Matt Gannon acknowledged Kristoffer Reitan will likely be the most popular DP World Tour call-up at $6,900 but still labeled him a ‘stud.’ The Norwegian fired rounds of 61 and 63 in consecutive weeks recently, winning once and finishing runner-up the next start thanks to elite distance plus iron play. Gannon warned of ownership concerns yet maintained Reitan's ceiling—a legitimate ability to go 8-under in a single round—makes him viable if gamers embrace chalk or pair him with contrarian builds elsewhere.

Matt Gannon said if you absolutely must dip to $6,100, Darius Van Driel is the name. The Dutch veteran is extremely positional—top-10 in fairways hit on the DP World Tour—and keeps doubles off the card when conditions toughen. Gannon only recommends Van Driel in stars-and-scrubs constructions, but argued that a gusty weekend could push Vandriel’s fairway-first profile into a surprise top-40, which is more than enough for his near-minimum salary.

Matt Gannon circled Sam Bairstow at $6,600 as his favorite ‘low Sam B’ market play. Bairstow is among the longest hitters on the Challenge Tour and simultaneously ranks near the top in putting average, a combination Gannon compared to Sam Burns. Because the Renaissance Club rewards both length and hot streaks on the greens, Gannon believes Bairstow can outscore his salary, especially in showdown slates, and is worth outright consideration in any ‘top left-hander’ side markets.

Matt Gannon preferred Martin Couvra over the chalky Wrighton at $6,900. The 20-year-old Frenchman already owns a DP World Tour victory and has finished T8 or better in four of his last six starts. Gannon noted that Koeuvre’s crisp ball striking mirrors Luke Clanton’s breakout profile and predicted the youngster will hold PGA Tour status next season. With strong recent form, polished tee-to-green game, and slightly depressed ownership compared to other Euro fliers, Koeuvre rates as a high-upside salary-saver.

Matt Gannon is ‘definitely down’ for Jacob Bridgeman at $6,900 despite the rookie’s first trip across the pond. Bridgman owns quietly strong recent numbers—gaining 0.7 strokes per round tee-to-green over his last five PGA Tour events—and carries a reputation for streaky, birdie-friendly putting. Gannon conceded there’s travel risk but argued that sub-7K price tags rarely package this level of ball striking with Bridgman’s ability to pour in putts, making him a high-leverage roster filler in large-field GPPs.

Matt Gannon highlighted Nilklas Norgaard Moller as a $7,000-range ceiling play. Moller just recorded the best ball-striking week of his PGA Tour season, and Gannon reminded listeners that last year at the Scottish Open he produced the best tee-to-green performance of his entire career. The ‘dots are connecting,’ Gannon said—Moller’s length off the tee (320-yard average) and comfort in windy coastal setups give him true top-10 upside. The only concern is streaky putting, but Gannon is willing to gamble on another spike week with irons and driver at sub-5% ownership.

Matt Gannon reiterated faith in David Ford at just $6,200. Ford flashed his upside by leading after round one of January’s Dubai Desert Classic before fading to T70. The UNC amateur is top-5 in collegiate ball-speed metrics and already comfortable competing against Tour fields. Gannon views Ford as a lotto ticket who can leverage length to create eagle looks and believes a spike week with the wedges could deliver a shock top-25, freeing salary for multiple elites up top.

Matt Gannon tagged Alejandro Del Rey at $6,400 as the quintessential high-variance play. Del Rey leads the DP World Tour in driving distance and owns multiple rounds of 60 or lower in his professional career. Gannon specifically likes betting Del Rey in ‘low round of the week’ props and using him in large-field DFS where an 8-under day can propel line-ups. While he could just as easily miss the cut, the ceiling is unmatched in the low-6K pool.

Matt Gannon touted hometown Scot Connor Syme in the low-6K range. Syme recently grabbed a DP World Tour win and, per Gannon, profiles as ‘old-school Morikawa’—elite with his mid-irons yet a streaky putter. Over the last 12 rounds Syme ranks top-10 in strokes-gained approach on the Euro circuit. Gannon thinks Syme’s familiarity with links wind, combined with a crowd boost, could propel him to another surprise top-20 while keeping salary and ownership minimal.

