We head to Scotland this week for the Genesis Scottish Open, and this is exactly the kind of tournament that reminds me why golf DFS is so damn fun. The field is absolutely loaded. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele, Ludvig Åberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre, Shane Lowry, Tyrrell Hatton, Chris Gotterup, Wyndham Clark, and plenty more are here, with PGA Tour stars, LIV guys, European grinders, wind specialists, links sickos, and young killers all meeting at The Renaissance Club. This is not some weak-field birdie fest where we are pretending a random top name makes the slate interesting. This is a heavyweight field, a real Open Championship tune-up, and as always, the lion in the room is Scottie Scheffler sitting at a ridiculous $14,000 DraftKings price tag.
Last year, Chris Gotterup came into this event and stole the damn thing from a field that looked ready for another Rory McIlroy Scottish party. Gotterup finished at 15 under, closed with a final-round 66, and held off Rory and Marco Penge by two shots. He bogeyed the opening hole on Sunday, then answered with three birdies in his next seven holes, added another birdie at 12 to build the cushion, and stuck the knife in with a 10-foot birdie on the par-5 16th when Rory was trying to chase him down. Rory was right there, the crowd was there for him, the course fit was obvious, and then Gotterup went out and showed he was not just some hot-name American bomber. He won the 2025 Genesis Scottish Open, backed it up with a monster Open Championship debut, and now comes back defending after winning the John Deere Classic. That matters because this place is not only about name value. You need shots. You need nerve. You need to handle the wind, the turf, the bounces, the uncomfortable lies, and the mental side of links-style golf when a good swing still ends up in a bad damn spot.
The Renaissance Club is a par 70 that plays around 7,282 yards, but the scorecard does not tell the whole story. This place has been rerouted for 2026, with the nines flipped and a more dramatic finishing stretch built into the tournament. The course can give up birdies, but it can also turn sideways fast when the wind gets involved. Players are going to deal with firm fairways, strange runouts, pot bunkers, uneven stances, and greens where the miss is not always about being short or long, but where the ball finishes after it lands. This is the kind of week where you will see guys putting from way off the green, bumping wedges through slopes, trying to flight irons through the wind, and staring at 100-foot looks because the ball got pushed, chased, or rejected into some goofy little links-golf nightmare.
That is why I am not treating this like a normal PGA Tour setup. I want players who can score, but I also want players who can think. I want golfers who can control trajectory, handle spin, avoid the big number, scramble from weird spots, and stay patient when par is a good score. The wind may not be nuclear all week, but it does not have to be insane to matter at The Renaissance Club. This is a course where comfort, creativity, approach discipline, and around-the-green touch can all separate the real contenders from the spreadsheet heroes, and that is exactly where the next part of this article starts.
Metrics That Matter
The first metric I care about this week is Strokes Gained Tee to Green. This is still the backbone of the model because I want complete golfers who can handle every part of this test. You cannot fake your way around The Renaissance Club for four days if the wind starts moving and the ball starts bouncing into uncomfortable spots. I want players who are gaining with the driver, gaining with the irons, and not relying on one hot putter to carry them through a loaded field.
Strokes Gained Approach is right behind it because iron play is still king, even in links-style conditions. The wind does not make approach play less important. It makes it harder. Players need to control distance, flight the ball, manage spin, and understand where they can miss. This is not just about firing at flags. This is about hitting the right shot, landing it in the right spot, and avoiding the kind of short-sided miss that turns one bad swing into a double bogey.
I also want Driving Accuracy or Good Drives Gained this week. I am not saying distance does not matter, because power always matters when used correctly, but this is not a week where I want guys spraying it all over Scotland and hoping the short game saves them. The fairways can run, the wind can move the ball, and the bunkers can absolutely ruin a hole. I want players who can keep themselves in position, avoid the ugly angles, and give themselves a chance to attack without constantly playing defense.
Bogey Avoidance is a major piece of the puzzle because this course can flip from gettable to annoying in a hurry. If the wind picks up, par becomes valuable. The field is going to make mistakes. Guys are going to miss greens, find bunkers, three-putt from another zip code, and get frustrated when good shots do not get rewarded. I want golfers who can keep the big number off the card and understand that sometimes boring golf is winning golf.
