2025 Genesis Scottish Open betting tips: Who I’m backing to have the perfect Open dress rehersal
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Resident betting expert Tom Jacobs picks out his top Genesis Scottish Open betting tips ahead of the DP World Tour Rolex Series event…
The eyes of the golfing world turn to Scotland for the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open, where a stellar cast line up on the North Berwick links for the annual Open Championship dress rehearsal that kicks off the DP World Tour’s ‘Closing Swing’.
Of course, the Scottish Open is far more than a mere warm-up. Steeped in 42 years of history and boasting an illustrious roll call of former champions, it continues to be one of the most prestigious events on the global golfing calendar.
Co-sanctioned also by the PGA Tour, the Scottish Open is the third of the five events that make up the DP World Tour’s Rolex Series, offering considerably elevated prize funds of approximately three times the size of regular season events.
Eight of the world’s top 10 players and 13 of the top 20 will be in action when the tournament kicks off on 10 July. That includes the winners of this year’s three majors – Rory McIlroy, World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, and reigning Open Champion, Xander Schauffele.
Before diving into my Genesis Scottish Open betting tips, here’s everything else worth knowing…
Genesis Scottish Open key details
Dates: 10-13 July, 2025
Venue: The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland (Par 70 – 7,237 yards)
Format: 72-hole strokeplay with 36-hole cut
Purse: $9 million with $1.62 million reserved for the winner
Race to Dubai / Ryder Cup points: 8,000 / 2,000
Favorites: Scottie Scheffler 4/1, Rory McIlroy 15/2
Defending champion: Robert MacIntyre (SCO), -18
Most wins: Ian Woosnam (WAL), 3
How to watch the Genesis Scottish Open
UK viewers can catch all the action on the Golf Channel.
All times EDT
Thursday, July 10: Sky Sports Golf, 11.00
Friday, July 11: Sky Sports Golf, 11.00
Saturday, July 12: Sky Sports Golf, 10.00
Sunday, July 13: Sky Sports Golf, 10.00
UK viewers can catch all the action on Sky Sports Golf.
All times BST
Thursday, July 10: Sky Sports Golf, 8.30am
Friday, July 11: Sky Sports Golf, 8.30am
Saturday, July 12: Sky Sports Golf, 10.00am
Sunday, July 13: Sky Sports Golf, 10.00am
Genesis Scottish Open tee times
Tee times and groupings can be found here.
Genesis Scottish Open betting tips
Right, I’ve got three players I really like the look of at Renaissance. And there may even be a little bonus pick for those of you who stick with me to the end. Let’s start with the long shot…
The Long Shot: Nick Taylor
90/1 e/w (Paddy Power, Sky Bet)
Taylor is on a good run right now and his ball striking is really eye-catching, so I am pleased to see him at 90/1 given he’s shown glimpses of form here at Renaissance as well.
Taylor is 3/3 for made cuts here, and while he could only finish 55th on debut, a second-round 68 was a huge bounce back to make the cut after an opening 75 and has built on that in the two years since. Taylor finished 19th here two years ago, boasting rounds of 65 and 68 on his card that week, and even though last year was he worst finish, he opened with a round of 65 and closed with a par of 69s so he’s showing some good enough signs here.
Currently, he’s one of the more consistent players in the field, with six top-23 finishes in his last seven starts, with just one blip at the PGA Championship muddying his run.
This has been built on solid ball striking, as he has ranked 18th, 21st, 10th, 29th and 3rd in his last five made cuts in SG Approach and 34th, 8th, 10th, 42nd and 1st in SG Tee to Green in the same events. He’s consistently improved with his driver in the past four events and that is a hugely positive sign.
He was one of the best players on Approach here back in 2023, and given he is a five-time winner on the PGA Tour, we know the upside. He’s directly beaten Tommy Fleetwood in Canada, someone who excels on this course, and wins at Pebble Beach and in Hawaii show he can cope with the wind if it arrives.
I think he’s still slightly underrated as a golfer, and given he consistently makes it to the weekend here, and has shown on multiple occasions that he can shoot a low number here, I think he is worth backing given his overall form.
The Outsider: Matt Fitzpatrick
45/1 e/w (Paddy Power, Sky Bet)
Fitzpatrick suffered a huge fall in 2024, and the start of 2025 wasn’t much better either – but he is seemingly back on track now and we should quickly adjust to his upturn in form at a course he likes.
Fitzpatrick recently fell outside the top 80 in the world rankings as he failed to post a single top 10 anywhere between the 2024 Memorial Tournament and the 2025 Truist Championship. Then came a strong performance at the PGA Championship, where he finished in a tie for 8th and he’s now on a run of eight made cuts, with 17th and 8th place finishes in his past two starts.