Matt Gannon pegged Keita Nakajima (mispronounced ‘Kiyotanaki Jima’ in the clip) as a mid-6K gem. Nakajima is renowned for extreme accuracy—top-5 on the Japan Tour in fairways hit—and can lean on irons that spike for elite gains when dialed. Gannon values that profile at the Renaissance Club, where positional play off the tee sets up attackable approach numbers. If Nakajima drops a neutral putting week, Gannon believes a made cut with top-30 upside is firmly in play and gives DFS line-ups flexibility to pay for Scheffler up top.

Matt Gannon grouped Ryan Gerard with Berger as a sneaky $7,000 option. Gerard ranks top-25 on the PGA Tour in strokes-gained approach over the past eight weeks but sits outside the top-150 in putting during that span. Gannon argued that unpredictable fescue greens at the Renaissance Club level the playing field and make Gerard’s flat-stick woes less punishing. Because most builds will skip the bottom of the 7K range, Gannon sees Gerard as an ownership lever who can pepper greens, post a made cut, and back-door a top-20 if the putter cooperates.

Matt Gannon liked Daniel Berger at $7,400, calling him a perfect buy-low for DFS line-ups. Berger is ‘striping the ball’—gaining strokes both off-the-tee and on approach over his last four worldwide starts—yet remains virtually unowned because he ranks 118th in strokes-gained putting this season. Gannon trusts Berger’s proven pedigree on links layouts, noting he routinely elevates in windy, firm conditions and that a change to fescue greens could spark enough putting regression to unlock a top-10 ceiling. With ownership expected to lag far behind other mid-7K names, Gannon saw Berger as an ideal tournament pivot who offers cut-making safety and win equity if the putter even breaks even.

Gannon notes that Thomas Detry has gained strokes on approach every single time he has teed it up at the Renaissance Club—remarkable because approach play is usually his weakness. Detry lost a playoff here in 2022, proving the ceiling is intact. At $7,800 he’s a strong GPP target if you need mid-range savings with upside.

At $7,500 Gannon loves Nicolai Hojgaard as a ceiling play. The former Ryder Cupper finished T6 here previously, is striking it great right now, and owns multiple DP World Tour wins. Volatile, yes, but Gannon sees top-five and even win equity that few in the mid-$7k range possess.

Gannon is completely fading Matt Fitzpatrick despite strong course history. Fitz has only one good week all season yet is somehow projected as the chalk of the week. Gannon quipped that getting married on the Jersey Shore ‘made him forget how to play golf’ and sees no statistical justification for paying up into that ownership.

Gannon is back in on Corey Conners at $8,700. The buzz has cooled because of recent WDs, but Conners is healthy and the archetypal fairway-green machine. Gannon thinks a top-15 is realistic if the putter cooperates, which is plenty at sub-9k ownership.

Wyndham Clark has multiple strong finishes at the Renaissance Club, and Gannon sees the layout as perfect for Clark’s ‘bomb-and-putt’ profile. The $8,200 salary lets you grab proven course form and upside without eating top-tier chalk.

Gannon highlighted Aaron Rai at $8,300. Rai won at the Renaissance Club when it was a DP World Tour stop and has repeatedly gained strokes here. Although he is coming off a poor approach week, Gannon expects the irons to rebound, making Rai a strong single-entry option.

Gannon likes Harry Hall at $8,400 because Hall is doing two things elite at the moment—hitting irons and rolling putts. Gannon said Hall is "playing his best self at the right time," making him a solid mid-tier target even if that’s *all* he does well.

At exactly $8,000, Gannon calls Maverick McNeely a great play even if modestly chalky. The Renaissance Club lets him let loose with the driver and showcase his creative short game. McNeely already logged a T16 here and tends to thrive on tracks where Rory plays well, another course-fit data point.

Hovland is coming off his best approach week of the season but withdrew with a neck injury immediately afterward. Gannon does not want to pay premium prices only to have Hovland re-aggravate the issue, noting he would be ‘mad at himself’ if he ignored the warning signs.