That brings us to Scrambling and Strokes Gained Around the Green, which might be the most important separator if conditions get uncomfortable. Missed greens are coming. Awkward lies are coming. Players are going to be putting from off the green, bumping wedges into slopes, trying to use the ground, and saving pars from places that do not look normal on a PGA Tour broadcast. I want guys with creativity, touch, patience, and the ability to turn a bad spot into a harmless par instead of a round-killing mistake.
The last metric I want in the mix is Three-Putt Avoidance and short putting. These greens can leave players with massive first putts, and when the wind gets involved, even the short ones can feel uncomfortable. This is not just about who can roll in birdies. It is about who can lag it close, clean up the five-footers, and avoid throwing away strokes after doing most of the hard work. At The Renaissance Club, a stress-free two-putt can be just as important as a highlight birdie.
I am also giving a small bump to controlled ball flight, especially when looking at low-apex players. I am not building the entire model around one radar number, but it does matter when we are talking about wind and links-style golf. Low apex can help confirm players who are less likely to let the wind eat their golf ball alive, and it lines up with some names I already like this week. Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood, Aaron Rai, Chris Gotterup, Casey Jarvis, Si Woo Kim, Brian Harman, Scottie Scheffler, Harris English, Andrew Novak, Charlie Hoffman, and Sepp Straka all popping in that bucket at least tells me their ball flight can fit the conversation. It does not make them automatic plays, but it does support the idea that trajectory control matters this week.
Scottie Scheffler, $14,000, Underweight
I have said this time and time again, and at this point I feel like I am preaching to the choir, but whoever makes the DraftKings pricing keeps creating this ridiculously unnecessary bottleneck around Scottie Scheffler. Fourteen thousand dollars is too much for a DraftKings golf tournament. I understand the idea. They are trying to force a decision. They are trying to make you uncomfortable. They are trying to make you choose whether you want the best golfer in the world or a lineup that actually looks like a lineup. But at some point, it goes too far. This goes for every sport. You do not price the best player so ridiculously high that he becomes almost unusable. Scottie should be the most expensive player in the field, but in this tournament, at this golf course, with Rory McIlroy sitting $2,000 cheaper, this price is a sham. Make Scottie $12,800 or $13,000 and put Rory around $12,000, and you still force the decision. You just open up the player pool enough for people to build something that does not feel like they are scraping the bottom of the barrel with a rusty spoon.
That is what annoys me about this slate. The decision does not become smarter just because the price is more annoying. It just kills lineup combinations. At $14,000, you are not playing Scottie Scheffler with Rory McIlroy. You are not playing Scottie with Jon Rahm. You are barely even getting to another true household name without the rest of the build looking like a yard sale. And I know some people will say that is the point, but I do not buy that as good DFS pricing. It does not make the slate better. It just shrinks the possible builds and pushes people into the same ugly low-salary pockets. You are telling me Scottie Scheffler in this golf tournament is $4,700 better than Chris Gotterup, the defending champion at this course who just won the John Deere? That is ridiculous. I think Gotterup is probably priced too low, and I think Scottie is priced way too high.
So that is the conundrum. You can play Scottie Scheffler, but you better understand what you are signing up for. You are signing up for voodoo. You are signing up for the bottom of the board. You are signing up for trying to convince yourself that Padraig Harrington, Brandt Snedeker, or some $6K wind grinder can somehow do enough in a field loaded with killers. Could one of those cheap guys spike? Sure. This is golf. Weird stuff happens. But if you tell me Padraig Harrington is finishing top five in this tournament, I will shave my head bald. Oh wait, I am already bald. That is where I land this week. I will have some Scottie, because you have to respect the player, but I am not letting DraftKings force me into a lineup I hate just because they decided $14,000 was cute.
Rory McIlroy, $12,000, Overweight
Rory McIlroy is expensive and he is going to be popular, but I am not going out of my way to fade the obvious play just to feel smart. He has three straight top-five finishes at The Renaissance Club, including a win, and this is exactly the kind of links-style setup where his game makes a ton of sense. He has the distance, the tee-to-green profile, the course history, the comfort on these surfaces, and enough creativity to handle the wind, turf, and weird bounces. Maybe he ends up higher owned than Scottie Scheffler, maybe he does not, but I expect him to be well over 20%, and that ownership is deserved.
