Golf
Genesis Scottish Open preview: Hovland to go well at Renaissance
As the Open Championship draws nearer many of the world’s best travel over to the isles for the Scottish Open, a tournament which is often considered to be the warmup for the major.
Some of the tour’s biggest names will be on show here and it promises to be a high-quality tournament. We preview the key contenders below.
Viktor Hovland – 18/1
Viktor Hovland heads into the Genesis Scottish Open in red-hot form as one of the top players on tour at the moment. He will be eyeing up a strong performance here to set him in good stead for the upcoming Open Championship.
Hovland is certainly not a short price here at 18/1, placing him sixth in the market. The world number five has been in fine form as of late with a PGA Tour win at the Memorial Tournament coming in early June. He has made his last 22 cuts and will be expecting to do the same again here.
A long, links golf course, the Reneissance Club’s 7237 yards shouldn’t pose too many problems for Hovland with his average driving distance of over 307 yards ranking among the best on the tour. Links courses can be some of the toughest to get round but Hovland is a master of driver and iron play, ranking tenth on the PGA Tour for strokes gained from tee to green.
He is on a serious low scoring streak averaging -6 in his last three tournaments, including an impressive -12 at the Travelers Championship. One of his most notable performances this year came back in May at the PGA Championship where he shot -7 to finish second, his best result in a major.
Hovland will have extra motivation to perform here having missed the cut last year, and with his first major title surely not far away, a strong performance here could set him up perfectly to challenge at the Open next week.
Min Woo Lee – 33/1
Min Woo Lee has not been on the best of form lately, but he is still young and inconsistency can be excused with the 47th ranked player having shown many glimpses of some serious talent.
Links golf is renowned for its massive sloping greens and those who can stick it close to the pin on their approaches will certainly have the upper hand. Min Woo Lee produced an impressive display when winning here in 2021, when he ranked in the top 25 in approach play and his putting also ranked in the top 20 that year.
The Australian player could present great value this year at 33/1 given his previous success at the tournament. He missed the cut last year and will be looking to avenge that with a solid performance this year which could also be crucial in turning his poor form around.
The world number 47 finished tied for 21st at the Open last year following his missed cut at the Scottish Open, suggesting that if he can build some momentum with a strong outing here, he may boost his chances of picking up a first major at the Open.
