Genesis Scottish Open odds, predictions, best prop bets for this week’s PGA Tour event | Sporting News

It’s that type of golf tournament for the pros once again: To Play Or Not To Play.

It’s a mixed bag when it comes to players gearing up for the PGA Tour’s final major: the Open Championship. This week’s tournament, the Genesis Scottish Open, gives players the chance to tee it up across the Pond and check out the differences they will face in a leadup event to the Open Championship.

First and foremost will be the time change. It’s going to be a challenge when they have a 9 a.m. tee time on Thursday as it will feel like 4 a.m (if they are based in Florida). That’s going to take a little time to adjust.

With just four rounds in the tournament, there isn’t a lot of time for players to make that adjustment. On the flipside, playing this week will let players have an edge at next week’s Open Championship by getting acclimated while those heading over just for the Open Championship won’t have that luxury.

The next difference is playing the course itself. The tournament will be held at the Renaissance Club’s Links Course in North Berwick, Scotland.

The word ‘links’ is the key one here as players will be dealing with a hard, fast course. The good news is there is no water on the course. The bad news is there are many, many very deep bunkers that will cause more than their share of mayhem.

And with a limited number of trees on the course (more than 8,500 tons of wood were removed when the course was designed in 2007), the wind will also need to be figured in more often than not. Don’t get us started on the conditions if and when the rains come.

It’s one of those courses that is fairly straightforward until players try to factor in all of the nuances that will make this quite the test. Thirty-three of the world’s top-50 players are in the field (only Scottie Scheffler and Patrick Cantlay in the top-10 aren’t playing) as the field of 156 players will battle it out for the $1.62 million top prize.

One final note: Make sure to get your bets in early as the tee times will start very early Thursday morning here in the U.S. while the majority of us are still fast asleep.

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Odds to win Genesis Scottish Open

Check out live odds to win the Genesis Scottish Open at top-rated US sportsbooks:

McIlroy, who returns after a three-week break, needs to forget about giving away the U.S. Open to Bryson DeChambeau his last time out.  

Back the defending champ?

Rory McIlroy held off hard-charging Robert McIntyre to win by a stroke in 2023. McIlroy is obviously the favorite this week, as he’s the top-ranked player in the world rankings teeing it up at No. 2. At +700, we’re getting decent return for our money.

And what we’ve said about Scheffler on more than one occasion
applies to McIlroy: Don’t bet against him (except in the majors in the last 10 years but more on that next week.) This is basically a home game for McIlroy as he grew up playing these type of courses.

And playing at home–well, just a couple of hundred miles from his home in Northern Ireland–has to boost his confidence. It’s a no-brainer to pick him this week.

With Scheffler having one of those years we haven’t seen since the early Tiger Woods era, let’s not forget McIlroy is having a solid season.

He has two wins in 2024 along with five top-10s in his 14 made cuts. He will use this as a warmup for next week’s Open Championship and having won this event in 2023, he’s coming in with a lot of great memories.

Look at another former champion

We’re also going to check out Xander Schauffele at +800. Again, we’re not getting a great number when it comes to odds, but when you check out Schauffele’s year, it’s tough not to back him.

He finally got a major victory under his belt in 2024, the PGA Championship, which saw him get the ‘best player never to win a major’ monkey off his back.

While this may not be a major, him winning here in 2022 should have his confidence sky-high. Along with his victory in 2024, he’s got a pair of runnerup finishes and 11 finishes in the top-10. In his last five events, he’s got four top-10s.

One for the longshot bettors

Byeong Hun An at +5500 offers impressive odds. Add in the fact he was T-3 at this event in 2023 and there’s reason for optimism. But, and here’s the tough part, he’s not coming in playing his best.

In fact, he’s coming in off a missed cut at the U.S. Open and a withdrawal from his most recent tournament, the Travelers Championship.

But that just might set the stage for a perfect storm, as he’s had time to get his game and his mindset in order before this week’s tournament.

Around the prop scene

We’re going to check out DraftKings for a couple of prop bets. Check out Davis Thompson, last week’s first-time winner at the John Deere Classic, to keep the momentum going with a top-10 finish at +550.

His victory earned him a spot in next week’s Open Championship, so he’s got that going for him. The win was also his third straight top-10 finish and his game is hitting on all cylinders right now.

Teeing it up a week before the Open Championship at the Genesis will give him his first look at golf across the Pond. A top-10 finish this week would boost his confidence even higher as he gets set to play in his first Open Championship.

We are also going to check out an old favorite: Max Homa. Check out Homa to win his group at +320. He goes up against Sepp Straka, Si Woo Kim, Davis Thompson and Christiaan Bezuidenhout.

Homa stumbled in the final round of last year’s Genesis event but still ended up with a T-12 finish.

And finally, we’re going to look at there being a playoff at +350. McIlroy and Schauffele won the last two tournaments by a single stroke, but the three events prior to those two all went to a playoff.

With the talent in this field, we’re looking at it getting back into playoff mode in 2024.