X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

PGA Course Preview for the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open: Scouting the Routing

Tommy Fleetwood - PGA DFS Lineup Picks, Golf Betting Picks

Ian McNeill's free comprehensive course preview of the Renaissance Club for the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open. Ian examines the course, giving key metrics and trends to help make informed decisions on the PGA betting board.

As the road to the year's final Major Championship winds down, the PGA Tour makes its fourth annual pilgrimage to the home of golf (or at least 20 miles south of it across the Firth of Fourth). Scotland's national Open has been played at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick for the last six years, and in that short time, we've seen everything from 22-under shootouts to wind-swept slog-fests won at U.S. Open-esque totals.

Aside from the variable scoring conditions, our favorite PGA Tour regulars will be tested in many different ways in North Berwick this week. Links golf is far removed from the point-and-shoot target golf we've seen in Detroit and Deer Run in recent weeks. Instead, players will be graded on variety, imagination, and creativity around this naturally imperfect terrain. However, the same attributes that make links golf such a compelling viewing product also make it an unforgiving proposition from a handicapping perspective. Weather and wind will play as vital a role in the eventual outcome as we'll see all year, and many promising prospects have been snuffed out on the back of an unfortunate draw on the tee sheet.

This piece will serve to break down every key trend and statistic I'm weighing to project a player's viability in the outright market and set our readers up to make the crucial decisions necessary on pre-week betting boards. Without further ado, here is my comprehensive scouting report on the Renaissance Club and the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open!

Featured Promo: Get any Props Premium Pass for 30% off using code WIN. Win more with our two new Props Optimizer tools -- one for PrizePicks Props, and one for Sportsbook Betting Props. Find optimal prop bets and get our recommended picks daily! Go Premium, Win More!

 

The Golf Course

The Renaissance Club - Par 70; 7,237 yards

Past Champions

  • 2024 - Robert MacIntyre (-18) over Adam Scott
  • 2023 - Rory McIlroy (-15) over Robert MacIntyre
  • 2022 - Xander Schauffele (-7) over Kurt Kitayama
  • 2021 - Min Woo Lee (-18) over Thomas Detry/Matt Fitzpatrick (playoff)
  • 2020 - Aaron Rai (-11) over Tommy Fleetwood (playoff)
  • 2019 - Bernd Wiesberger (-22) over Benjamin Hebert (playoff)

 

Renaissance Club by the Numbers (Off-The-Tee):

  • Average Fairway Width -- 32.3 yards; 15th narrowest on the PGA Tour
  • Average Driving Distance -- 294.2 yards; seventh highest on Tour
  • Driving Accuracy -- 51.3%; Lowest on Tour
  • Missed Fairway Penalty -- 0.26; second lowest on Tour
  • Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee Difficulty: (-0.020); 12th toughest on Tour

With an average fairway width of just over 30 yards and the lowest driving accuracy percentage on Tour, you'd be forgiven for thinking that Renaissance Club was due to play similarly to the off-the-tee test we saw last year at Troon. A course that, above all else, required you to avoid its perilous combination of pot bunkers, thick native grass, and gorse bush that returned one of the highest missed fairway penalties of the season and a penalty fraction comparable to waterlogged TPC Sawgrass.

However, The Renaissance Club vastly differs from last year's Open venue in the way it penalizes off-line tee shots -- despite ranking as the most difficult course on the PGA Tour to hit fairways over the last two seasons, a player's projected score from just off of the fairway sits at just 0.19 shots. In general, the 3" fescue rough here won't be nearly lush enough to provide any significant hindrance to the world's best, but that number shifts dramatically if you hone in specifically on fairways missed from outside of these friendly confines.

The "non-rough penalty" at Renaissance Club over the last three seasons sits at a whopping 0.59 strokes -- greater than we saw last year at Royal Troon and the ninth-highest mark on Tour since 2015. The caveat to all of this is in the sheer frequency in which we expect players to deal with this peril, however, as just 22 fairway bunkers are truly in play for touring professionals over the 18-hole routing and outside of the oceanside 13th and a few instances of rock outcropping, no real chance of a penalty stroke exists around these links.

