The European Tour returns to the country where it all began back in the 15th century for the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland.
It’s the final chance for the players concerned to prepare for the final major on the golfing calendar, next week's Open Championship at Royal St George’s, can’t wait!
For that reason the Scottish Open always attracts a star-studded field and this week is no different with four of the world's top five players in attendance including world number one Jon Rahm, Colin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele, Justin Thomas and Rory McIlroy to name but a few.
The players will all be competing on this stunning par 71 links course for the title and $8M prize money with the winner receiving a cool $1,333,600.
This event will be screened on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Golf with live coverage available from 8am GMT on Thursday morning .
The weather is forecast to be cloudy with lots of sunny intervals inbetween, with the threat of thunderstorms set to stay away.
Aaron Rai will return to defend the title he won last year when seeing off Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off.
Justin Thomas
So let’s move on with this weeks selections for the Scottish Open, for my main selection this week I’m going to single out Justin Thomas 18/1 EW Bet365.
Now the reasoning behind my first pick this week is simply value. The talented 28 yrs old American is currently ranked number three in the world and I just cannot understand the much shorter prices available for players in this field who aren't ranked as high as JT.
Jon Rahm, the world number one, is currently trading at 7/1 with most firms, that’s an eleven point difference but is there really that much a gap? Mmmmmm, I beg to differ.
Thomas has just as good a chance as Rahm in my book before the tournament starts so the 18/1 on offer for JT is attractive and value for money if you ask me.
JT has been in relatively good form recently with nine cuts made in his last ten starts, with three of them being majors.
The talented American had a good tournament here in 2019 when finishing in the top 10 and is currently ranked fourth on the PGA Tour for strokes gained tee to green.
I definitely think that one of the main attractions will come out best in North Berwick this weekend and with Thomas coming here fresh from his 19th place at The US Open at Torrey Pines where he was in contention until a double bogey on the back nine 10th hole ended any chances.
I simply cannot ignore the 18/1 available for one of the best golfers on the planet and with eight places available from most firms then just a place will see a decent return on my main selection Justin Thomas.
Garrick Higgo
For my next pick I’m liking the look of Garrick Higgo 55/1 EW Bet365.
The 22 yrs old South African has been sensational this year winning on both the European and PGA Tours. His three victories this year include the Palmetto Championship, his maiden PGA title and on the European stage he has bagged the Canary Islands Championship and the Gran Canaria Lopesan Open.
He has proven he has the game to win on both sides of the Atlantic and I think Higgo will be a danger this week at The Renaissance Club.
I’m actually surprised to see Higgo’s odds as high as 55/1 with most firms offering much much shorter odds, so my advice is take it while it’s available.
This links track will almost certainly suit the South African's game and he can get the perfect preparation for next week's Open Championship at Royal St George’s with a victory at North Berwick at odds that are still baffling me, but let’s not complain, get your money on Higgo each way at 55/1 while you can.
Bernd Wiesberger
For my next selection I’m going to advise Bernd Wiesberger 40/1 EW Betfair.
The 35 yrs old Austrian from Vienna has been on fire on the European Tour and just seems to appear on every leaderboard.
Apart from his two missed cuts at The US Open and the PGA Championship he brings some decent form with him to Scotland. It’s only a few weeks since he won the Made in Himmerland in Denmark and in his last event he finished 5th at the BMW International in Munich last week.
Wiesberger already has seven European crowns to his name and the big names in attendance this week will only spur him on to make it number eight.
Remember he won this event in 2019 on this lay out with an impressive -22 scorecard but had to negotiate a play off with Benjamin Hebert when winning on the third extra hole.
I’m in the thinking that the firms this week have misjudged some prices, some to short and others representing good old value for money and Wiesberger is no exception as 40/1 in my book represents decent value especially for a past winner in the last couple of years where again even a place will result in a tidy profit.
Bernd Wiesberger v Sam Burns
For my final selection it’s the customary matchbet and I’m going for Bernd Wiesberger EVS Nap Betfair to get the better of Sam Burns who comes here of the back of a disappointing BMW International tournament last week .
