The App is Back! Don’t forget to download the NBC Sports EDGE app to receive real-time player news, mobile alerts and track your favorite players. Plus, now you can check out articles and player cards. Get it here!
As our heads were resting against our pillows, the Scottish Open got underway at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick. Ideal scoring conditions presented themselves as players took advantage of the pristine weather. Perhaps inspired by their countrymen on the pitch, a number of Englishmen made their way towards the top of the leaderboard during the morning hours.
While Jack Senior led the way at 7-under, it was Lee Westwood who caught my eye. After a strong spring season on the PGA Tour that included runner-up finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the Players Championship, Westwood has since gotten married. With his now wife on the bag, Westwood made easy work of the Renaissance Club en route to a round of 6-under 65.
In his post-round interview, Westwood had this to say regarding Round 1 conditions, “Today is not typical of golf here. It was pretty much hit it, find it, hit it again. You didn’t have to use your brain too much or get creative. It was a good day for scoring.” I reckon many of the Englishman’s counterparts would agree with this sentiment.
Those in particular include world No. 1 Jon Rahm and his playing competitor Justin Thomas. I’d be remiss not to mention the third member of their threesome, Rory McIlroy, who struggled for the vast majority of the day. However, birdies on 16 and 17, followed by a clutch par save on the 18th, allowed McIlroy to card a round of 1-under 70 and potentially salvage his tournament.
It was a different sort of day for Rahm and Thomas as both were in control for the entirety of their rounds. Never straying too far off course, the duo put together a tee-to-green clinic. With rounds of 5-under and 6-under respectively, the eventual difference came on the greens. While Thomas was solid with the flat stick, Rahm struggled at times, missing putts from short range on the par-5 10th and par-4 15th.
To no one’s surprise, the pair sits atop the odds board at PointsBet Sportsbook. Rahm, who was the pre-tournament favorite at +650, has since moved to +333, with Thomas close behind at +500. It’ll be a quick turnaround for this grouping as they are set to begin their second round early tomorrow morning.
Updated Odds to Win (Via PointsBet):
+333: Jon Rahm
+500: Justin Thomas
+1000: Xander Schauffele
+1200: Matthew Fitzpatrick
+1300: Tommy Fleetwood
+1400: Lee Westwood
+2200: Ian Poulter
+2500: Tyrrell Hatton
+2800: Ryan Palmer
+3300: Robert MacIntyre
+4000: Rory McIlroy, Jack Senior, Collin Morikawa, Thomas Detry, Garrick Higgo
+5000: Thomas Pieters
Round 2 Plays (Odds Via PointsBet):
Ian Poulter (+167) over Scottie Scheffler and Matt Wallace
Simply put, Poulter looks inspired. Based on the various moments when he was shown, Poulter appeared reinvigorated, energized, and his play showed it. Anytime you can get around a course bogey-free, some breaks will be needed, but that really wasn’t the case for the Englishman.
While he won’t impress you in the Strokes Gained categories like Rahm and Thomas, Poulter’s game clearly translates to success at the Renaissance Club. Hitting 16 out of 18 greens in regulation, Poulter turned in a round of 5-under 66 on Thursday. This is now the third year in a row he finds himself in the mix, thanks mostly to his short-game.
Sitting 40th in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green after Round 1, on and around-the-greens is where Poulter thrived. Last year, Fleetwood led the field in SG: Around-the-green and I could see Poulter taking the same path to success this year. In the first-round, his ball-striking was only just a touch better than his playing partners, but it’s his short-game where he’ll separate himself from Scheffler and Wallace in the second round.
Editor’s Note: Get an edge with our premium DFS and Betting Golf Tools that are packed with a DFS Optimizer, DFS Projections, Salary Tracker, Edge Driver, Prop Projections, Futures and much more. Gain access to both tools in our EDGE+Max tier and don’t forget to use promo code SAVE10 to get 10% off. Click here to learn more!
Rasmus Hojgaard (+171) over Branden Grace and David Drysdale
The recent strong stretch of golf by Grace is giving us some odds that I will happily dabble in. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with Hojgaard, get used to hearing the name. The 20-year-old Dane has two European Tour victories to his credit and has once again positioned himself nicely with 54-holes to play. It was your typical stripe show in the first-round for Hojgaard en route to a 3-under 68.
Having a similar statistical profile to many of the other young players on Tour, Hojgaard is usually a strong ball-striker who struggles as he gets closer to the hole. Thursday was no different, ranking seventh in SG: Tee-to-Green, thanks mostly to his iron play has he posted +3.94 SG: Approach. While he struggled mightily on and around the greens, as he is known to do, I’m fine with it. Why? Mostly because of how Grace got around to carding his score of 2-under 69.
While Drysdale could pose a threat, it’s Grace that I am mainly concerned about in this three-ball. It was the putter that was the South African’s saving grace on Thursday. Ranking first in putts per green in regulation and seventh in SG: Putting, Grace gained nearly three-strokes with the putter. As for the rest of his game, it was ugly.
Typically, reliant on his tee-to-green prowess, that wasn’t the case in the first-round. Grace only hit eight greens in regulation, ranking 128th in SG: Tee-to-Green, by way of losing more than two-strokes with his irons. If that type of ball-striking sticks around in Round 2, I don’t have faith in his putting to do the same.
PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner, and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.