The Tips returns this week with more expert insight to help you choose your Fantasy team ahead of events on both the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR, including the return of the Rolex Series.
How it works: Every week a panel of industry-leading golf tipsters and special guests provide their expert tips for the week ahead.
Whether it’s making picks to update your Fantasy team or keep your eye on the betting markets, our experts provide their insights into the Genesis Scottish Open - co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR for the second year running, and the Barbasol Championship on the PGA TOUR through our podcast - The Tips.
Joining regular host Ollie Silverton this week are golf writers Ben Coley and Tom Jacobs along with commentator Kit Alexander, who outline their picks and reasons for both tournaments on this week's podcast, which you can find here: https://linktr.ee/dpworldtour.
If you have not done so already, you can sign up to play the official 2023 DP World Tour Fantasy game and submit your six-man team before round one gets under way on Thursday: https://fantasy.dpworldtour.com/
The 2023 season-long winner will win a trip to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next year, enjoy a lesson with a DP World Tour professional and a round of golf on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. For more information on this amazing prize and others, read here
Genesis Scottish Open
The Genesis Scottish Open returns to the Renaissance Club for the fifth consecutive year this week as eight of the top ten players on the Official World Golf Ranking descend on Scotland.
Last year, Scotland’s historic national open was co-sanctioned for the first time by the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR as part of a historic Strategic Alliance - counting on both the DP World Tour Rankings and the FedExCup.
Reigning Olympic Champion Xander Schauffele claimed the first Genesis Scottish Open title of the new era, securing a one-shot victory, and will be looking to make history as the first player to successfully defend the title since it first became part of the DP World Tour in 1972.
With the 151st Open - the final major of the season - taking place next week, our experts are looking at players with links pedigree to contend this week.
For Coley, that meant singling out Major winner Shane Lowry as his first pick, while Jacobs opted for fellow Ryder Cup star Fleetwood.
Shane Lowry
BC: He is one of the best links golfers in the world. It really doesn't take a lot of explaining. He is a first-timer at the Renaissance so that is a minor concern I would say. I don't think it will take a great deal of figuring out. Bookended 64s at the Travelers Championship last time around. He has five top 20s in his last six starts, he has been top 20 in all three majors this season. I think he has quietly had a very good season. Someone put it to me that he shouldn't be in the Ryder Cup team and that seems madness to me. He is just playing to a very high level, he has just not had that week where the putts drop but there have been good signs with the putter lately and I can see him coming alive over this next fortnight, no doubt about it.
Tommy Fleetwood
TJ: I don't necessarily back Tommy Fleetwood very often. I am always wary of him in the market, I think he is a little short odds wise based on his win equity in PGA TOUR events but if he is ever going to win a PGA TOUR event then why not it be back on links golf in Scotland. If you look at his last ten starts in Scotland he has made every single cut and his worst finish in that span was 25th. He has been second twice, including here at Renaissance, and fourth twice, including at the Open Championship at St Andrews so he absolutely loves playing links golf. He is up there with Lowry as one of the best players in links golf. It was very tough between him and Tyrrell Hatton but I just believe Fleetwood is that little closer in terms of winning and being in contention.
Justin Thomas
KA: He has got a decent record at Renaissance. He has shown glimpses but at the US Open said he was at the lowest he had ever been on a golf course. I like Justin Thomas on links golf courses. There is just a gut instinct, maybe. He needs a good week, with the Ryder Cup on the horizon.
Fantasy Insight: As it stands, Viktor Hovland is the favourite for players of our Fantasy Game this week, featuring in 65.94% of teams. Other popular players include Rory McIlroy (55.71%), Matt Fitzpatrick (53.24%) and Rickie Fowler (46.83%). Both Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, among our expert picks, also feature prominently in the top ten picks, accounting for 54.04% and 34.24% respectively.
