2023 Scottish Open: PGA Tour Betting Odds
Scottie Scheffler is favoured on the golf odds this week.
This has long been a European Tour event but became co-sponsored by the PGA Tour for the first time last year. The field is essentially split down the middle. The thinking was that all the good players were in Europe the week before the British Open regardless. The Scottish Open is part of the Open Qualification Series, which invites the three top players on the leaderboard to the British Open not already exempt.
There is a PGA Tour event in the United States this week, the Barbasol Championship in Kentucky – Canadian Taylor Pendrith is favoured — but that field doesn’t hold a candle to the one at the Scottish Open, played at The Renaissance Club, a links course in North Berwick on the country’s “Golf Coast.” It’s a par 70 at approximately 7,240 yards. It marks the fifth consecutive year the tournament has been held there.
The defending champion is American Xander Schauffele. He shot an even-par 70 during the final round to finish at 7-under 273 and top Kurt Kitayama by one shot and J.H. Kim by two. Schauffele trailed by 11 strokes after the first round. His 8-foot par save on the par-3 17th Sunday at The Renaissance Club gave him a two-shot cushion. Kitayama had a one-shot lead on the back nine and was still tied until missing a 6-foot par putt on the 17th.
Schauffele hasn’t won since but has come close. Only Ernie Els (twice) and Ian Woosnam (three times) have won this tournament multiple times and never consecutively.
“I don’t know if it was love at first sight, but I did enjoy playing with winds blowing 30 (mph) and playing the ball down closer to the ground and you know, it being okay to sort of aim 100 yards away from a bunker you can’t go in and just play from there,” Schauffele said of links golf. “It’s just fun golf for me.”
Scottish Open Golf Odds
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is the +627 favourite but missed the cut here last year. He has hasn’t finished lower than fifth in any of his last six starts this year, however. Rory McIlroy is +746. He has five straight Top 10s on the PGA Tour but still hasn’t won in 2023 (he did in late 2022 as part of the wraparound season). Rory missed the cut here in 2021 last time he played.
Patrick Cantlay is +1300 with defending champion Xander Schauffele +1500, Rickie Fowler +1700 and Viktor Hovland +1900. Cantlay was fourth here last year in his tournament debut and comes off a T4 a couple of weeks ago at the Travelers Championship.
Schauffele’s average score of 67.88 is the best of any player in this tournament since 2019. Fowler looks reborn this year as he comes off a win in Detroit to end a long drought – he also won this tournament in 2015 at a different course. Hovland won in Ohio in early June but missed the cut here last year.
No Canadians have won this event and few have played it. Nick Taylor was the top finisher last year at T55, with Corey Conners at T61. Mackenzie Hughes missed the cut. Conners is +4600 this week with Taylor +12700 and Hughes +23600.
Scottish Open Golf Predictions
We like England’s Tommy Fleetwood at +2200. He was fourth here last year and runner-up in 2020.