While it was an action packed week at the John Deere, Chez Reavie really spoiled my holiday weekend. Just like we thought, because of his runner up finish at the Travelers, J.T. Poston was a popular play and he took home the title wire to wire. It was also nice to see a few guys qualify for the Open Championship as a result of their finish in Illinois this past weekend. I think it’s fun to see these guys run up the score every once in a while but I enjoy seeing these guys struggle more. I like to see how they bounce back after a double bogey. We should see a few of those this weekend but how many will be determined by mother nature.
This is a special weekend for the PGA tour and DP World Tour. It will be the first time that these two have come together to co-sanction an event called the Genesis Scottish Open. Traditionally, the Scottish Open was exclusively an European Tour event but over the last few years it has become the unofficial tune up tournament for the Open Championship. It was established in 1972 which makes this year its 50th birthday. In 2017, the Scottish Open was made a part of the brand new Rolex Series which features five tournaments and a seven million dollar prize.
The field this weekend is basically split in half between PGA Tour and DP World Tour regulars. We will not see players from the LIV Tour as they have been barred from participating in a joint decision by both tours. We will see the likes of Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa, Will Zalatoris and 148 others tee it up at the Renaissance Club. Ian Poulter along with a couple other LIV players were granted temporary stays from a judge which will allow them to play this weekend but we will have to wait and see how this impacts the grand scheme of things going forward.
The Scottish Open is typically played over various courses but for the fourth straight year the Renaissance Club in New Berwick will be the venue. It is a links-style course which serves as a warm up act for next week’s Open Championship at St. Andrews which is located just 20 miles south. It will play as a Par 70 and stretch out 7,293 yards this weekend. The average winning score over the last three years at this course is 16 under par but as I hinted about earlier, the biggest underlying factor will be the wind. The primary defense this course has against these players is the wind conditions and as of right now, it looks to be pretty calm. If these players can hit these wide open fairways and control their balls on these greens, they’ll have a lot of success.
When picking out my players for this weekend, I’ll obviously be looking for guys who have participated in this event before and focus my attention on the last three years because of the venue changes. We will also take a look at their history at Open Championships because of the similar characteristics and course factors.
ONE AND DONE PICK IS: RYAN FOX
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