Total is just 0.169, while distance is 0.289 and total SG Off the Tee is 0.444. The betting takeaway: look for controlled drivers who can gain off the tee without being reckless, but don’t automatically downgrade longer players just because they miss fairways.

The Details

Previous Winners

How To Watch

Featured Groups:

All Featured Groups Here

Weekly Bets: 2026 CJ Cup Byron Nelson