Some are calling it the battle of all evils. Some are calling it a golfer’s Thanksgiving. All are calling it the final test before The Open Championship. We have arrived at the Scottish Open as the field ranks as one of the best of the year. It will be a combination of the PGA, DP World Tour AND after winning the lawsuit, LIV. It will truly be a Thanksgiving of golfers as we get the first combination of all tours in a non-major event.
Recap of Last Week
Last week we had a complete overfill of PGA vs LIV drama. We saw the commitment of Matthew Wolff and Carlos Ortiz to start the week, then the much anticipated press conferences of Brooks, Dechambeau, Reed and Perez, which all led up to Brendan Grace winning the largest purse in golf history. That’s right, world ranking 132, Brendan Grace, won $4 Million in 54 holes, as the South Africans continue to run shit over at LIV. The board killed it (AGAIN) and we cashed a nice +475 winner with Matt Wolff getting top 10. Meanwhile in the depths of Illinois, the PGA hosted the John Deere Classic and JT Poston absolutely dominated. I picked him as my mortal lock for top 20 (so yes I went 2/2 in mortal locks no big deal) but goddamn I guess I should have jumped on the Postman’s back. He went wire to wire, summing up the boredom we all expected out of the tournament. Overall, a pretty average weekend of golf but once again, I will emphasize that the picks given out were FIRE. We are hunting yet another win and safe to say, it is on its way.
This week we have gotten a little bit of drama as it started out with Poulter and Westwood successfully suing the DP World Tour for fining them and not allowing them to play this week. They won the lawsuit and Branden Grace even got in the action and will be another participant this week. Yesterday, Billy Ho took the stage and absolutely unleashed on the LIV guys, going after each and every one of them without saying a real name:
It should be a fun week and maybe we’ll get a full fistfight on the course but if not, maybe we can just enjoy a tournament where all leagues coexist and we degenerately, yet responsibly, bet on them like old times. Now, let’s find ourselves a winner.
Recap of Last Year
Last year we saw a pretty similar field to this year and Min Woo Lee took it home. It looked like Rahm was going to win it after jumping out to an early lead but eventually he slowed down and we saw a 3 man playoff between MW Lee, Thomas Detry and Matt Fitz. MW Lee ended up taking it home on the first playoff hole to end an electric tourney, if you wanna watch below:
Odds for the Weekend
Things I’m looking at:
- Rahm has proven to be one of the most consistent links player in the world, finishing 7th at the Scottish Open last year and 3rd at The Open. Rightfully earning the favorite at +1100
- Fitzpatrick is playing his first event since the US Open and went to a playoff here last year, putting him as a top 5 favorite
- Xander ranks very high in strokes gained at this course and just won the Travelers as well as the ProAm this week
- Ryan Fox has been on FIRE this year on the DP World Tour constantly getting top 5’s and 10’s, watch out for him at +4000
THE PICKS
Winner – Jordan Spieth +3000 (DK)
Despite not playing all too well recently, Jordan Spieth is easily one of the best links players in the world. He has been struggling to play his game lately but we saw earlier this season that he has the best irons in the world when he’s on and as long as that putter can get hot, it feels like 2016. A couple months ago this line would have been Spieth at 16-1 or even worse so this value is way too high right now to pass up. This is also my personal guarantee that if Spieth wins me this bet, we will be riding that money right into the Open Championship at St. Andrews.
Longshot – Ian Poulter Top 10 +1000
I know he has been all over the media and he really hasn’t been playing well but sometimes stats speak for themselves. Of all players, Poulter has been the most consistent at the Renaissance Club. His last three finishes are 14th, 6th and 4th so he is actually trending to win this thing at +10k so make sure to throw a couple extra dollars on that too. Poulter has a lot to prove demanding his right to play in this tourney so if he can show out, maybe it will help bring some positive publicity to the caliber of the LIV players.
Fuck this Guy – Keith Mitchell to Miss the Cut +150
It is almost dangerous how much I like this play. Keith has never made a cut at The Open and links courses just don’t seem to be his game. He is a Florida golfer and this is most certainly not Florida. Keith has been playing a bit better recently but I think giving him +150 to miss the cut is well overvalued and we have to take it.
Scottie Sprinkles – Scottie Scheffler to Win +1200
I mentioned this at the Travelers and this is something that I feel just has to be done at every single tournament. It is too easy for Scottie to win tournaments and I refuse to not be a part of it when he wins again. As I said, I can’t be the guy that gives out the favorite each week but since I jumpstarted his career at the Waste Management, I have to stand with my guy and throw something on him.
MORTAL LOCK – Will Zalatoris Top 20 +145
There are few things in this world that are inevitable. Death, taxes and Will Zalatoris stepping up in packed fields. When people are watching is when Willy Z decides to show up and I really think he has a chance to win this tournament. He doesn’t have too much experience on links courses since he withdrew at the Open last year but I feel very good about his game right now to cash this ticket. I fully expect to see his name closer to the top of the leaderboard and we won’t even need to sweat this out on Sunday.
Three Putt Bogeys 