Steve Palmer's Scottish Open predictions & free golf betting tips

Golf tips, best bets and player analysis for the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club.

Where to watch

Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Golf from 8am on Thursday

Best bets

Will Zalatoris
3.5pts each-way 28-1 Betfair, Hills, Power

Lucas Herbert
2.5pts each-way 60-1 bet365

Min Woo Lee
1.5pts each-way 110-1 bet365

Victor Perez
1.5pts each-way 110-1 bet365

Matthew Jordan
1pt each-way 250-1 Coral, Ladbrokes

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The newly co-sanctioned Scottish Open is enjoying a fresh status which has elevated it to one of the biggest tournaments on the calendar. The DP World Tour Rolex Series gathering has also become a PGA Tour event for the first time, attracting an incredible field in the process.

Fourteen of the world's top 15 players are in attendance at the Renaissance Club, East Lothian, this week, honing their games for next week's Open Championship at St Andrews. The vast majority of the elite have headed to Scotland via Ireland - where they were competing in the JP McManus Invitational Pro-Am over Monday and Tuesday.

Steve Palmer's top tip

Will Zalatoris 28-1

The JP McManus Pro-Am is probably not great preparation for the Scottish Open - and the army of superstars making the journey from Adare Manor to the Renaissance Club are on offer at unattractive prices.

They have just had two long rounds in the company of amateurs on a parkland track which bears little similarity to the Renaissance, with a short turnaround before battle commences in Scotland. Producing six good rounds in seven days is a tough ask.

One of the best players to skip the Pro-Am was Will Zalatoris, who has kept himself fresh for a massive fortnight, and the Texas-based Californian appeals as the most sensible investment for the Scottish Open.

The fact this tournament has become a PGA Tour event is an extra carrot for Zalatoris, who is eager to shed his maiden tag, and victory may be coming given the form he has shown over the past three months. The 25-year-old has been playing some majestic golf at the highest level.

Zalatoris was sixth in the Masters, a playoff loser in the US PGA, fifth in the Memorial, then runner-up in the US Open last time out. Short putts are a weakness, but the rest of his game is so good that silverware seems inevitable before long.

Zalatoris was struggling when he arrived at the Renaissance Club last year. His form figures from his preceding three tournaments were 59-MC-77 - he finished last of the weekend qualifiers in the Rocket Mortgage Classic before jumping in a plane to Scotland. A share of 26th place on his Renaissance debut was commendable in such circumstances. Expect much better this time.

Next best bet

Lucas Herbert 60-1

Course form students will be salivating over Lucas Herbert this week - and rightly so. The Australian ace has finished fourth at the Renaissance Club in each of the last two years - and he has found form in time to be a factor again.

Herbert loves competing on these shores, where his comfort in a breeze is often helpful, and he fired rounds of 64 and 66 over the weekend of last year's Scottish Open to miss out on the playoff by just a shot.

Herbert has since become a PGA Tour champion - he has proved his bottle all over the world - and he even played well in a Major in May (13th in the US PGA). His short-game has been in mint condition this year and ninth place in the Irish Open last week was an ideal warm-up spin.

Other selections

Min Woo Lee 110-1

Victor Perez 110-1

Matthew Jordan 250-1

Herbert won the Irish Open last year, then his compatriot Min Woo Lee won the Scottish Open a week later. These two Aussie youngsters seem to inspire each other. Herbert could easily follow Lee into the Renaissance winner's enclosure, but Lee will probably not give up his title without a serious fight. Weekend rounds of 65 and 64 earned Lee his playoff spot last year, and he clearly relishes the Renaissance.

Min Woo has played well in his two biggest events of the year so far, finishing 14th on his Masters debut and 27th on his US Open debut. Expect this sweet swinger to rise to the occasion again. He is one of only two course winners in this field and appears destined for greatness.

Another proven DP World Tour champion who has been dismissed too easily by the layers this week is Victor Perez. His first victory came in the Dunhill Links Championship, so he knows he can triumph on a Scottish links. The Frenchman lives in Dundee, so this is a virtual home game for him, and the Renaissance is familiar territory.