The difference is that Rory at $12,000 still lets me build a lineup I can actually stomach. I can play him and still get to real golfers in the mid-range, while Scottie at $14,000 forces me into salary gymnastics. Yes, Rory missed the cut here in 2021, so anything can happen, but I am not going to overthink a player with this kind of course history and links upside. He is chalk I am willing to eat, and I expect to be slightly overweight.
Matt Fitzpatrick, $9,900, Overweight
Matt Fitzpatrick is one of my favorite plays on the slate, and I expect to be overweight at $9,900. The course history is beautiful with a second, sixth, and fourth at The Renaissance Club, and the current form is just as strong coming off a fourth at the U.S. Open and a runner-up at the RBC Canadian Open. This is not just a safe top-20 type of play either. Matty Fitz has real tournament-winning upside here if he hits it well enough off the tee. We already know the approach game is strong, we already know the around-the-green game is elite, and he has shown he can get hot enough with the putter to contend in big-time fields. If the driver behaves and he keeps himself in position, I think Fitzpatrick has a great shot to win this tournament, and he is 100% one of my favorite plays this week.
Tommy Fleetwood, $9,400 / Chris Gotterup, $9,300 / Wyndham Clark, $9,200, Around the Field
This is a really strong little pocket, and I do not want to act like I dislike any of these guys. Tommy Fleetwood, Chris Gotterup, and Wyndham Clark all make plenty of sense here. Fleetwood has the links comfort, the ball-striking control, and the type of steady tee-to-green game that always feels dangerous in Scotland. Gotterup is the defending champion at The Renaissance Club, just won the John Deere, and already proved last year that his power and scoring can translate to this course. Wyndham has been on an absolute heater, with win equity, top-five upside, and a game that has looked too strong lately to ignore. The problem is ownership and leverage. I expect all three to get plenty of attention, so I am probably going to land around the field or maybe slightly underweight depending on where the numbers settle. In balanced builds, I do like the idea of playing one of these three with either Viktor Hovland or Robert MacIntyre, or even pairing them together, as a way to move the pieces around and be a little different. I will mix and match this range because these are all strong plays, but my preferred leverage is probably coming from Hovland and MacIntyre, who offer similar upside and could come in at lower ownership.
Patrick Cantlay, $8,800, Overweight
Patrick Cantlay is some sneaky goodness in this range because he is not a sexy click, and no, I am not talking about his looks. I am talking about the fact that nobody ever gets excited to press the Cantlay button, which is exactly why I am interested. He has top-five upside in this tournament, and if he gets there at lower ownership, he can absolutely land in the optimal lineup. He finished T4 here in 2022, and the recent form is steady with a T14 at the Travelers, T17 at the Memorial, T10 at the Truist, and T8 at the RBC. He is hitting it well, he is solid all over, and it probably comes down to whether the putter shows up. In tougher conditions, I like golfers who can grind, avoid mistakes, stay patient, and not let one weird bounce turn into a full meltdown. At $8,800, Cantlay gives me top-five equity, course proof, and likely ownership leverage in a loaded range, so I expect to be overweight.
Harris English, $8,300, Underweight
Harris English is a name that makes some sense on paper because he can putt, he can grind, and his lower ball flight profile does not scare me in Scotland, but I just do not like where the game is right now. The approach numbers are the issue. He has lost strokes on approach in six of his last eight starts, the off-the-tee numbers have been shaky recently, and he even lost strokes putting last week, which takes away the one thing I really need from him if I am going to click his name. At $8,300, in this field, I need more than “maybe the putter saves him.” There are too many golfers around him with better tee-to-green form, better upside, and cleaner paths to a top finish, so I expect to be underweight on English this week.
