Scottish Open 2022 DraftKings Preview

one of the best ever non-major fields decends on The Renaissance Club

We are a week away from the final major of the year but it's looking like the opening act is trying to steal the show. With the 150th Open Championship set to kick off next Thursday at St. Andrews, the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour have put together one of the best non-major fields ever assembled. For the fourth straight year, The Renaissance Club is set to host the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open. Let's get you set to see some green screens on DraftKings this weekend.

What's up golf addicts! AC here, checking in week to week to provide a quick preview of the upcoming PGA Tour event. I’ll give you the lowdown on the course, the players, some key stats, and our favorite DraftKings picks for the week.

All of the course data, player stats, and most of the information below can be found on Fantasy National Golf Club (FNGC). At FNGC you can view historic course conditions, course scoring breakdowns, tournament history, simulators, and official strokes gained data provided by the PGA Tour. Start building your models at Fantasy National now!

The Field and Tournament Details for The Scottish Open

For the first time in a long while, a non-major golf tournament will feature 14 of the top 15 players in the world. Playing in similar conditions the week before The Open Championship has always been a popular route but this year there was even more incentive. The PGA Tour and DP World Tour have co-sanctioned the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open with both tours rostering 75 spots each. Great field, new sponsor, FedEx points, and more money for the players.

World #1 Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland, Sam Burns, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Will Zalatoris, Hideki Matsuyama, and Billy Horschel headline the stacked field. Rory McIlroy is the lone absentee from the top 15. So much more talent sitting just outside as Keegan Bradley, Cameron Young, Keith Mitchell, Sungjae Im, Brian Harman, Max Homa, Joaquin Niemann, Corey Conners, and Mito Pereira all rank inside the top 20 in strokes gained total over the last 50 rounds.

Min Woo Lee, Aaron Rai, and Bernd Wiesberger are the three previous winners of the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club. Former champs elsewhere in Scotland include Brandon Stone, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Alex Noren, Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, and Phil Mickelson.

The field is set at 156 with a normal cutline of the top 65 and ties. A total purse of $8 million is up for grabs and $1.44 million up top. Along with the purse, there are three spots in The Open up for grabs for the highest-scoring players in the top 10 who are not currently qualified.

Scottish Open Course Breakdown

Course: The Renaissance Club
Location: North Berwick, SCO
Yardage: 7,293
Par: 71
Architect: Tom Doak (2007)
Renovations: Doak (2013)
Grass: Fescue
Comp Courses: TPC Louisiana, Caves Valley GC, Royal Portrush, Royal St. Georges, St. Andrews, Shinnecock Hills, Winged Foot GC

An event that has moved across Scotland for 50 years, the Scottish Open has called The Renaissance Club home for the last three years. The 7,293-yard Par 71 is a modern parkland-style links course sitting oceanside along the famed Muirfield. The course features fescue from tee to green with some gnarly stuff filling the rough. Water is not an issue on any hole but the 83 bunkers provide sufficient defense. Oh, and the wind.

The greens are sizeable. In fact, they are the 10th largest the players see all year. They are slow and are not lacking in the undulation department. The Renaissance Clubs plays more than a stroke under par per round. The average winning score over the last three years is -17. This has been heavily dependent on the weather. For two of the three years, the players dodged potential windy conditions. Bernd Weisberger fired a 61 in Round 2 of 2019 to set the 18-hole record.

There is some re-routing around The Renaissance Club for the Scottish Open. The first six holes are played in regular order before finishing out the front nine using 16, 14, and 15. The back nine begins on 7 and plays thru 13 before closing out on 17 and 18. This avoids some shuttling issues for the course. The Renaissance Club is not a typical Par 71 as it features four Par 5s, five Par 3s, and 9 Par 4s.

At the moment, weather-wise, things look pretty good for scoring. Bit of a breeze picking up Friday and Sunday but still tame all things considered.

Key Stats for The Renaissance Club

Approach/Opps Gained
Off the Tee
Putting/Scrambling/Around the Green
Par 5 Scoring
Birdies or Better %/DK Scoring
Course History

It's not going to be as easy to filter through stats this week due to the nature of the field and what's available. This can be an advantage for those willing to dig deeper. With that said, there is still a recipe to finding the right players for your lineups.