This combination of difficult-to-hit fairways and general forgiveness to wayward tee shots leads me to weigh driving distance far above accuracy this week. Of the top 10 drivers of the ball here last season, only two hit more than 65% of their fairways for the week, while all ten averaged over 295 yards in distance. As seven of the ten Par 4s, this week measure over 450 yards, length off the tee will play a much bigger factor when attempting to score on Renaissance’s more demanding segments.

 

Renaissance Club by the Numbers (Approach):

  • Green in Regulation Rate -- 62.0%; 14th lowest on the PGA Tour
  • Strokes Gained: Approach Difficulty: (-0.028); eighth toughest on Tour
  • Key Proximity Ranges:
    • 200+ yards (accounts for 25.1% of historical approach shots)
    • 175-200 yards (23.2%)
    • 150-175 yards (20.2%)

In terms of iron play, the Renaissance Club will provide a welcome reprieve from the point-and-shoot wedge fests we've seen in the last three weeks on Tour. Last year, 75% of approach shots came from over 150 yards, and over the last three seasons, we've seen nearly 50% of second shots come in from beyond 175.

In addition to sheer proximity, the multitude of different shots required into the greens this week will allow the game's preeminent artists to separate themselves with sheer variety. Particularly if the wind kicks up on Scotland's eastern coast this week, players will be forced to employ many different tactics to give themselves birdie looks. From low, piercing ball flights that cut through the wind to grounded shots meant to utilize the natural contours around the greens, this isn't a week to rely on players who don't have a reliable answer to many exceedingly different questions.

Admittedly, weeks like this are difficult to model for in the traditional sense, as it's difficult to make the case that recent approach splits on a soft, benign golf course like TPC Deere Run or TPC River Highlands are in any way predictive of the test players will face across the pond these next two weeks. For this reason, I'm paying even more attention to both course history at Renaissance Club and comp. course history at The Open and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship played on the DP World Tour every fall. I cannot emphasize enough that this is an entirely different game from what we see week in and week out on the PGA Tour, and these historical markers are perhaps the best gauge we have of just how prepared these guys are for the examination ahead.

 

Renaissance Club by the Numbers (Around the Greens):

  • Scrambling Percentage -- 53.6%; 3.9% below Tour Average 
  • Sand Save Difficulty -- (-0.010); 12th toughest on Tour
  • Up-and-Down Difficulty (Fairway) -- (+0.070); second easiest on Tour
  • Up-and-Down Difficulty (Rough) -- (+0.107); Easiest on Tour
  • SG: Around the Green Difficulty: (+0.079); Easiest on Tour

One paragraph after talking up this course like the second coming of Augusta National, we reach far and away its most straightforward aspect. Links courses carry quite a reputation around the world for their difficulty around the greens, and over the last few seasons, we've seen some of the most difficult greenside surrounds in Championship golf around St. Andrews and Royal Liverpool.

The Renaissance Club, however, cannot claim to carry the same prestige as St. Andrews' perilous runoffs or Hoylake's cavernous bunkering -- as it actually sits as the easiest course to gain strokes around the greens on the entire PGA Tour. In fact, in 2023, Renaissance sat dead last out of 45 courses in Strokes Gained difficulty from both the rough and the fairway while also sitting 38th out of 45 courses in difficulty from the sand.

Of course, the importance of a good short game is most scaled with wind projections. In past iterations of the Scottish Open, we've seen players crest the 90% mark for Greens in Regulation in calm conditions and dip below 60% two years ago in the most wind-affected of the recent events at Renaissance Club. I don't see anything in the upcoming forecast to suggest we need to prepare for doomsday, but if things do change drastically in the coming days, around the green play will be among the first major adjustments made in the modeling.