Alex Fitzpatrick, $7,900, Underweight
Alex Fitzpatrick is going to be an underweight for me at $7,900. I understand the family-name angle, the European comfort angle, and why people may want to talk themselves into him in this type of field, but the course history does not help the case. He has missed the cut here two years in a row, and I do not love how the short game lines up for this style of golf. Could he make the cut and be fine? Sure. But at this price, I need more than fine. I need a path to real upside, and I just do not see the top-10 ceiling clearly enough at The Renaissance Club. There are too many players in this range with better form, better course fit, or more obvious DFS upside, so I am comfortable being underweight on Fitzpatrick this week.
Shane Lowry, $7,800, Overweight
Shane Lowry is a slight overweight for me at $7,800. He finished T12 here in his only recent start at The Renaissance Club back in 2023, and while the overall year has not been phenomenal, this feels like the exact kind of spot where he can pop. The off-the-tee and approach numbers have been good enough, and even though the around-the-green game has not been as sharp as we usually expect from Lowry, I am willing to trust the long-term skill set in this type of setup. He is comfortable in wind, comfortable in links-style golf, and comfortable when conditions get uncomfortable. If the putter wakes up and the tee-to-green game keeps him in position, this is absolutely a place where Lowry can find a little rhythm and push for a strong finish.
Tom Kim, $7,600, Overweight
Tom Kim is one of the better values on the slate for me at $7,600, and I am excited to be overweight. He has been playing good golf, looked strong at the U.S. Open, played well at the Canadian, and even though the John Deere was not some nuclear week, he still made the cut and played decent enough to keep the form conversation alive. The real selling point is the course history. Third, sixth, 15th, and 17th at The Renaissance Club is exactly the type of repeated proof I want in this tournament, especially at this price. Tom Kim is accurate, patient, creative enough for this setup, and comfortable enough here that a top finish is very realistic. At $7,600, he does not need to win to be a great play, but if he pushes into the top 10, he could very easily end up in the optimal lineup.
Sahith Theegala, $7,300, Overweight
Sahith Theegala is the last guy I want to talk about before getting into the true dart plays, and at $7,300, I think there is some really interesting upside here. He finished T4 at The Renaissance Club in 2024, is coming off an 11th-place finish at the U.S. Open, and while the Travelers was not as strong, I still like the profile for this kind of tournament. Theegala is crafty, creative, solid tee to green, and the around-the-green game is good enough to matter if players start missing greens in awkward spots. Nothing about him screams safe, but that is not really the point. He has shown he can step up in stronger fields, he has already flashed at this course, and I think he could come in at very low ownership for a player with actual top-10 upside. At $7,300, I am interested in being overweight.
Jordan Smith, $7,100, Outsider Dart Play
Jordan Smith is a nice first dart in this range because he has shown some decent performances here, and I like the tee-to-green upside. He is an English guy who should be comfortable enough if the wind picks up, and at $7,100, I do not need perfection. I just need him to strike it well, keep the mistakes down, and give me a path to a cheap top-20 type finish.
Victor Perez, $7,100, Outsider Dart Play
Victor Perez is another $7,100 stab I do not mind at all. He has played pretty solid golf here the last three years, including a top 10, and the all-around game looks good enough right now to take a shot. He is comfortable in this style of golf, and if the ball-striking cooperates, he has enough upside to matter at this price.
Ewen Ferguson, $6,800, Outsider Dart Play
Ewen Ferguson is a total dart play, but he is the kind of solid player who can spike in this type of event. He hits greens, he knows this style of golf, and even though he has missed the cut here the last two times, he did have a T12 a few years back. At $6,800, I am not going crazy, but I can throw him into a few builds and hope the local comfort shows up.
Mikael Lindberg, $6,800, Outsider Dart Play
Mikael Lindberg is simple for me. The guy is one of the longest hitters in the field, and when you combine that with a pretty good around-the-green game, I am at least interested in throwing him into a few lineups. This is not some safe cash-game click, but as a DFS Outsider dart, I can live with the volatility if the distance gives him a ceiling.
Grant Forrest, $6,700, Outsider Dart Play
Grant Forrest is a grinder, and he has made the cut here the last three years, which matters when we are digging around in this price range. He is comfortable in the wind, pretty solid all around, and gives me a cheap player who at least understands what he is walking into at The Renaissance Club. I do not need a miracle here. I just need him to grind four rounds and let the rest of the lineup do the heavy lifting.