I always lead with approach because I think it's the most important part of the game. These greens will be hit quite easily but where you end up is going to be key. using opps gained is only going to show you half the field but it's still good to know who's sticking em close.

Having a good shot into the green is going to start with what they do off the tee. There is a lot of trouble and it increases the farther down the fairway you go. However, bombing it down the middle is going to be a huge advantage. This is not a short course. Four of the Par 4s are over 475 yards and three Par 3s extend over 200 yards. All Four Par 5s are over 560 yards. Accuracy is a worthy sacrifice over distance but look to those guys that have both.

With all of the run-offs, rough, bunkers, wind, and green-size, the players' short game will be tested. Most links courses promote keeping the ball on the ground, The Renaissance Club offers that challenge. All of these stats will hopefully lead to many birdies. They will be needed. Lastly, a links pedigree is going to be an advantage and this is the fourth year for we will have data on the course.

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Scottish Open Picks & Fades

I'll give you some plays and a fade from every DraftKings salary range each week. For all of DB and Pat’s thoughts and picks, check out and subscribe to the Tour Junkies Podcast.

$9K & Above

Play - Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris, Cameron Smith | Fade - Xander Schauffele

Kawa came into the Scottish Open last year having never played a links course. He didn't fair too well but turned around the following week and won The Open. I'm hoping he gets "the feels" this week and is able to take advantage of the slower greens. Ball striking shouldn't be an issue. Much like Kawa, the greens should assist Willy Z as well. My only worry really, he's elite with the longer clubs in his hand. Not a fan of some of the ownership reports but I think they are a bit exaggerated. Cam Smith at $9,100 seems like a steal. Incredible all-around game, has good ownership projections, and should be comfortable with this style of course.

Everyone is going to be all over Xander chasing a third straight win after winning the JP McManus Pro-Am yesterday. Stats-wise there isn't anything turning me away from these guys but I'll always fade the highest projected guy.

$8K Range

Play - Joaquin Niemann, Corey Conners | Fade - Tommy Fleetwood

I like a lot of the guys this week that can strike the piss out of the ball but suffer with the short stuff. Niemann and Conners both fit that mold. I think both can come out hot in Round 1. Just need them to survive Friday afternoon so they can blast through the weekend.

Fleetwood is the highest projected guy in the $8ks right now and that's enough for me to fade. He falls behind in most categories to everyone around him and never makes me excited to think about rostering him.

$7K Range

Play - Mito Pereira, Christiann Bezuidenhout, Alex Noren | Fade - Matt Kuchar

Well, well, well... Three of my favorite players all sitting here in the $7k. Yes, please. Mito is another guy that fits the 'great striker, not so great putter'. I like the Chilean duo to grab a pair of top 10s this week and next week. CBez and Noren are on the other side of the mold. Elite short games and mediocre ball striking. CBez has five rounds in the 60s his last two times at Scottish Open with a closing 66 in 2021. Noren is a former Scottish Open champ though has not yet teed it up at The

$6K Range

Play - Rasmus Hojgaard, David Lipsky, Wyndham Clark

Hojgaard has 10 worldwide top 20s over the last year including a win and several top 10s. I like the way he plays and a discounted $6k price tag lowers what you need to expect from him. Lipsky has just been solid around the world for years and is really finding his form on the big stage. Clark is a bomber who is filthy with the flatstick. He's proven himself in the wind and is definitely capable of something better than a T35 this week.

There ya go! Apologies for the delay. Been a hectic couple of weeks but will calm down soon and we got THE OPEN next week! Ownership should be scattered this week so keep an eye on it but not many pivoting spots are needed IMO. There have been a ton of field changes and a very early lock Wednesday night for the North American DFS players so pay attention to those. Lock at 2:15 AM eastern. Don't blow your roll ahead of the year's final major. Good luck!

THE INS & OUTS

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IN:

Open qualifiers:

*The field is 156