 

Renaissance Club by the Numbers (Putting):

  • Average Green Size: 7,000 sq. feet
  • Agronomy -- Red Fescue
  • Stimpmeter: 10
  • 3-Putt Percentage: 2.4% (0.6% below Tour Average)
  • Strokes Gained: Putting Difficulty: (-0.016); fifth toughest on Tour

Similarly to my passage on approach play, the greens at Renaissance Club are also unlike anything we’ve seen in the 2024 PGA Tour season. At over 7,000 square feet on average, they rank as the 8th largest complexes on the schedule, and as is tradition on British Links courses, they’re made up of the same native fescue we see in the fairways and rough. Running at a 10 on the Stimpmeter, I’d expect these greens to be among the slowest we’ll see all year, and given their sheer size, I'll be placing an extra-special emphasis on lag putting splits like approach putt performance and three-putt performance.

We should also note that Renaissance Club has ranked as the most difficult course on Tour to putt inside of five feet over the last two seasons and the fifth-most difficult from five to 15 feet. The combination of blustery winds and unfamiliar surfaces has the potential to wreak havoc on players who aren’t coming in with a ton of confidence on the greens. I'll be looking for players with both touches from long range and an aptitude from inside 10 feet -- with special emphasis on positive splits on similarly slow greens.

 

Key Stats Roundup (in order of importance):

  • History on Links Courses (Open Championships, Alfred Dunhill Links Championships, Scottish Open's, etc.)
  • Mid/Long Iron play -- particularly from 150 yards and beyond
  • Putting on Slower Green Complexes -- looking both at lag putting metrics like Approach Putt Performance/Three-Putt Avoidance as well as splits from the key scoring range of 5-15 feet
  • Driving Distance
  • Proficiency in the Wind

 

Did you know RotoBaller has a Premium DFS PGA subscription? Like what you read today? You can show your support for Ian by using the discount code BALLER when purchasing a PGA Premium Pass. You get 10% off and full access to all of our Premium PGA articles, DFS tools, and Lineup Optimizer! You also get access to weekly betting picks from Spencer Aguiar, one of the top betting minds in the industry.

 

The Sunday Shortlist

Before the odds come out on Monday morning, here are two to three names I’ve identified as significant targets upon my initial research.

Tommy Fleetwood

In full disclosure, with the profound effects that weather can have on these coastal links tracks, this is one of the few weeks in which I'm okay sacrificing a few points on the opening line to ensure my player won't be facing the near-impossible task of contending from the bad side of a draw. At the time I'm writing this (Sunday evening), North Berwick doesn't look to be forecasted for any significant weather events (wind or rain) for either of the first two rounds. But I've been burned far too many times by a late-week shift in forecasted winds to go punting off my entire budget on the word of a Monday AM weather report.

That doesn't mean we should completely abandon any semblance of due diligence beforehand, however, and perhaps nobody in this field is better suited to deal with these volatile circumstances than Southport's own Tommy Fleetwood. The Englishman has been the most consistent links player on the planet over the last six years: recording eleven top-twelve finishes in 16 starts at the Open Championship, Scottish Open, and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship since 2018.

Fleetwood's proficiency not only in the wind but also on and around the traditionally slower green complexes on the links makes him an ever-present threat in the British Isles. And this season, Fleetwood comes into his homecoming with some added momentum: ranking fourth in SG: Total over the last three months, and inside the top 40 in each of the four Strokes Gained categories.

This elite all-around skillset has allowed Tommy to record just two finishes worse than 21st through an eight-start stretch starting at Augusta, and in his last start at the Travelers Championship, Fleetwood recorded the best tee-to-green performance we've seen since a top five finish at LACC in the 2023 U.S. Open (+10.9 strokes gained).

