Target Collin Morikawa and two long shots at the Renaissance Club

The Scottish Open has become one of the most underrated tournaments on the golf calendar.

Played at the picturesque Renaissance Club on Scotland’s “Golf Coast,” the Scottish Open has become a favorite for players, fans and bettors alike, and it is the perfect tune-up event for next week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Not only does it allow players to get accustomed to the links-style courses that dominate the golf landscape across the pond, but it also allows fans and bettors to adjust to the time difference so they’re ready for the final major of the season. 

A lot of the “warm-up events” for majors will feature paltry fields that are wanting for star power, but the Scottish Open boasts an elite field headlined by Scottie Scheffler (+500) and 2023 champion Rory McIlroy (+950).

Links golf is often chaotic, and can produce surprising results, but since the Scottish Open became a co-sanctioned event between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour in 2022 it has been pretty chalky.

Robert MacIntyre bucked that trend as a 45/1 outsider last year, but the two previous winners were McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, and big names like Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Aberg and Collin Morikawa dominated the leaderboard.

And while that won’t stop us from trying to find a couple of long shots to back this week, it does mean we’ll start our card with a player closer to the top of the board.

2025 Scottish Open Picks

Collin Morikawa (25/1, BetMGM)

It’s been an eventful few weeks for Collin Morikawa, but the World No. 5 got his game together at the Rocket Classic, finishing T8. 

That was an encouraging sign for the 2021 British Open Champion, as it was his first tournament since separating from Joe Greiner after just five tournaments together. 

Morikawa’s tee-to-green game is elite, and he’s an obvious fit for links-style golf with a Claret Jug on his mantle and T4 finish here last year.

Sungjae Im (140/1, bet365)

A couple of years ago, it felt like Sungjae Im was one of the most consistent players on the PGA Tour. The South Korean seemingly played every week, and he rarely looked out of sorts.

This year has been a different story.

Im has been a boom or bust player this season, with a handful of impressive performances (T5 at the Masters, third-place at the Sentry and T4 at the Farmers Insurnace) mixed in with six missed cuts and a handful of finishes outside the top 50. 

Perhaps a change in scenery will do Im wonders.

Not only did he finish T4 here in 2024, but he followed that up with a T7 at the 2024 Open Championship, his third top-25 finish in four attempts at the Claret Jug. 

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Richard Mansell (350/1, bet365)

If you do your homework, you’ll find some terrific numbers on DP World Tour players with tournament-winning upside, like Richard Mansell.

Not only did Mansell win the Singapore Classic back in March, but he also posted a T10 finish at this event last year. 

As an Englishman, Mansell will be more than comfortable playing on this kind of setup, which significantly levels the playing field against a lot of the players shipping in from the PGA Tour this week.

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Why Trust New York Post Betting

Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.