Sam Burns checks form boxes but Gannon is out because the $9,100 price tag will attract heavy ownership. With Burns projected as one of the week’s most popular plays, Gannon prefers differentiating elsewhere rather than riding a chalky third-highest-priced golfer in volatile links conditions.

Gannon likes Justin Thomas at $9,300, calling this a "true litmus-test" week. JT has never gained on approach at the Renaissance Club, an oddity for a generational iron player, yet he is in the midst of an excellent 2025 approach season and gained across the board at the Travelers. Gannon believes the price bakes in past course struggles and sees a ceiling if JT finally flips his irons here.

Gannon tagged Ludvig Aberg as his favorite $9k play. Aberg nearly won here last year, gaining strokes in every category, and he enters on the best four-week iron run of his 2025 season. Because most DFS chatter is on Collin Morikawa, Gannon expects Aberg’s ownership to stay manageable, making him a strong tournament pivot with legit win equity.

Despite Fleetwood’s excellent Renaissance Club history, Gannon is out at $9,900 because he projects to be heavy chalk. Gannon pegs Fleetwood’s realistic floor at about T11, which rarely pays off as the fourth-highest salary. With wind and links volatility, he prefers lower-owned pivots in the same range.

Gannon advised fading Xander Schauffele. Last time out Schauffele suffered his worst strokes-gained approach performance "in forever" and even lost strokes off the tee, an uncharacteristic double dip. With no clear sign the iron play has rebounded, Gannon prefers to pay up for Scheffler or drop down in salary instead of gambling on Xander’s uncertain form.

Gannon warned that Rory McIlroy himself framed the Scottish Open as a warm-up. In his pre-tournament interview McIlroy said he "has an eye ahead on Royal Portrush" and mainly wants to shake off rust after a layoff. Gannon expects Rory to treat the week as a tune-up rather than a must-win, lowering his fantasy ceiling relative to the hefty price tag.

Matt Gannon said Scottie Scheffler is the one elite you should lock in at the Renaissance Club. Scheffler told reporters that, despite the Open next week, *this* tournament "means a lot" and he wants to win it. Gannon contrasted that with Rory McIlroy admitting he is mainly here to knock off rust before Royal Portrush and with Xander Schauffele coming off his worst approach week in years. Scheffler never coasts, keeps the pedal down every start, and has gained in every strokes-gained category most of 2025. Gannon called him the safest ceiling-plus-floor play even at the highest DraftKings salary.

Brady Kannon advised sprinkling on English bomber Jordan Smith at 125-1. Over his last 24 rounds, Smith ranks 7th in SG: Off-the-Tee, 21st in SG: Ball Striking, and 17th on the pivotal long par-4s. He has twice finished runner-up in his past seven DP World Tour starts and posted a T-12 here in 2023 with four rounds in the 60s. Kannon believes Smith’s length will create frequent scoring chances if weather stays calm and sees the combination of recent finishes and course history making 125-1 mis-priced.

Drew Stoltz pivoted from Ryan Fox to Sam Burns and locked in Burns top 20 at +190 on Fanatics Sportsbook. Stoltz highlighted that Burns has logged five consecutive top-20 finishes and seven in his last eight starts, nearly stealing the U.S. Open and losing a playoff in Canada during that span. With Burns pushing to secure a Ryder Cup berth and showing week-in, week-out contention, Stoltz believes another top-20 cash at The Renaissance Club is highly probable.

Colt Knost backed Ryan Fox to finish inside the top 20 at the Genesis Scottish Open at +260 on Fanatics Sportsbook. Knost pointed to Fox’s elite run of consistency: two wins already this season and no finishes worse than 30th in his last six starts. That blend of winning upside and steady floor at The Renaissance Club convinced Knost the +260 number is mispriced for a top-20 ticket.