Comparatively, some of our other expert choices feature much further down the ranks in terms of players chosen, with Alexander Björk in 1.3% of teams and Daniel Hillier in 1.01%.
| EXPERT | PLAYER | REASON |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Coley | Shane Lowry | He has five top 20s in his last six starts, he has been top 20 in all three majors this season. I think he has quietly had a very good season. He has just not had that week where the putts drop but there have been good signs with the putter lately and I can see him coming alive over this next fortnight. |
| Max Homa | I didn't want to play too high up the market this week because there is a bit of rain and win this week. I don't think it will be brutal by any means which we have had here at times, but it will keep them honest and attitude could go a long way. Max Homa would be known for his and I think he is playing really well. If you take out the majors which presumably become some sort of mental hurdle for him, he had a couple of top tens either side of the PGA Championship. He also went to the Rocket Mortgage Classic, a shootout which wouldn’t usually favour him and he has produced a top ten tee to green display and had a quiet week with the putter. He was in the top 20 last year, a perfectly good first go on the course. | |
| Tom Jacobs | Tommy Fleetwood | If you look at his last ten starts in Scotland he has made every single cut and his worst finish in that span was 25th. He has been second twice, including here at Renaissance, and fourth twice, including at the Open Championship at St Andrews so he absolutely loves playing links golf. |
| Alexander Björk | He has been in the top ten seven times this season, including the last four events. He is just playing too well with his approach play and putting to suggest he just won’t be in the mix. The obvious concern is his lack of distance off the tee. I don’t think that is necessarily going to impact him too much here. His best finish on this course is 19th, he is four from four for cuts made and has two 63s in four starts. Also, in the last two years he has been in the top ten going into Sunday and just had a bad final round. He should be kept in consideration again this week. | |
| Daniel Hillier | He is in the form of his life: fifth, third and first in his last four starts. He performed heroics to win the British Masters and that is going to be hard to replicate but I am not asking him to do that. I am asking him to ride his confidence on to a golf course that I think he can do well at. |
Barbasol Championship
For those who are interested not only in our Fantasy Game but also tips for events stateside, our experts also outlined their favourites and outsiders for the Barbasol Championship, held at Keene Trace Golf Club.
| EXPERT | PLAYER | REASON |
|---|---|---|
| Ben Coley | Cameron Champ | There is nobody in this field who is more prolific in terms of their strike rate on the PGA TOUR. He has three wins, they have all come in this tier of event if you like. I think this course could be really good for him. There are so many parallels with last year’s winner Trey Mullinax as golfers, right down to if you need to hide behind a sofa, it is when they are chipping. The way Mullinax overcame that is he hit more greens than anybody else. For Champ to win, he is going to have to hit loads of greens but when he plays well that is what he exactly does. |
| Trevor Cone | A really promising player. He is actually leading the field for greens hit this year. I do think that formula is quite a good one here. If you bomb it, hit the greens and then have a good week with the putter then you are business. Although his results don’t look up to much, he is playing a little better. I think he has the game for it. | |
| Tom Jacobs | Lucas Glover | I just believe he is the type of player that adapts really well to any type of golf. He has shown that over the last couple of weeks with fourth and sixth place finishes at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic. He has been in the top 11 in five of his last six rounds which is pretty consistent golf. He has been tenth, sixth and 12th in his last three made cuts in terms of strokes gained approach. I think he is going to set himself up with plenty of chances. It is crucially going to be the putter that is the difference for Glover as it has been for his whole career. He has got this new putting technique. He seems to be relishing it. As soon as he has got some confidence with his putter, everything seems to take care of itself. He is a major champion so he knows how to get the job done. |
| Grayson Murray | He is a former winner of this event, albeit on a completely different golf course. He is really rebuilding his career again on the Korn Ferry Tour this season. I think he is actually settling down, maybe dedicating himself to the game a bit more. He finished sixth last week at the John Deere Classic, opened with a 64 and closed with a 65. He also has a recent win on the Korn Ferry Tour. | |
| Alejandro Del Rey | He was inside the top five at the KLM Open. He shot a 66 in the second round in Denmark last week. He has been generally there or thereabouts. He opened with a 68 at the U.S. Open to be inside the top 15 after the first round. He has the skillset to surprise and elevate their game. |
