One of the best two-week stretches of the season begins this week at the Scottish Open, which boasts one of it’s better fields in recent memories. Not only are Scottie and Rory in the field, but so are Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. Breakfast golf, commence!
The Golf Digest betting panel is comprised of Pat Mayo of Underdog/Mayo Media Network, Andy Lack of the Inside Sports Network, Ryan Noonan of Betsperts, your two authors and Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read The Line.
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Scroll down for our complete betting analysis of the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open:
Genesis Scottish Open picks 2026: Our Experts’ Outright Predictions
Pat Mayo, Underdog/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst: Tyrrell Hatton (33-1, DraftKings) — Hasn’t mattered if it’s been majors, LIV, DP or Asian Tours, Hatton has continued to swim around leaderboards over the last year. He’s previously had great run in Scotland as one of the best at the Alfred Dunhill over the years, and even dating back to when the Scottish Open was just a DP World Tour event, he’s never finished worse than T-24 at the Renaissance Club.
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Keith Stewart, PGA, Read The Line: Matt Fitzpatrick (21-1, DraftKings) — T-2 in Canada, T-4 at the Travelers, and three top-six results at the Scottish Open in his last five starts … Matt Fitzpatrick is ready for Win No. 4 this year. Elite ball-striking has been the DNA of his ‘26 campaign. Fitzpatrick is now heading to a place where he has never lost strokes with the putter. In seven starts, Matt has gained an average of 4.6 strokes on the field with his flatstick. Combined with gaining strokes tee to green in 11 straight dating back to the API, few are more suited to seal the deal in Scotland. Ryan Noonan, Content Manager 4for4/Betsperts: Rory McIlroy (10-1, BetMGM) — Rory has proven The Renaissance Club is a great for his game with his win in 2023, and the stats back it up this year: He’s first in SG/off the tee over the past 12 months and top 20 in long iron play, per The Rabbit Hole at BetspertsGolf.com. A double-digit Rory is too good to pass up.
Stephen Hennessey, Golf Digest managing editor: Tyrrell Hatton (33-1, DraftKings) — Hatton has always been one of the best long iron players in the game, and that should translate to success at The Renaissance Club. He’s proven he’s the best links player over the past five years, and he has a recent win—so I’ll glad back the LIV player to make a splash in this co-sanctioned event. Christopher Powers, Golf Digest senior writer: Alex Fitzpatrick (55-1, BetRivers) — The Fitzy heater continued at Travelers, where Alex finished T-7 and his brother Matt finished solo fourth. Then they both got a much-needed week off before heading across the pond for the Scottish-British double. I like them both over the next two weeks, but this week I’ll be backing Alex outright, as he’s nearly double the price and been ever-so-slightly more consistent off the tee over the last few months. Andy Lack, Inside Sports Network: Tyrrell Hatton (33-1, DraftKings) — Tyrrell Hatton continues to play great golf, with a win at LIV Andalucia and seventh-place finish at the U.S. Open in his last two starts. Now the Englishman returns to a golf course that he has finished top 25 at in all four of his appearances.
Past results: We have our FOURTH winner of 2026, and our first stretch of back-to-back winners. Ryan Noonan and Stephen Hennessey both correctly picked Cameron Young to win the Cadillac Championship at +1250, giving Noonan his third win of 2026 (and his second in a row with the Fitzpatrick bros. at 12-1 at Zurich) and Hennessey his second, his first coming at the Farmers (Justin Rose 60-1). Noonan also nailed Nico Echavarria’s victory at the Cognizant at 60-1. Hop on the train while you can.