Brady Kannon took a speculative stab on Kristoffer Reitan at 175-1. Reitan enters with a win, two runner-up finishes, and a fourth in his last seven DP World Tour starts, signaling elite current form. Kannon highlighted Reitan’s length off the tee and surprisingly strong putting numbers—traits that translate well whether The Renaissance Club plays as a birdie fest or weather-affected grind. Although this is his Scottish Open debut, Kannon believes the hot form and eye-popping odds warrant a small outright ticket.

Brady Kannon labeled Victor Perez a live long-shot at 125-1, noting that star-heavy pricing created unusual value on the Frenchman. Perez finished 18th at Memorial Park earlier this season—another Tom Doak redesign—linking him to The Renaissance Club. He boasts seven worldwide wins, including the 2019 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, underscoring extensive links pedigree. Over the past 24 rounds Perez ranks 7th in SG: Approach and 14th in SG: Ball Striking. Kannon said those numbers, paired with recent form, justify taking a dart at triple-digit odds.

Brady Kannon urged bettors to grab Ryan Fox at 60-1. Fox beat Sam Burns in a playoff at the RBC Canadian Open last month and captured his first PGA Tour title in Myrtle Beach a month prior. With 19 worldwide victories and a DP World Tour resume dating to 2017, Fox owns as much links experience as anyone in the field. Over the last 24 rounds he sits 11th in SG: Approach, 13th in SG: Ball Striking, and 12th on 450-500-yard par-4s, while already logging a T-12 here in 2023. Kannon believes that combination of current form and course fit makes 60-1 a strong outright ticket.

Brady Kannon recommended wagering on Sam Burns at 37-1, highlighting that Burns has finished outside the top-20 just once in his last eight starts. Over the past 24 rounds, Burns ranks No. 1 in this field on par-4s measuring 450-500 yards, a key hole length at The Renaissance Club. Kannon praised Burns’ birdie-making ability, elite scrambling, and consistently hot putter—attributes that should shine if the forecast turns the week into a putting contest. Those metrics, coupled with steady recent form, led Kannon to call the 37-1 price “too good to pass up.”

Brady Kannon said Justin Thomas was worth an outright wager at 35-1 to win the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open. Thomas has more course reps than most American stars, debuting here in 2019 and finishing 9th. Kannon compared The Renaissance Club to PGA National, Riviera, and Kapalua—tracks where Thomas owns wins or elite history—arguing that their shared emphasis on precise iron play and scrambling suits his strengths. He called Thomas one of the game’s premier iron players, scramblers, and birdie makers. Kannon added that the fescue greens will run slower because of coastal weather, a condition that typically neutralizes Thomas’ streaky putter, making the 35-1 number “very generous.”

Pat Mayo tossed Zac Blair onto his outright card at triple-digit odds, arguing the short, firm Renaissance layout neutralizes Blair’s lack of pop. Blair has gained at least 1.7 strokes on approach in three straight starts—including the U.S. Open—and continues to hit nearly every fairway, a combo Mayo believes is tailor-made for a 7,300-yard par-70. With sportsbooks hanging numbers in the 100-to-1 range and the betting market fixated on bigger names like Carson Young and Gordon Sargent, Mayo sees a clear value gap. He expects Blair’s fairway-first game to create ample birdie chances if the coastal winds stay moderate, making him a live each-way or top-20 ticket at a price that still assumes his 2023 injury version rather than his current ball-striking form.

Pat Mayo flagged Aaron Rai as a sneaky mid-tier pivot at $8,300. Despite winning this event in 2020, Rai is carrying virtually no buzz because the field is flocking to flashier names such as Maverick McNealy, Taylor Pendrith, and Wyndham Clark in the same salary band. Mayo likes Rai’s fairway-finder profile on a course where distance helps but precision still matters, and he noted the Englishman’s linksy background fits the Renaissance Club perfectly. With projected ownership south of five percent, Rai provides immediate leverage without sacrificing cut-making equity—Mayo prefers him straight up over every similarly priced option except maybe Ryan Fox, whose roster percentage is "through the roof."

