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Hello PGA DFS family and welcome back to Horse For The Course! J.T. Poston brought some hot form to Illinois and delivered a big victory at the John Deere Classic for his second career win on the PGA Tour.
While the John Deere field was lackluster, this week's Genesis Scottish Open boasts one of the strongest non-major fields we've seen this year. Co-sanctioned by the PGA and DP World Tours, eight of the OWGR's top-10 golfers will be in attendance this week, as will many strong players that make their home on the former European Tour. Let's dive in!
Horse For The Course is an article that highlights players in this week's field with elite course history and is part of our free PGA DFS content here at RotoBaller. For my favorite DFS plays of the week check out my Core Four article here at RotoBaller every Wednesday. It's part of our amazing PGA Premium package that includes an all-new PGA Research Station, Lineup Builder & Optimizer, and some of the best articles in the PGA DFS industry! You can sign up now using Promo Code: NICE for an extra discount at checkout!
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2022 Genesis Scottish Open Overview
As mentioned in the intro, the Genesis Scottish Open is now a co-sanctioned event between the PGA and DP World Tours. As a result, we've got an elite field that features eight of the OWGR's top-10 ranked golfers teeing it up this week. With the Open Championship looming ahead, many are trying to adjust to the style of golf that they'll be forced to play at St. Andrews next week.
This year's Scottish Open will be held at The Renaissance Club for the fourth consecutive time. While it's not a huge sample size, it is enough for us to discuss some players in this week's HFTC article.
Due to this event's synergy between the PGA & DP World Tours this field will feature some of the best players from both Tours, including many excellent golfers that U.S. golf fans might not be super familiar with. Those that are well known to us include the likes of Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, and Scottie Scheffler, while some Euro stalwarts such as Ryan Fox and Adri Arnaus will also be in attendance.
You can also find out who the smart money is on by checking out Spencer Aguiar's PGA DFS: Vegas Report every week. And be sure to read all of our other top-notch weekly PGA DFS articles to help you win big!
The Course: The Renaissance Club
Par 71 - 7,293 Yards, Greens: Fescue, Designed By: Tom Doak
Renowned architect Tom Doak built The Renaissance Club - his first course in Scotland - in 2008 and made some noticeable revisions in 2014. It is by all accounts a links golf course, though some purists might quibble with that and refer to it as a "links style" course. Those labels aside, players will face rugged terrain and deep bunkering this week, while the ground game will also come into play around the greens.
In true Scottish fashion, The Renaissance can be unpredictable due to the elements and its seaside exposure. This volatility is evident in the drastically different winning scores of the Scottish Open in 2019 at 22-under par and 2020 at just 11-under par. My advice would be to monitor the weather forecast closely throughout the week, as there's always a chance of some tee time wave advantages when playing in these conditions.
Ball-striking and approach play always seem to be at the top of our "important stats" for every event and that's again the case for the Scottish Open. Outside of these concrete statistical areas I will also explore players with strong links records and a history of playing well in windy conditions.
I always recommend checking out RotoBaller's PGA Premium Course Breakdown by Josh Bennett for an in-depth breakdown of this week's golf course!
Recent Scottish Open Winners At The Renaissance Club
- 2021: Min Woo Lee (-18)
- 2020: Aaron Rai (-11)
- 2019: Bernd Weisberger (-22)
The Horse
Justin Thomas
- Event Scoring Average: 66.88
- Notable Event Finishes: T8 (2021), T9 ('19)
- DraftKings Price: $10,600 FanDuel Price: $11,800
Rostering Justin Thomas has largely been a no-brainer this year and that's again the case this week. The American has shown an affinity for this Scottish layout by posting top-10 finishes in each of his two career appearances at The Renaissance Club. After capturing his second career major victory earlier this year at the PGA Championship, JT never really got untracked at the U.S. Open but played solid en route to a T37. After a WD from the Travelers to nurse a sore back, he'll now turn his attention to adding an Open Championship to his growing resume and that preparation begins this week at the Scottish Open. Outside of a putter that can be temperamental, Thomas' game has no real weaknesses and there's no reason why he can't contend both this week and next on links layouts. Over his last 20 starts, he's gained strokes on average in every major strokes gained statistical category.
The Ponies
Matt Fitzpatrick
- Event Scoring Average: 69.42
- Notable Event Finishes: 2nd ('21), T42 ('20), T14 ('19)
- DraftKings Price: $10,100 FanDuel Price: $11,600
The latest major champion has entered a new stratosphere on DFS salary scales this week, as he comes in at just over $10k on DraftKings. Despite his lofty new price tag, Matt Fitzpatrick deserves serious consideration this week thanks to his current form and track record at The Renaissance Club, where he dropped a playoff to Min Woo Lee last year. The Englishman grew up playing links golf and will be very comfortable over these next two weeks. Much has been made about his newfound length off the tee (22nd in Driving Distance among this week's entrants) and it has perhaps most notably led to a spike in his scoring on Par-5s, an area where he finished 2021 ranked 77th on the PGA Tour, but currently stands 22nd in Par-5 Birdies or Better Gained. It's a skill that should allow him to take advantage of the four Par-5s he'll face at Renaissance this week.
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Tommy Fleetwood
- Event Scoring Average: 70.00
- Notable Event Finishes: T26 ('21), 2nd ('20)
- DraftKings Price: $8,400 FanDuel Price: $10,600
Despite forgettable outings in his two most recent starts, 2022 has undoubtedly been a nice bounce-back year for Tommy Fleetwood. The Englishman recorded just two top-10 finishes last season, a mark that he's already doubled in the 2022 season. He'll bring that improved form to a Renaissance layout on which he recorded a runner-up result in 2020 and snagged a T26 in last year's edition. Fleetwood is an excellent links player and that trend should continue over the next couple of weeks thanks to his regained consistency with the irons. He's gained an average of 2.4 strokes per tournament on Approach over his last five starts.
Lucas Herbert
- Event Scoring Average: 68.08
- Notable Event Finishes: T4 ('21), T4 ('20), T62 ('19)
- DraftKings Price: $7,600 FanDuel Price: $9,700
The well-traveled Aussie is a veteran of the DP World Tour, but has primarily played in the U.S. this year thanks to securing his PGA Tour card with a victory at the wind-swept Bermuda Championship back in October. Herbert is not only very familiar with links golf but has thrived, specifically, at The Renaissance Club, posting back-to-back T4 finishes on the Tom Doak layout since 2020. His short game is sneaky-elite and he comes into this year's edition of the Scottish riding some positive momentum on the heels of a top-10 finish at the Irish Open in his most recent start. Like many Australian players, Herbert has displayed a knack for playing well in windy conditions, a trait that could certainly come into play this week in Scotland.
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