Of course, questions will remain around Tommy's ability to close the deal on Sunday afternoon -- particularly after the debacle in Cromwell three weeks ago. But I'm a firm believer that good golf is all you need to eventually find your way into the winner's circle. And for what it's worth: Tommy's aforementioned top-five at LACC two years ago came directly off the bat of another of his heartbreaking losses: a playoff loss to Nick Taylor's 72-foot eagle putt in the 2023 Canadian Open.

With his history around links tracks and his incoming form, I'm certainly not expecting to see much of a discount on Fleetwood this week, but I do believe he represents the safest entity in this field outside of Scheffler and McIlroy. He famously won his first-ever pro tournament as a fresh-faced 22-year-old at Gleneagles, and at any price over 20-1, I think he's got a great chance of repeating the trick for his first PGA Tour title just a couple hours down the Scottish coastline.

 

Matt Fitzpatrick

While Matt Fitzpatrick no longer faces the same questions that his countryman does about winning pedigree, the three years since his famous U.S. Open triumph have been far from easy. Marred by inconsistency, swing problems, and a rather infamous oversight with his driver last year, Fitzpatrick went on record in April's RBC Heritage saying "2025 has been the worst I've ever played." Matt specifically cited his iron play as not being good enough -- as through eight starts to that point in the season, he'd gained to the field just once with his approach play.

Perhaps speaking candidly about his struggles allowed for a bit more freedom on the course, as Fitzpatrick went on to record his best approach week in over 12 months in Hilton Head (+3.0 strokes gained), and in five starts since, has logged the second and fourth-best iron weeks of his PGA Tour Career at Quail Hollow (+5.8) and Detroit GC (+5.5).

This rapid progression in Fitzpatrick's ball-striking has netted him a pair of top-tens and no finish worse than 38th in seven starts since the Masters: and in a great spot mentally as the Tour heads to comfortable confines in the British Isles.

Here at Renaissance Club, Matt has recorded three finishes of 15th or better in six career starts: including a runner-up finish to Min Woo Lee in 2021. He captured the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship just two years ago, and has gained strokes on the greens in his last twelve measured starts between the Scottish, Open Championship, and Alfred Dunhill.

If the ball-striking can continue to trend for Fitzpatrick, there's no reason he can't establish himself once again as one of the top entities on the PGA Tour. The winless drought may have stretched longer than we'd expected since the dream run he had between 2022-2023, but this week sets up perfectly for a return to form. Few players in this field have as complete a package for links golf as the Sheffield-native.

 

  Win More With RotoBaller

Win more with expert tools and advice from proven winners! RotoBaller's PGA Premium Packages feature several savvy analysts and proven winners for DFS and betting.

Our very own Joe Nicely took down a big DraftKings DFS tournament for the Travelers Championship. And as an encore, RotoBaller subscriber @tenndolly2 won $100K on FanDuel with the help of Joe and the rest of our Premium PGA team: Between all the incredible Premium PGA DFS and Betting content and tools we put out each week, and our Premium Slack Community where we chat with our subscribers before lineups lock, RotoBaller PGA subscribers are armed with the tools, analysis, and advice to win more.

Golf DFS News and Player Outlooks

More PGA Analysis and DFS Lineup Picks

POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Draft Rankings
Draft Simulator
Enter League Settings
Value Picks
Compare Any Players
News and Alerts