Pat Mayo cautioned that a three-stud core of Rory McIlroy, Robert MacIntyre and Matt Fitzpatrick is shaping up as the single most common roster construction on DraftKings. Because Scottie Scheffler’s $12K salary makes balanced builds tricky, gamers are sliding down to McIlroy at $11K and pairing him with the mid-$9K Scottish darlings, leaving roughly $6,900 per spot for the final three slots. Mayo expects that template to dominate optimizers and hand-built cards alike, creating massive duplication. He advised differentiating either by pivoting off one of MacIntyre/Fitz to low-owned upside names such as Sepp Straka or Justin Thomas, or by swapping McIlroy for Scheffler and digging deeper into the $6K range where players like Connor Syme and Shaun Norris can soak up the salary hit. In Mayo’s view, fading at least one leg of the Rory-Mac-Fitz tripod is essential for GPP leverage this week.

Sia Nejad argued that Sepp Straka is the perfect leverage play in large-field DraftKings contests this week. Straka has bled 4.0 and 4.5 strokes putting in his last two starts, which is why the industry has forgotten him, but Nejad pointed out that the Austrian ranks second only to Scottie Scheffler in Strokes Gained: Approach for the entire 2025 season. The Renaissance Club should offer plenty of birdie looks once the Thursday morning gusts die down, and Straka’s history of blitzing easy setups—he led the John Deere and AmEx fields in birdies—makes him an ideal scorer when conditions soften. With ownership currently identical to a banged-up Corey Conners, Nejad views Straka’s volatile flat stick as a feature, not a bug: if the putter flips, the tee-to-green floor guarantees a top-10 ceiling at single-digit roster rates.

Pat Mayo urged players to pivot to Sepp Straka in the $8K range instead of following the crowd to Robert MacIntyre or Matt Fitzpatrick. Straka’s recent results look bland only because he has dropped 4.0 and 4.5 strokes putting in his last two starts; tee-to-green he remains firmly positive. Mayo reminded listeners that Straka is one of the most volatile putters on Tour—he has gained eight or more strokes on the greens three times since 2023—so the ceiling is intact. Despite that upside, Straka’s projected ownership is the same as Corey Conners at roughly six percent, making him a clean leverage play in large-field GPPs. Mayo believes just average putting returns Straka to top-10 territory, giving the play clear win equity at half the roster rate of the chalkier mid-tier options.

Sia Nejad flagged Connor Syme as his favorite sub-$7K dart on DraftKings. Syme has quietly cashed in four of his last five starts on the DP World Tour and actually won the Dutch Open six weeks ago, proof the recent form spike is real. More important for Nejad, Syme finished T-15 at the Renaissance Club last year and has never missed the cut in three Scottish Open appearances, a resume that is almost unheard-of in this pricing zone. With Syme’s salary sitting at $6,700 and early ownership projections under three percent, Nejad thinks the home-soil narrative plus reliable cut-making record make him the ideal salary saver to unlock Scheffler- or McIlroy-anchored builds without eating chalk.

Pat Mayo pitched J.J. Spaun as an overlooked mid-$7K tournament dart. Mayo said "people just pretend he doesn’t exist" even though Spaun keeps posting steady results. He emphasized Spaun’s strong long-iron play—exactly the bucket that dominates approach shots at the Renaissance Club—and predicted single-digit ownership because the field is flocking to flashier names like Ryan Fox and Max Greyserman at similar salaries. Mayo views Spaun as an easy leverage piece: the skill set fits the course and the industry apathy delivers immediate roster-construction upside.

Pat Mayo outlined a balanced DFS build anchored by three golfers in the $9K tier—Viktor Hovland ($9.3K), Justin Thomas and Sam Burns—and rounded out with three sub-$7.5K plays (Jordan Smith, Tom Kim, Neergaard-Petersen). Mayo noted that upgrading from chalky Robert MacIntyre to Hovland costs only $200 yet meaningfully boosts win equity. By skipping the ownership-soaked 8-K range and all 10-K-plus names, the "3-nines/3-sevens" construction keeps upside intact while avoiding the most duplicated roster cores. Mayo believes the structure offers clean leverage: if the mid-8K chalk merely posts top-20s, balanced Hovland builds can leapfrog a huge chunk of the field.