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Genesis Scottish Open picks 2026: Sleepers/Dark Horses Who Could Win
Mayo: Kurt Kitayama (50-1, DraftKings) — Kitayama’s ball striking continues to be in the upper level on tour, even against the elite. He’s previously earned a runner up at the Renaissance Club and his European experience will be a bonus if the conditions pick up in Scotland. Stewart: Nicolai Hojgaard (50-1, BetRivers) — Nicolai Højgaard was in a bit of a slump, but he turned things around at the Travelers. It’s no better time to do it as Højgaard has a great history at The Renaissance Club. Two top-six results in the past three years, Nicolai has the ball speed and putting touch to get the job done. Højgaard’s secret weapon? Iron play. In his last three Scottish starts, Nicolai has gained an average of 5.3 strokes on approach. Combined with his driver, that’s a winning combination. Did I mention Højgaard was ranked first in the field (last two months) for making putts inside 10 feet? Noonan: Kurt Kitayama (50-1, DraftKings) — Just like Rory, Kitayama has the perfect repertoire for The Renaissance Club, with elite distance and great long iron play. He’s got a runner-up here in 2022, too.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Shane Lowry (67-1, DraftKings) — Like Hatton, Lowry excels with his long irons, ranking seventh from the 175-200-yard bucket and 12th from 220-225 yards over the past 36 rounds. I like that Lowry has been overseas with Rory McIlroy playing elsewhere over the past week or so, getting in the links reps. We’ve been waiting for Lowry to get a PGA Tour to his name post The Open, and it might well happen in the comfier confines of the U.K. Powers, Golf Digest: Kristoffer Reitan (60-1, BetRivers) — Reitan has played extremely solid golf since April, resulting in a win at Truist and five finishes of T-22 or better. He made a name for himself on the DP World Tour in 2025 and shined in Scotland with a T-13 at this tournament and a T-5 at the Alfred Dunhill. The combination of form and experience should serve him well over the next two weeks. Lack: Nicolai Hojgaard (50-1, BetRivers) — Nicolai Hojgaard is a perfect fit for the Renaissance Club, and his history backs that up. Hojgaard finished sixth at the Tom Doak design in 2023, and fourth last year. He is coming off a 14th-place finish at the Travelers where he shot a 62 to vault up the leaderboard.
RELATED: Genesis Scottish Open tee times, viewer’s guide
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Genesis Scottish Open picks 2026: Players We’re Fading
Mayo: Tommy Fleetwood (16-1, BetRivers) — Fire away at the top 10 all day, but this is a winner’s market. The guys directly above him on the betting board have far more win equity, as do the next 10 guys behind him on the betting board. Stewart: Ludvig Aberg (16-1, BetRivers) — With so many of the betting favorites playing well, this was a tough call to make. Ultimately, we are looking to fade a player who will not win. Although Ludvig Åberg has contended here twice, that’s also the reason why I am going against him. In contention, Åberg has found ways to allow others to grab the trophy on Sunday in Scotland. I’m sticking with that trend.
Noonan: Tommy Fleetwood (16-1, BetRivers) — Much better value deeper down the board. Hennessey, Golf Digest: Wyndham Clark (27-1, FanDuel) — This number’s way too low with so many other great players with better value. Powers, Golf Digest: Dylan Naidoo (5000-1, DraftKings) — Has missed five of his last seven cuts and has failed to record a top 10 in 2026. Don’t see that changing this week. Lack: Wyndham Clark (27-1, FanDuel) — Wyndham Clark has been playing great golf of late, but he actually lost strokes in both ball-striking categories at the Travelers Championship. While he has played well at the Renaissance Club, I’m expecting a letdown if his ball-striking continues to trend in the wrong direction.
Genesis Scottish Open picks 2026: Matchups
Mayo: Harris English (-120) over Jake Knapp (Coolbet) — Firmly betting against Knapp until he shows he can still play golf following his wrist injury. Stewart: Harris English (+100) over JJ Spaun (Bet365) — JJ Spaun is an elite ball-striker, but he has struggled on the greens at home and overseas. Meanwhile, Harris English could putt on a shag carpet. English has a solid history at the Scottish Open and will use his scoring talent to make the weekend and contend at the Renaissance Club. I’ll take the positive odds and another head-to-head winner with English in Scotland. Noonan: Tom Kim (-108) over Adam Scott (Pinnacle) — Tom Kim’s on a heater with strong approach play, and Adam Scott is teetering a bit heading into this part of the season. Hennessey, Golf Digest: Angel Ayora (-132) over Ryan Fox (BetOnline) — A sharp Vegas group hit this line on the opener, but I can see why. Ayora has back-to-back T-5s at the Alfred Dunhill the past few years, proving his links golf merit. And he has been consistent for much of 2026. Fox has experience at The Renaissance Club, but only one finish better than T-44 in seven appearances.