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Kyle Tucker

Played Through Hairline Fracture in Hand, Now Healthy
Landen Roupp

Carted Off With Apparent Knee Injury
Devaughn Vele

Traded to Saints
Demarcus Robinson

Issued Three-Game Suspension
Lamar Jackson

Dealing With Minor Foot Injury
Lamar Jackson

Suffers Apparent Hand Injury
Félix Bautista

Felix Bautista has Surgery on Torn Rotator Cuff
Hideki Matsuyama

Looks to Bounce Back at Tour Championship
Corey Conners

Looking to Reverse Struggles at East Lake
Joe Mixon

Could Begin Season on PUP List
Cameron Young

Stays Hot Ahead of Tour Championship
Harris English

Aims for Complete Game at East Lake
Sepp Straka

Back in Action at East Lake
Ben Griffin

a Strong Value Play at East Lake
Bubba Chandler

to Join Pirates on Friday
Rory McIlroy

Chasing Another Win at East Lake
Patrick Cantlay

Finishes Tied for 30th at BMW Championship
Ludvig Aberg

Finishes Tied For Seventh at BMW Championship
Collin Morikawa

Finishes Tied for 33rd at BMW Championship
Keegan Bradley

Finishes Tied for 17th at BMW Championship
Robert MacIntyre

Finishes Second at BMW Championship
J.J. Spaun

Finishes Tied for 23rd at BMW Championship
Scottie Scheffler

Wins BMW Championship
Brian Robinson Jr.

Not Expected to Play for Commanders This Year
Kenley Jansen

Considered Day-to-Day With a "Physical" Injury
Rashee Rice

Could be Facing 4-6 Game Suspension?
Harry Hall

Hot at the Right Time for Tour Championship
PGA

Sungjae Im Wants to Rebound at Tour Championship
Jacob Bridgeman

has One Weakness Heading to Atlanta
Nikola Vučević

Nikola Vucevic Not Expecting to Be Moved Before the Season
Nick Taylor

a Long Shot to Win Tour Championship
Josh Giddey

Bulls Not Interested in Sign-and-Trade Deal Involving Josh Giddey
Brian Harman

Trying to Crack Top 20 at Tour Championship
Andrew Novak

Attempts to Bounce Back in Atlanta
Oscar Tshiebwe

Signs New Two-Way Deal With Jazz
Justin Rose

Seeks Even More Success at Tour Championship
Washington Wizards

Alondes Williams Joins Wizards for Training Camp
Washington Wizards

Wizards Add Skal Labissiere for Training Camp
Francisco Alvarez

Needs Thumb Surgery, May Play Through Injury
Willy Adames

Out With Side Soreness on Tuesday
A.J. Brown

on Track to Play in Week 1
Jacob deGrom

Being Skipped in Rotation Due to Shoulder Fatigue
Adley Rutschman

Scratched on Tuesday With Abdominal Discomfort
CBJ

Brendan Smith Joins Blue Jackets on Tryout Deal
STL

Milan Lucic Joins Blues for Tryout
DET

Red Wings Pick Up Travis Hamonic
Austin Riley

Doesn't Appear Ready to Return Any Time Soon
Aaron Judge

Unikely to Throw Normally Again This Year
Jalen McMillan

Could be Out Through Week 9 Bye
Indiana Pacers

Pacers Coach Rick Carlisle Agrees to a Multiyear Contract Extension on Tuesday
Washington Wizards

John Wall Retires After 11 NBA Seasons
Daniel Jones

Named as Colts Starting Quarterback
Jalen McMillan

Will Not Be Ready for Season Opener
Collin Sexton

Hornets Have High Hopes for Collin Sexton
Rui Hachimura

Likely to Start Season Without Contract Extension
Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Hopes to Bounce Back in 2025-26
Stephen Curry

Ready to Go for New Season
Orlando Magic

Lester Quinones Agrees to Deal With Magic
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Cleared to Play on Tuesday Night
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Pulled With Hamstring Tightness
MLB

Game 2 of Brewers-Cubs on Monday Postponed
Bryce Miller

to be Activated on Tuesday
Kyle Tucker

to Get Multiple Days Off
Shane Bieber

to Make Season Debut on Friday
Joe Mixon

Could Start Season on NFI List
Zack Wheeler

has Surgery to Remove Blood Clot
De'Von Achane

Unlikely to Practice This Week
Justin Jefferson

Returning to Practice
Chris Godwin

Bucs Chris Godwin Likely to Start Season on PUP List
Joe Flacco

Browns Name Joe Flacco as Their Week 1 Starter
Jalen McDaniels

Inks Deal With New Orleans
N'Faly Dante

Signs Deal With Hawks
Matthew Stafford

Practicing on Monday
Dru Smith

Agrees to Deal With Heat
Austin Dillon

Scores an Upset Victory at Richmond
William Byron

Clinches the Regular Season Championship Title at Richmond
Denny Hamlin

Pit-Road Struggles Impede Denny Hamlin's Chances of a Top Finish at Richmond
Joey Logano

