Sport
Nexo Championship 2026 Predictions and Preview
Patrick Reed and Ewen Ferguson are William Hill News’ two selections for the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire.
Reed, the Race to Dubai leader, is the class act of the field at 10/1, while home favourite Ferguson has the course profile and recent consistency to make 20/1 an appealing alternative.
Tournament overview
The Nexo Championship runs from Thursday 20 August to Sunday 23 August and offers a $3 million prize fund, with 3,500 Race to Dubai points for the winner.
It is the final event of the DP World Tour’s Closing Swing and will be staged at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire for the second consecutive season.
The venue is a modern links test: a par 72 measuring roughly 7,430 yards, laid across dramatic dunes with rolling fairways, strategically placed bunkers and severe rough.
Wind management, trajectory control and creativity around the greens will be central to the week, making this far more than a straightforward power contest.
Grant Forrest returns as defending champion, but the tournament has attracted a strong international field headed by Reed, alongside a sizeable home challenge that includes Ferguson, David Law, Connor Syme and Scott Jamieson.
Patrick Reed – 10/1
Reed is the standout pick in the market. He arrives in Scotland leading the Race to Dubai despite a limited DP World Tour schedule, and has already collected two victories in 2026.
His early-season run was exceptional: he claimed the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, finished runner-up at the Bahrain Championship and won the Qatar Masters only weeks later.
Those results established his advantage in the season-long standings and confirmed that, when he commits to a DP World Tour start, he has the game to dominate this level of field.
The 2018 Masters champion will make his Nexo Championship debut, but that is not necessarily a concern. Reed’s imagination, scrambling and ability to shape shots in the wind make him ideally suited to an exposed Scottish links layout.
He is an aggressive competitor, thrives in difficult conditions and can rely on a superb short game when hitting greens becomes challenging.
At 10/1, Reed is the one to beat. He has the strongest winning pedigree in the field, the best 2026 form profile and a game made for a venue where control matters as much as distance.
Ewen Ferguson – 20/1
Ferguson is the value choice. The three-time DP World Tour winner returns to Scotland with four top-10 finishes this season and a strong incentive to produce a big week as he sits 49th in the Race to Dubai standings.
The Scot has made a career out of competing well in demanding European conditions, and a coastal test in Aberdeenshire should bring out the best in him.
Home support will help, but more importantly, Ferguson has the shot-making versatility to deal with crosswinds, awkward lies in the dunes and the patience required when par becomes a good score.
This is the sort of tournament in which local knowledge can matter. Ferguson will be comfortable with the weather, familiar with links-style golf and motivated to move away from the Race to Dubai cut line before the season reaches its decisive phase.
His four top-10 finishes show he has been competitive throughout the year, even if he is still searching for a victory.
At 20/1, he is worth backing as a player capable of putting together four solid rounds and taking advantage if the leading favourites struggle in testing conditions.