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RELATED: British Open 2026: The R&A’s last-chance qualifier, explained Powers, Golf Digest: Tom Kim (-114) over Bud Cauley (DraftKings) — Kim continues to ascend and now gets to come to a place he’s had success at. Cauley rebounded from an OK U.S. Open with a nice finish at Travelers, but Kim has a higher ceiling here. Lack: Eugenio Lopez Chacarra (-120) over Alex Noren (Southpoint) — Eugenio Lopez Chacarra has two wins in his last three starts and is a great course fit at the Renaissance Club given his driving ability. Alex Noren, on the other hand, has been very much struggling of late from a ball-striking perspective. Matchup Results from the John Deere Classic: Stewart: 1 for 1 (Wallace (-110) over Im); Mayo: 1 for 1 (Bridgeman (-110) over Cole); Lack: 1 for 1 (Berger (-140) over Pendrith); Noonan: 1 for 1 (Suber (+100) over McGreevy); Hennessey: 1 for 1 (Bezuidenhout (+100) over McCarthy); Powers: 0 for 1 Matchup Results from the 2026 season (Wins-Losses-Pushes): Stewart: 15-6-2 (up 7.22 units); Powers: 16-9-0 (up 5.41 units); Mayo: 13-11-1 (up 2.47 units); Lack: 14-10-1 (up 0.73 units); Noonan: 11-11-3 (down 1.33 units); Hennessey: 10-13-2 (down 3.98 units)
Genesis Scottish Open picks 2026: Top 10s
Mayo: Tom Kim (+700, FanDuel) — Another week, another tick upwards for TK with his irons. Unfortunately, the putter did not comply at the JDC. However, a return to the comfy confines of the Renaissance Club may be exactly what he needs to get everything back on the same page and truly contend again. Kim hasn’t finished worse than T-17 in any of his four starts at The Scottish Open since it joined the PGA TOUR schedule. Stewart: Alex Fitzpatrick (+500, FanDuel) — Since winning with his brother in Louisiana, Alex Fitzpatrick has been a worldbeater on the PGA Tour. In his seven starts since the Zurich win, Fitzpatrick has finished T-9 or better in four of them! The Renaissance Club calls for elite driving, precise iron play and fescue putting. Alex checks all three of those boxes as he heads back home to the British Isles. Noonan: Wyndham Clark (+340, FanDuel) — Wyndham has already proven he has the complete package capable of taking down the best in the world, and he showed me a lot by backing that up at the Travelers Championship. Hennessey, Golf Digest: Alex Fitzpatrick (+500, FanDuel) — I’ll be betting Fitzpatrick outright, but even if he doesn’t win, I like his chances to be near the top of the leader board given his elite approach play while he’s been on the PGA Tour this year. Powers, Golf Digest: Nicolai Hojgaard (+470, FanDuel) — Hojgaard finally got right at the Travelers after a string of missed cuts. Now the Great Dane comes over to Europe for the Scottish, where he tied for fourth in 2025 and tied for sixth in 2023. Lack: Robert MacIntyre (+380, DraftKings) — Robert MacIntyre has played some great golf at the Renaissance Club, with four top-20 finishes in seven appearances, a runner-up and a victory. MacIntyre is finally starting to regain form after a slow couple of events as well. He’s coming off a 10th-place finish at the Travelers where he gained 3.6 strokes on approach, an aspect of his game that has been a weakness for him of late.
Top-10 results from the Genesis Scottish Open: Mayo: 1 for 1 (Ben Kohles +770); Lack: 1 for 1 (Doug Ghim +500); Stewart: 1 for 1 (Chris Gotterup +220); Everybody else: 0 for 1 Top-10 results from the 2026 season: Mayo: 9 for 25 (up 36.55 units); Lack: 7 for 25 (up 11.3 units); Stewart: 7 for 25 (up 7.05 units); Powers: 6 for 25 (up 4.25 units); Noonan: 5 for 25 (down 5.5 units); Hennessey: 5 for 25 (down 5.6 units) About our experts Pat Mayo is an award-winning video host and producer of long and short-form content, and the host of The Pat Mayo Experience daily talk show. Mayo helped create the golf stats and research website Fantasy National along with the Race for the Mayo Cup One and Done contest. Mayo won the 2022 Fantasy Sports Writing Association Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year and is a finalist for three FSWA Awards in 2023 (Best Podcast, Daily Fantasy Writer of the Year, Golf Writer of the Year). His 27 FSWA nominations lead all writers this decade and are second-most all-time. Follow him on Twitter: @ThePME. Keith Stewart is a five-time award-winning PGA professional, a betting contributor and content partner with Golf Digest. Stewart is a co-founder of Read The Line, the premier on-site live golf betting insights service covering the PGA Tour, LPGA and TGL. Subscribe to Read The Line’s weekly newsletter for the industry’s best betting narratives. Follow him on Twitter @readtheline_. Ryan Noonan is the Betting Content Manager for 4for4 and Betsperts Golf, writing articles and hosting multiple shows under the Betsperts Group umbrella, including Move The Line and our Betsperts Golf Betting Show. Find him on Twitter: @RyNoonan. Andy Lack is a PGA Tour writer and podcaster from New York City who now resides in Los Angeles. Andy is the founder and CEO of Inside Sports Network, a website devoted to the predictive quality of advanced analytics and golf course architecture. He came to Golf Digest’s betting panel after previously writing for Run Pure Sports, RickRunGood.com, the Score and GolfWRX. In his free time, Andy can likely be found on a golf course. Follow him on Twitter: @adplacksports.
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