The Scottish Open is the final warm-up tournament before the final major in 2024 and six of the top 10 players in the world descend on North Berwick this week along with the top players on the DP World Tour.
The tournament also marks the return of Rory McIlroy, who is playing for the first time since losing on Sunday at the US Open last month. The Scottish Open begins on Thursday and our golf experts are predicting the outcome of the tournament and offering their favourite prop picks and top picks to win this week.
Scottish Open
Location: North Berwick, Scotland, July 11-14
Course: Renaissance Club (Par 70, 7,237 yards)
Prize money: $9 million (winner: $1.62 million)
Defending champion: Rory McIlroy
FedEx Cup leader: Scottie Scheffler
How to follow
TV: Thursday-Friday: 10:30-11 a.m. (Golf Channel – Global), 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (GC); Saturday-Sunday: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (GC), 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (CBS)
Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 2 a.m.-2 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 4:15 a.m.-3 p.m.
X:@ScottishOpen
Prop Selection
— Xander Schauffele over Rory McIlroy (+100 on DraftKings): Not only is McIlroy facing the prospect of losing his lead with three holes to play in the U.S. Open, but no one has successfully defended his title at the Scottish Open. McIlroy is always dangerous at the Renaissance, but so is Schauffele. The PGA Championship champion won here two years ago and has 11 top-10s on tour this year, five more than any other player in the field.
–Tommy Fleetwood Top 20 (+100 with BetRivers): Fleetwood has quietly climbed back to No. 11 in the world rankings with three straight top-20 finishes. Those results came by beating top players at a major and two signature events. He also tied for third at the Masters and has finished outside the top 26 just once in his past nine global tournaments.
2024 Prop Picks Record: 34-40-1
best choice
— Rory McIlroy (DraftKings odds +800) hasn't played since the U.S. Open, but he's earned a win among three top-five finishes while posting five straight top-15 finishes. He leads the Northern Irishman with 11% of bankrolls and 8% of total win bets.
— Xander Schauffele (+900) won the Scottish Open two years ago, which was his last tournament victory before capturing the PGA Championship this year.
— Ludvig Arbery (+1600) is second only to McIlroy, with 10% of the purses backing him to win this week. The young Swedish star has four top-10 finishes in his past eight starts.
— Collin Morikawa (+1600) hasn't won since last fall, but this week he has eight straight top-16 finishes, including a runner-up finish at the Memorial.
–Tommy Fleetwood (+2000) and Tom King (+2500) are the only two players to finish in the top 10 in this event in both of the past two years.
– Viktor Hovland (+2200) has lacked consistency for much of 2024 but remains dangerous on the big stage, including his lone third-place finish at the PGA Championship.
–Robert MacIntyre (+4,000) After finishing second last year, the Scotsman won his first PGA Tour title last month at the RBC Open.
notes
— The PGA Tour co-sanctioned the event for the third consecutive year, with a field that includes 75 Tour players and an equal number of DP World Tour players.
–This is the final round of qualifying for the British Open, with three spots set to be played next week at Royal Troon. The top three players who advance and do not receive an exemption will qualify for the British Open.
–Cole Rucker, who recently completed his sophomore year at Boise State, will make his PGA Tour debut after winning the Genesis Collegiate Show at Riviera Country Club in February to earn a sponsor exemption.
— Last week, 35 players competed in the John Deere Classic. Davis Thompson set a tournament record of 28-under 256 at TPC Deerland to qualify for the Scottish Open for the first time. He has three consecutive top-10 finishes.