Welcome to the 2022 PGA DFS: Genesis Scottish Open FanDuel Picks!
Last week's picks for the John Deere Classic turned in a very frustrating result. I narrowly missed cashing with four solid picks and two picks that missed the cut.
This week, there are two sanctioned PGA Tour events, the Barbasol Championship, and the Scottish Open. I will be focusing on the Scottish Open for two reasons. First, the field is stronger with 14 of the top 15 players in the official world golf rankings teeing it up. Secondly, similar to the players, I feel this is a good prep week for next week's fourth major, The Open.
The Scottish Open will take place at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick. The Renaissance Club is a 7,293 yard, par-71 layout.
When looking at this golf course, I see three key indicators for the week pretty quickly. I think strokes gained: approach, strokes gained: off the tee, and strokes gained: putting will be major success points for players this week.
2022 PGA DFS: Genesis Scottish Open FanDuel Picks
K.H. Lee - $8,500
K.H. Lee is becoming a consistent low-salary pick for me, and rightfully so. Outside of a poor three-week stretch in April where he missed the cut in three consecutive events, Lee has performed well. He's only missed the cut two other times all season.
Lee also has a win at the AT&T Byron Nelson, and six other top 25 finishes. He's also up to 40th in the OWGR (Overall World Golf Rankings).
When looking at my key indicators for the week, Lee has a solid ranking in all three. That is exactly what you want from your lowest salary selection.
His worst of three this week is in the SG: Approach the Green category where he currently ranks 114th. He is 57th in SG: off-the-tee. Those two categories combined, have him in a solid 66th in SG: tee-to-green.
Lastly, Lee has been just OK with the flat stick. He is 96th in SG: putting, picking up .043 shots per round on the field.
A cut made from Lee this week would go a long way for my lineup, and yours.
Maverick McNealy - $8,900
For the second consecutive week, I'm selecting Maverick McNealy. At the John Deere Classic last week, he rewarded me with a T-8th finish. I'm hoping he can duplicate those results this week and he certainly has the game for it.
McNealy has had a bit of a rough go of it lately. Prior to the T-8th finish at the JDC, he had missed two straight cuts with a T-75th at the PGA Championship and a T32nd at the AT&T Byron Nelson mixed in as well.
Overall, he's had a solid season. He has six top 20 finishes and a runner-up at the Fortinet Championship included.
He also shows pretty well in my key indicators this week. McNealy is currently 86th in SG: Approach the green, which marks his worst showing of the three key indicators.
He is 48th in SG: off-the-tee and 35th in SG: putting, picking up .395 shots per round on the field in that area.
At his cheap price point, I view McNealy as a potential value play of the week.
Corey Conners - $9,900
With my third selection, I'm going to take one of the best ball strikers in the world in Corey Conners. Getting him for less than what the average salary should be on FanDuel feels like a steal.
Though Conners missed the cut in his last appearance, the U.S. Open, He has had a solid season. He has nine top-20 finishes this season with four of those coming inside the top 10.
The world's 29th-ranked player shows well in my key indicators this week as well. He is 27th in SG: Approach the green where he picks up over half a shot on the field per round (.548).
He is an elite driver of the golf ball, ranking sixth in SG: off-the-tee this season. Those two stats have propelled him to 18th on the PGA Tour in SG: tee-to-green where he picks up 1.216 shots per round on the field.
What I need from Conners this week is a strong short game. He is relatively average with his putter, ranking 85th in SG: putting, only picking up .078 shots on the field per round.
If Conners has a hot putter this week, I think he has a good chance at another top 10.
Tommy Fleetwood - $10,600
Tommy Fleetwood is on the cusp of being mentioned with the world's best players again. He also plays very well, historically, on links-type courses.
Fleetwood has only missed three cuts on the season and one was the Zurich Classic, a two-man event. He also missed the cut in the U.S. Open and The Honda Classic.
Fleetwood has five top-20 finishes on the season, including a T-5th at the PGA Championship.
Honestly, he doesn't show as well as I'd like in my key indicators for the week in relation to his salary. However, Fleetwood is a mudder. What I mean by that is he doesn't let poor conditions phase him normally. With the Scottish Open being held in the United Kingdom, there's bound to be some poor weather.
Fleetwood currently sits in 76th in SG: Approach the green and just 100th in SG: off-te-tee.
However, he has an elite short game. He is 37th in SG: putting and 9th in SG: Around the green. This has propelled him to a solid 28th in SG: total, picking up 1.050 shots on the field total per round.
If Fleetwood hits the driver well this week, he can win.
Viktor Hovland - $10,700
I'm staying with the foreign flavor for my next pick and going with the 8th-ranked player in the world in Viktor Hovland. It feels like it's been a disappointing season for Hovland. However, when looking at his results, that's only because of my massive expectations for him, and his relatively disappointing performances in majors thus far.
Hovland has two wins, a T-2nd, a T-4th, and a T-9th on the season to go along with two other top-20 finishes. He's been really good.
Hovland shows elite in my three key indicators this week. He is currently 10th in SG: Approach the green, picking up .745 shots per round on the field in this area.
He is 17th in SG: off-the-tee, picking up another .509 shots per round on the field.
Lastly, he is 28th in SG: putting, picking up .422 shots per round. If you were to add up my three key indicators, Hovland picks up 1.676 shots per round on the field. If I've nailed my indicators for the week, he has a good shot at winning.
On the flip side, if Hovland is off from tee to green, this could be a flop of a pick. He is one of the worst players on the PGA Tour around the green. He is currently 204th in SG: Around-the-green, where he loses .801 shots per round on the field.
Collin Morikawa - $11,400
My top selection this week from a salary standpoint is Collin Morikawa. The fourth-ranked player in the world started the season off white-hot. He finished 2nd, T-7th, T-5th, T-5h, and T-2nd in his first five starts to the season.
Morikawa also has two top-five finishes in the three majors so far this season. Despite not having a win under his belt yet, he's had a really good season.
The two-time major winner and defending champion of The Open is an elite iron player, perhaps the world's best, and his ranking backs that up. Morikawa is currently 5th in SG: Approach the green where he picks up .894 shots per round on the field.
He is very solid off the tee as well, ranking 30th in SG: off-the-tee.
Morikawa's bugaboo, historically, has been his putter. If it's on, he's tough to beat, hence the two major wins. However, it's typically his weakest club. He currently ranks 86th in SG: putting, picking up just .076 shots per round on the field.
I like Morikawa to compete for a win this week as he looks to defend his title in The Open from last season.
Check out Mark's PGA Prop Bets for this week!