Earns A Fourth-Place Finish at Richmond
Kyle Larson

Rallies to A Top-10 Finish at Richmond
Malik Nabers

Dealing With Back Injury
Khamzat Chimaev

Is The New UFC Middleweight Champion
Dricus Du Plessis

Gets Dominated At UFC 319
Aaron Pico

Suffers Knockout Loss In His UFC Debut
Lerone Murphy

Scores Stunning First-Round Knockout
Leodalis De Vries

Earns Promotion to Double-A
Nathaniel Lowe

Finalizing Deal with Boston
Geoff Neal

Suffers First-Round Knockout Loss
Ketel Marte

Arizona Could Trade Ketel Marte in the Offseason
Carlos Prates

Gets Back In The Win Column
Michael Page

Dominates At UFC 319
Jared Cannonier

Gets Outclassed
Tim Elliott

Gets Submission Win
Kai Asakura

Still Winless In The UFC
Austin Cindric

has Arguably his Best Run of the Season at Richmond
Ryan Blaney

Contends for First Richmond Win but Comes Up Short
Alex Bowman

Finishes Second but Loses Ground in Playoffs
NASCAR

Bubba Wallace Sets Personal Laps-Led Record at Richmond
Chris Buescher

Falls Out of Playoffs After Miserable Richmond Run
Coby White

Bulls Not Interested in Trading Coby White
Dereck Lively II

Expected to be Ready for Camp
Brian Robinson Jr.

Commanders "Shopping" Brian Robinson Jr.
John Metchie III

Texans Trade John Metchie III to Eagles
Victor Scott II

Placed on 10-Day Injured List
Trey Hendrickson

Bengals Listening to Trade Offers for Trey Hendrickson
Luka Dončić

Luka Doncic Likely Avoids Serious Injury
Denny Hamlin

the Heavy Favorite to Win at Richmond
Christopher Bell

Has Been Great at Richmond
Tyrese Haliburton

No Longer Using a Scooter, Crutches
Ryan Blaney

Can Ryan Blaney Finally Break Through at Richmond?
Joey Logano

Will Start Last at Richmond After Practice Trouble
Chase Elliott

Lack of Top-Line Speed Hurts his DFS Potential
Kyle Larson

Recent String of Crashes Make Him a Big Risk at Richmond
William Byron

Probably Slightly Too Inconsistent at Richmond to Start for DFS
Ryan Preece

on Pole at Richmond as Playoff Deadline Looms Closer
Brad Keselowski

Probably the Best RFK Racing DFS Option at Richmond
Chase Briscoe

Still Figuring Out Richmond
Chris Buescher

a Solid Choice for DFS Play, but Teammates Look Faster
Haywood Highsmith

Dealt to Brooklyn on Friday
Khamzat Chimaev

A Favorite At UFC 319
Dricus Du Plessis

Set For His Third Title Defense
Aaron Pico

Set For UFC Debut
Lerone Murphy

Looks To Remain Undefeated
Geoff Neal

Looks For His Second Win In A Row
Michael Page

Set For His Second Middleweight Bout
Jared Cannonier

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Kai Asakura

Looks For His First UFC Win
Tim Elliott

Set To Open Up UFC 309 Main Card
CBJ

Mikael Pyyhtia Re-Signs With Blue Jackets for One Year
UTA

Caleb Desnoyers Expected to Miss 12 Weeks After Wrist Procedure
Tyson Foerster

on Track to Be Healthy for Season Opener
NHL

Olivier Rodrigue Signs KHL Deal
NHL

Emil Bemstrom to Join Swiss Team