Sia Nejad said it is “really hard to build with Scotty” on DraftKings this week because the site did not price a usable 5-K range. Sliding Scheffler’s $12K tag into a lineup instantly forces two or three punts and pushes managers off the already-popular 8-K cluster of Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre and Ryan Fox. Nejad expects Scheffler’s ownership to remain high despite the roster crunch, so he prefers fading the World No. 1 and building balanced cards instead. In his view the salary squeeze creates a double whammy—Scheffler line-ups look similar and sacrifice depth—making a fade the sharper tournament path.

Pat Mayo endorsed Shaun Norris—priced in the mid-$6K range—as a viable punt to make Scheffler-Hovland lineups work. Mayo pointed out that Norris currently leads the entire DP World Tour in scoring average and, outside of one missed cut at the notoriously brutal Italian Open, has rattled off finishes of T26, T15, T2, T9, and T6 in his last six starts. He also reminded listeners that Norris closed 2024 by winning the Alfred Dunhill Classic on another firm, wind-exposed track, proof that the South African is comfortable in links-adjacent conditions. With most gamers unaware of those Euro-centric results, Mayo expects Norris to slip in under two percent rostered, offering clean leverage without sacrificing cut-making equity.

Sia Nejad highlighted Jacob Bridgman at $6,900 as his favorite bargain dart throw. Bridgman’s statistical profile—loose but long off the tee, excellent long-iron play, and a putter that can catch fire—creates the high-variance ceiling Nejad wants in large-field tournaments. He noted that Bridgman has already posted multiple top-25 finishes on similar coastal setups this year and ranks inside the top-20 on the Korn Ferry Tour in proximity from 175-225 yards, the bucket that dominates Renaissance Club approach shots. Given expected ownership below five percent, Nejad believes Bridgman is the ideal salary-saving piece to unlock Scheffler- or Hovland-anchored builds without dipping into the sketchier $6,500 range.

Sia Nejad warned DraftKings players that Matt Fitzpatrick is shaping up as one of the two highest-rostered golfers on the entire Scottish Open slate—right there with local hero Bobby MacIntyre. Nejad still likes Fitzpatrick as an outright bet, but sees little reason to eat 20-plus percent ownership in GPPs when the $9K range is packed with similarly projected scorers. With the sub-$7K pool offering very few trustworthy names, Nejad expects most Fitzpatrick lineups to look nearly identical and is therefore content to fade him completely and allocate those salary dollars to lower-owned pivots such as Viktor Hovland or Xander Schauffele. He framed the move as a classic leverage play: if chalk Fitz merely finishes top-20, you gain immediate ground on a huge chunk of the field.

Pat Mayo added an UNDER on Justin Thomas’ 6.5 Fairways-Hit line to round out his four-leg flex play. Thomas sits 118th on Tour in driving accuracy this season (56 %) and now faces the toughest wind window of the day. Renaissance features only 13 par-4/5 tee shots, meaning JT must find seven fairways to beat the prop—something he has accomplished in just three of his last ten opening rounds. Mayo argued that Thomas’ tendency to club down to 3-wood on links tracks won’t help enough because the early-morning gusts are expected to blow across the doglegs rather than into or downwind, pushing even conservative lines into the short fescue. He likes Thomas this week overall, but sees the windy AM draw as a perfect spot to short his Round-1 accuracy.

Mayo hammered the OVER on Viktor Hovland’s 13.0 Greens-in-Regulation prop for Round 1, calling it the lone "high" leg on his pick-em card. Hovland tees off late Thursday when winds are projected to drop below 12 mph and temperatures climb into the low 70s—ideal striking conditions at the Renaissance Club. Over the past eight weeks Hovland leads this field in Strokes Gained: Approach (+1.15 per round) and ranks third in proximity from 150-200 yards, the range that dominates this par-70 layout. Mayo emphasized that Hovland has hit 14-plus greens in five of his last seven opening rounds on courses with similar GIR difficulty and believes the Norwegian’s low-flight irons will carve through the lighter afternoon breeze. He set 14 greens as a median expectation, giving the 13-plus ticket a strong edge at even money.