Oliver Lindell, $6,600, Outsider Dart Play
Oliver Lindell is a first-timer here, but he comes in with pretty good form, and at $6,600, that is enough for me to take a small stab. There is not a ton of course history to lean on, but when you get this cheap, I am looking for guys who are playing well and can maybe surprise the field. He fits that bucket.
Andy Sullivan, $6,600, Outsider Dart Play
Andy Sullivan is another cheap wind-guy dart who is playing solid enough to be interesting. He finished T17 here last year, the off-the-tee game looks pretty good, he is decent around the greens, and he can get a hot putter going when things break right. At $6,600, he is the type of veteran I can throw into a couple lineups and hope he finds four steady rounds.
Kota Kaneko, $6,200, Outsider Dart Play
Kota Kaneko is a total dart play, and I am not going to have a ton of exposure, but there is enough recent juice to make him interesting. He has a win and a runner-up in recent starts, and he looks like the kind of player who can get a hot putter and save himself around the greens. If he somehow slips into the top 15 at this price, he can absolutely help win somebody a tournament.
Richard Sterne, $6,200, Outsider Dart Play
Richard Sterne is another deep salary stab at $6,200. He has been playing solid golf, picked up a win at the Soudal Open, and while he has not played here, he has enough veteran experience, short game, and putting ability to make some sense as a cheap punt. I am not loading the boat, but if I need a salary saver, I can throw a couple darts his way.
Frankie’s Fade of the Week: Scottie Scheffler, $14,000
Hey meatballs, Frankie’s Fade of the Week is Scottie Scheffler at $14,000, and this one is simple. What Scotty doesn’t know, Scotty doesn’t know, Scotty doesn’t know. Scotty doesn’t know Rory McIlroy is sitting there at $12,000 with elite course history. Scotty doesn’t know the wind might show up and turn this into a real Scottish grind. Scotty doesn’t know this is not some TPC American birdie fest where you just fire darts, make 25 birdies, and move along. And Scotty definitely doesn’t know that Frankie is fading his ass this week. Outsiders fade, Outsiders get paid, capisce?
Final Thoughts
This is going to be an exciting damn slate, and the key for me is lineup construction. You can play Scottie Scheffler if you want. You can start with Rory McIlroy if you want. But I do not think this is a week where you just blindly click the top two names and figure it out later. There are too many good golfers in the middle. There are too many guys with real top-10 upside, real course history, real wind comfort, and real paths to being part of a winning lineup. I love the idea of leaving a little money on the table, building differently, and trying to create lineups that do not look exactly like everyone else’s. Instead of asking, “How do I jam in the biggest names?” ask yourself, “Can I build a lineup with five guys I think can finish top 20, and one cheaper player who will not completely ruin me?” That is the kind of build that can keep you live in a tournament like this.
If you are starting with Rory, I think you are basically betting on him finishing top two, maybe winning, and doing it without Scottie breaking the slate. That means the rest of the build still has to bring upside. You need another top-five type finish from the mid-range, and then you need to find the right cheap player who can sneak into the top 20 or top 25 and make the whole thing work. That is why spreading your lineups around matters. Build a strong pool of players who can actually contend, then mix in darts who have a real reason to spike in these conditions. Do not just play cheap guys because they fit. Play cheap guys because there is at least a path to them doing something useful.
Course history matters here. Wind comfort matters. Controlled ball striking matters. Around-the-green skill matters. Short putting matters. Bogey avoidance matters. This is not just about who can make birdies. It is about who can handle the awkward lies, the weird bounces, the long lag putts, the uncomfortable par saves, and the mental grind when the course starts punching back. I want ball strikers, but I want ball strikers with a complete enough game to get up and down when they miss. I want guys who can avoid the blow-up hole, keep themselves in contention, and still have enough upside to go chase a trophy.
Every lineup does not need to look safe. In fact, safe usually does not win you a damn GPP. I want upside. I want leverage. I want uncomfortable builds that still make sense. I want strong golfers, smart darts, and lineups that can actually climb if the right names hit. That is the DFS Outsider way. Let’s go grind out a win, take down a motherfucking GPP, and remember one thing.
It only takes one