Perez won his second DP World Tour title at the end of May - some magical putting down the stretch meant Dutch Open glory - and he finished third in the European Open after that. Expect steady but unspectacular Renaissance results (28-14-59) to be improved upon this week.

Complete a five-pronged each-way attack with Matthew Jordan, a links natural who is ideally suited to the Renaissance. Jordan is a Hoylake member who quickly developed into a force to be reckoned with on links terrain. As an amateur he won the St Andrews Links Trophy and the Lytham Trophy. As a pro, he opened with a 63 on his way to 15th place in the 2019 British Masters at Hillside, then finished fifth in the Dunhill Links.

Jordan came through an Open qualifier on a links last week, then finished 24th in the Irish Open. He is much looking forward to his Open debut next week, but can could start a dream fortnight by contending at the Renaissance.

Players to note

Billy Horschel
The Wentworth champion enjoys his overseas trips and could easily be a factor again. His short-game has been sharp this year.

Robert MacIntyre
The Scottish left-hander is desperate to play well in his national Open and 13th place in the Irish Open last week was encouraging.

Ryan Fox
The massively in-form Kiwi powerhouse has lots of great form on UK and Irish links tracks, but MC-MC-44 is a poor Renaissance CV.

Hideki Matsuyama
A final-round 65 meant fourth place for the Japanese star in the US Open last time out. A dangerous Renaissance debutant.

Renaissance Club course guide

Course The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, East Lothian, Scotland
Prize money $8m ($1,333,600 to the winner)
Length 7,293 yards
Par 71 - four par-fives; nine par-fours; five par-threes
Field 156 The cut Top 65 and ties qualify for round three
Highest-ranked players in field (world ranking in brackets) Scottie Scheffler (1), Jon Rahm (3), Collin Morikawa (4), Justin Thomas (5), Cameron Smith (6)
Course records - 72 holes 262 Bernd Wiesberger (2019) 18 holes 61 Bernd Wiesberger (2019)

Course winners taking part Aaron Rai, Min Woo Lee

When to bet By 7am on Thursday

When to watch Live on Sky Sports Main Event & Golf from 8am on Thursday

Last week - Irish Open 1 A Meronk (35-1), 2 R Fox (22-1), 3 T Lawrence (125-1), T4 D Law (200-1), J Catlin (80-1), F Zanotti (75-1), 7 J Campillo (125-1), 8 T Olesen (110-1), T9 S Lowry (9-1), A Rai (28-1), L Herbert (35-1), E Kofstad (200-1)

Course type Links

Course overview The Scottish Open moved two miles east in 2019 - from Gullane to Renaissance Club - and the luxury venue which opened in 2008 is staging the event for the fourth consecutive year this week. The Tom Doak-designed layout was criticised by Rory McIlroy after the 2019 edition for being too easy, supposedly unbefitting of a Rolex Series event and poor preparation for the Open. Three holes run directly along the Firth of Forth, but this is not a pure links test, with some trees in strategic fairway and greenside positions. Heavily contoured greens are the main defence of the course, while deep rough is waiting to punish the seriously errant. Prior to 2019, the only course form for punters to study was the 2017 Open Final Qualifying event staged there, which was won by Sam Locke, with Grant Forrest in second place

Story of last year Min Woo Lee claimed a second Tour title by defeating Matt Fitzpatrick and Thomas Detry in a three-man playoff

Weather forecast A mixture of sunshine and cloud, with temperatures peaking at 18C, and moderate breezes throughout

Type of player suited to the challenge Power is more than helpful at Renaissance - three of the five par-threes are more than 200 yards apiece, while the four par-fives lend themselves to aggressive tactics - but a sharp short-game on and around tricky greens is arguably more important

Key attribute Touch

Spotlight insight Only one of the last 11 Scottish Open winners was a DP World Tour maiden

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