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Eight of the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Rankings will tee it up this week at the 2023 Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club. A co-sanctioned event between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour for the second consecutive year, the Scottish Open presents players their last opportunity to prepare for the year's final major championship: the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will take the links-golf test a week early, as he did a year ago. Missing the cut in his debut appearance at the Scottish Open, the Texan hopes for a better effort this time around. Enjoying one of the best statistical seasons from tee to green, Scheffler has connected on 18 straight top-12 finishes dating back to the fall of 2022 and enters the Scottish Open with six straight top-five results.

Rory McIlroy rolls into Scotland with one eye on Hoylake. The site of his 2014 Open triumph, Royal Liverpool will have to wait a week as McIlroy embarks on his third stroll around The Renaissance Club and his first since 2021. Enjoying little success in this tournament while it was exclusively on the DP World Tour, the four-time major champion hopes a fine tune-up is in his near future.

Defending champion Xander Schauffele aims to go back-to-back and capture his first victory since that win last year. Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, Rickie Fowler, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton are among those peaking at the perfect time, while Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick put their links golf knowledge to the test on the northern coast of Scotland.

Rick Gehman is joined by Kyle Porter, Mark Immelman and Greg DuCharme to discuss Tuesday's Senate hearing regarding the PGA Tour and PIF as well as preview the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open. Follow & listen to The First Cut on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

2023 Scottish Open schedule

Dates: July 13-16 | Location: The Renaissance Club — North Berwick, Scotland
Par: 70 | Yardage: 7,237 | Purse: $8,000,000

2023 Scottish Open field, odds

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook

  • Scottie Scheffler (7-1): If there is anything that can put Scheffler's streak to a halt, it may be links golf. His experience across the pond is not extensive, but it is quietly very good. In four starts between the Scottish Open and the Open, Scheffler has three top-21 finishes with the outlier being his missed cut at this tournament in 2022. He is the only player over the last six months to average north of three strokes gained per round, ranking first in strokes gained tee to green and strokes gained approach. The horse has been beaten repeatedly, but if he putts, he probably wins.
  • Rory McIlroy (8-1): After a slow start to the year in the states, McIlroy has hit the nitrous. Five straight top-10 finishes began with a ho-hum performance at the PGA Championship, included another close call in a major championship at the U.S. Open and has been rounded out with a T7 at the Travelers Championship. He is approaching nine years since his last major triumph, and this week could prove to be vital for his chances next week at Hoylake. A winner there in 2014 over Fowler and Sergio Garcia, McIlroy first needs to bump a small trend at The Renaissance Club where he has a missed cut and T34 finish in his two starts.
  • Patrick Cantlay (14-1)
  • Xander Schauffele (14-1): Schauffele is enjoying the best statistical season of his career but remains winless since this tournament last year. Gaining nearly +2.30 strokes per round, Schauffele has fallen victim to Scheffler, Jon Rahm and the small group of players hogging the majority of trophies. He has racked up 14 top-20 finishes in 18 starts and has proven to be a strong competitor on links-style golf courses. In addition to his victory, Schauffele has four top-20 finishes and zero missed cuts between the Scottish Open and The Open.
  • Rickie Fowler (16-1)
  • Viktor Hovland (18-1): The Norwegian struck out in last year's Scottish Open but more than made up for it with his play a week later at St. Andrews. A member of the final pair in the final round, Hovland received his first taste of major championship contention and finished T4 at the Old Course. It marked his second quality Open in as many appearances and he now looks ripe for a major breakthrough. Hovland has cooled ever so slightly since his win at the Memorial with a solo 19th at the U.S. Open and top-30 finish at the Travelers Championship. Despite this, his ball striking still has the potential to carry him to victory as his golf ball is likely to be unaffected by any potential winds.
  • Matt Fitzpatrick (20-1)
  • Tommy Fleetwood (20-1)
  • Tyrrell Hatton (20-1)
  • Jordan Spieth (22-1): When it comes to Spieth and links golf, you can throw out current form. Peanut butter and jelly. Peas and carrots. Spieth and links golf. Some things in life just go together. It has been roughly a month since the three-time major champion has played as he skipped the Travelers Championship and was an early exit the week prior at the U.S. Open. He finished T10 in his tournament debut in 2022 and has never missed a cut in The Open.

Scottish Open expert picks

Odds via Caesars Sportsbook


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Tyrrell Hatton
Winner (20-1): Hatton's heater has been put on the back burner as he hasn't played since the U.S. Open. Before a top-30 result at Los Angeles Country Club, the Englishman had rattled off six straight top-20 finishes including top fives at the Wells Fargo Championship, Bryon Nelson and Canadian Open. He continues to possess a well-rounded game and ranks sixth in this field in total strokes gained over the last six months. In three prior strolls around The Renaissance Club, he has done no worse than T24.

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Min Woo Lee
Contender (33-1): After hitting a lull in the middle of spring, Lee has rediscovered the form that introduced him to the broader golf audience at The Players Championship. The young Australian has connected on five straight top-40 finishes with top-10 efforts coming at the U.S. Open and Travelers Championship. He most recently added a T15 at the British Masters and looks keen on entering the winner's circle in the near future. A winner at this tournament in a playoff over Matt Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry in 2021, Lee should once again relish the creativity, low ball flight and putting prowess required at The Renaissance Club.

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Padraig Harrington
Sleeper (175-1): The two-time Open champion is thriving on the Champions Tour and has shown flashes of brilliance when given the chance to tee it up on the PGA Tour. Harrington finished T10 at the Texas Open and recently found the top 30 at the U.S. Open. A winner a few weeks ago at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, Harrington returns to The Renaissance Club where he finished T18 in 2021 and T9 in 2020. He'll need his iron play to tick up ever so slightly, but he has the experience in this setting where that is not out of the realm of possibilities. 

Who will win the Genesis Scottish Open, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard and best bets, all from the model that's nailed nine golf majors and is up over $10,000 since June 2020.