The summer birdie-fests are on hold following the Rocket Mortgage Classic and John Deere Classic in consecutive weeks as the PGA Tour hops across the Atlantic Ocean to join forces with the DP World Tour for the 2024 Scottish Open.
The Renaissance Club has hosted this event since 2019 in North Berwick, Scotland, and this is the third year that this is a co-sanctioned event between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. Before 2022, this was solely a European Tour event before the two got together.
The Scottish Open will still feature a full field of 156 golfers, but around 75 play weekly on the DP World Tour. While watching this event in the wee hours of the night or checking the leaderboards in the morning, don’t be shocked to see names you do not recognize, or cannot pronounce.
Although it is labeled a links course, The Renaissance Club is a bit more modern than the host sites in rotation at The Open Championship. This course is a lot more inland than most links courses, which significantly changes how it plays. Also, this course is not nearly as flat as true links. By no means is it a fault on the golf course — it is going to be an amazing event.
However, this will change my strategy in targeting golfers for this week compared to the more typical links style at The Open.
Here are my 2024 Scottish Open One & Done (OAD) Picks for The Renaissance Club.
2024 Scottish Open One & Done: OAD Picks
Wyndham Clark +4500
This is one of the first times I have been excited about Wyndham Clark all season long because he is an extremely long driver of the golf ball and a great putter.
Those two key skills can lead to success around this golf course, especially if a golfer has as much upside in those areas as the 2023 U.S. Open winner. Clark is coming off his best ball-striking week since his back-to-back runner-up finishes in March, which is a great sign.
He has been extremely streaky in spurts over the last year and a half as his game has risen to an elite level. Course history is important for me this week at The Renaissance Club, and Clark has thrived in his two prior appearances over the last two years when he tied for 25th and 16th. More importantly, Clark gained 13 strokes ball-striking in those events.
The putter has not treated him well here, but I am not too worried about that because Clark is one of the best putters on Tour who has as much upside with the flatstick as anyone — as he showed when he was the best putter by a mile in his win at Pebble Beach earlier this season.
Clark is a great One & Done selection for your pool with a ton of upside in this Scottish Open field.
Kurt Kitayama +11000
31-year-old Kurt Kitayama played most of his golf on the DP World Tour from 2019 to 2021, and he should feel comfortable at The Renaissance Club this week. He has made both cuts here in his Scottish Open career, including a runner-up finish in 2022 when he was just a shot behind the winner, Xander Schauffele.
The UNLV product also knows how to win a big event after taking down the 2023 Arnold Palmer Invitational. Bay Hill is a big ballpark where bombing the driver is imperative, and The Renaissance Club will demand similar skills this week. He has the short game and ceiling to get himself into the top five on Sunday evening.
Keith Mitchell +7500
Keith Mitchell's odds finally jump this week since this field is stronger than the recent birdie-fests where he was priced in the 35-1 range.
His approach play has been an absolute joke this year as he has made the leap from being an inconsistent iron player to an elite one by simply changing the way he practices. The Georgia Bulldog ranks sixth on Tour this season in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green after ranking 160th last season.
While iron play is not the biggest key to success at The Renaissance Club, Mitchell also boasts one of the highest-ceiling drivers to the table as he ranks fourth on Tour in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee. If you look at Rory McIlroy’s player profile or archetype, you would come up with a similar sort of driver-irons build.
At the core, that is what Mitchell is too. As a result, I always have liked to bet Mitchell on courses where McIlroy has thrived in his career. They have had similar success at golf courses like Quail Hollow, The Summit Club and Bay Hill, among others.
McIlroy is the defending Scottish Open champion this week, and Mitchell has hit the ball very well in his last two trips to The Renaissance Club. If we can get an in-form golfer who has similar strengths to McIlroy at a fraction of the ownership, sign me up!