Even more encouraging is the fact he led the field in SG Tee to Green at the Travelers, while ranking 8th in SG Approach. This added to a good ball striking week at the US Open as well, where he ranked 13th in Tee to Green and 21st on Approach. The signs then are clearly very good, and now he has a chance to put it all together at a venue he’s enjoyed in the past.
In six visits here, Fitzpatrick has made five cuts, with 2nd and 6th place finishes back-to-back the clear highlights. He lost this event in a playoff back in 2021, where Min Woo Lee emerged victorious and a year later he finished 6th and was inside that number for the final three rounds. He hasn’t been good the last two years here, but he looks to be in better form now and he can channel that past experience here and turn it into another good week.
At this stage, it looks like Fitzpatrick is on his way back to being the player he was in 2022 when he won the US Open and 2023 when he won both the RBC Heritage and, crucially, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He isn’t there yet, but the uptick in ball striking and the steadiness of his recent results suggests to me he’s getting closer, and at 45/1 I will take the chance it comes together in Scotland.
The Banker: Robert MacIntyre
33/1 e/w (Paddy Power, Sky Bet 6 Places)
To me, this is one of the more straightforward bets this week. There was always a question mark about MacIntyre’s winning ability in the early parts of his career, but since 2020 he’s won four times, first in a smaller DP World Tour event in Cyprus and then next, beating Matt Fitzpatrick in Italy, at the Ryder Cup venue. A year later he had the chance to win his home event, the Scottish Open and was cruelly denied by Rory McIlroy. It didn’t take long for him to put it right though, as he then won the event in 2024 a month after picking up his breakthrough PGA Tour win at the Canadian Open.
Since stepping up to the next level, MacIntyre has beaten Fitzpatrick in the same year he won the US Open, Ben Griffin, who has emerged as a very consistent performer, and another major winner in Adam Scott when claiming the Scottish Open. He’s also added an 8th at the PGA Championship in 2024, and far more recently, finished 2nd at the US Open, his best major finish to date.
All this to say that MacIntyre has certainly found a new level, and there is no longer any questions marks about his ability to win, or his comfort levels among the very best players in the world, which he will face this week. So now we have got that all ticked off, we just need to look at a few more things, including his current form and his experience at the course.
Well we know MacIntyre likes this course, given he is the defending champion, and he had finished 2nd the year before. Four top 18 finishes including a 1st and 2nd certainly outweigh his two missed cuts here. He’s also playing very well of late, going strongly at the US Open where he finished as JJ Spaun’s closest challenger, and then finishing 17th a week later at the Travelers Championship. Given the mental strain of the week before, I was quite impressed with the 17th last time out, where he posted his best round on Sunday. Sixth at the Charles Schwab Challenge, 20th at the Memorial, and two rounds of 65 when defending in Canada was all good form leading into the US Open as well, so it’s been a sustained period of form for the Scotsman.
His ball striking numbers don’t jump off the page, but they are solid enough and he’s producing promising results on a consistent basis. A return home could bring the best out of him again, even if he does have to deal with the pressures of being the defending champion. At the odds, I think this has been factored in, and I was incredibly impressed by the fact he came out and won this a year after being denied by the brilliance of McIlroy so late on. It would have been easy to see that as a massive missed opportunity, but it clearly spurred him on to get the job done at the very next opportunity.
The Bonus Pick: Harry Hall
50/1 e/w (bet365, Betfred 8 Places)
Hall is turning into a very solid PGA Tour pro who is showing some excellent upside, and it would not surprise me at all if he returned to links golf and picked up a win.
Born and raised in Cornwall, Hall will be well aware of the shots required to succeed at links golf, and he showed that in spurts here back in 2023, despite finishing 60th. The finish doesn’t tell the full story, as Hall shot rounds of 64 and 66 across Friday and Saturday, to put him on the first page of the leaderboard going into the final round. A final round 78 saw him tumble, but I think he would perform a lot better in the same position this time around.
That’s because Hall has since added his first PGA Tour title, in the ISCO Championship, this week’s opposite field event, but also generally found a new level of consistency each week on the PGA Tour.
He has now posted six straight top-25 finishes, including 19th at the PGA Championship, 6th at the Charles Schwab Challenge, and 9th at the Travelers in a Signature event. Hall added a 13th-place finish last time out at the Rocket Classic for good measure, and he looks a completely different player than he was two years ago, when impressing in those middle two rounds.
Such is his evolution this year, Data Golf ranks him as the 24th best player in the world, which may seem high, but is probably warranted given the form.
I think a few will look at his 60th here two years ago as a bit of a negative, but I will instead take the two positive rounds from that and his new found consistency as a reason to buy in at 50/1+.
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Expert selected Genesis Scottish Open betting tips from Today's Golfer.
