2024 Scottish Open Odds & Expert Picks: McIlroy Returns to Attempt Title Defense

Rory McIlroy returns to competitive play this week as the consensus betting favorite by the Scottish Open odds from our best golf betting sites. We're looking for value outside of the defending tournament champion with our expert picks for The Renaissance Club.

McIlroy is the top-ranked player in the Scottish Open field while at No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR). He hasn't competed competitively since the U.S. Open in mid-June, but he's surely been spending time practicing 3-foot putts after his heartbreaking loss to Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst No. 2.

Xander Schauffele, this year's PGA Champion and the 2022 winner of this event, is right behind Rory on the oddsboard. Both stand to shorten their British Open odds significantly with a strong showing this week.

Ludvig Aberg, Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland, and Hideki Matsuyama form the next tier of the strong field in North Berwick, Scotland with Scottie Scheffler taking the week off.

Don't miss my look at the ISCO Championship odds for this week's alternate event in Kentucky.

Genesis Scottish Open odds 2024

Scottish Open odds from our best sports betting sites as of Wednesday at 8 a.m. ET. | 🔥 = best available odds | ❄️ = worst available odds

Scottish Open picks

Ryan Fox to finish top 10 (+650)

Fox is a four-time winner on the European/DP World Tour who made the cut in six straight PGA Tour events prior to a T-17 finish in the BMW International Open last week. I like his early arrival in Europe ahead of this co-sanctioned event.

The New Zealander enters the week at No. 63 in the OWGR. His best result of 2024 was a T-4 finish in the Myrtle Beach Classic, with a T-7 against a stronger field in the RBC Canadian Open.

His T-12 finish in this event last year was his best result in five trips to The Renaissance Club. He's among the longest non-McIlroy drivers in this field, and he ranks second on the PGA Tour this season in birdie-or-better percentage from this week's key distance of 150-175 yards.

bet365 offers an added $5 in profit on a winning $10 bet vs. the +600 odds found elsewhere for this top-10 finish prop. I've also sprinkled on Fox to win outright at +7000.

Best odds: +650 via bet365 | Implied probability: 13.33%

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My first click: Tom Kim to win (+3000)

Kim lost the Travelers Championship on the first hole of a playoff against Scottie Scheffler. He missed the cut as the betting favorite in the Rocket Mortage Classic the next week before skipping last week's John Deere Classic.

At No. 17 in the OWGR, he's the 11th-best golfer in this field by that measure. Even though he has the eighth-best odds this week, I'm willing to pay a premium, especially with a winning $10 outright bet still returning a profit of $300 at these +3000 odds. We initially got Kim at +3000 Monday morning, and bet365 is back to that initial offering after his odds dipped as low as +2500 on Tuesday.

Kim debuted in this event with a third-place showing in 2022 and followed it up with a T-6 result last year. The three-time PGA Tour winner tied for second in last year's British Open and has shown a clear penchant for links-style golf, as well as play at this point in the golf season.

His play off the tee was a glaring weakness in this event last year but it has been a strength across his last 20 measured rounds. 

Best odds: +3000 via bet365 | Implied probability: 3.23%

Scottish Open favorite

Rory McIlroy (+850)

McIlroy returns from a multi-week break that included him skipping the Travelers Championship Signature Event the week after the U.S. Open. McIlroy bogeyed three of his final four holes - and missed two putts inside of five feet - to lose the U.S. Open by one stroke to DeChambeau.

Putting has undoubtedly been an area of focus during his private practice during this time away from the game, and he returns to Scottish fescue greens where he has had success before. However, McIlroy's success at The Renaissance Club last year was newfound. He missed the cut in 2021 and tied for 34th in 2019, his only other two appearances in this event.

Still, the Northern Irishman is always worth consideration when back on this side of the Atlantic and there are no statistical weaknesses in his game, despite his lone (solo) PGA Tour victory this year. He'll be looking for a third straight top-six (or better) finish in the British Open next week.

bet365's opening +800 odds for McIlroy to win presented value over DraftKings' +650 opening line. The consensus odds trended toward that higher number early in the week, and bet365 has raised its offer to a market-best of +850 as of Wednesday morning. This is a good time to invest.

Winning golf tournaments in back-to-back years is often difficult because of the added media attention that comes the second time around. Rory is one of the few golfers immune to that, as he's regularly at the center of the media hailstorm.

Best odds: +850 via bet365 | Implied probability: 10.53%

Scottish Open info

• Where: The Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland
• When: Thursday, July 11 - Sunday, July 14
• Field: 156
• Favorite: Rory McIlroy (+850 via bet365)
• 2023 champion: Rory McIlroy (-15)
• Purse: $9 million
• FedEx Cup points: 500

The Renaissance Club course info

• Par: 70
• Length: 7,237 yards
• Greens: Fescue
• Architect: Tom Doak and Don Placek

The Renaissance Club. Tom Doak's first Scottish course dinner, opened in 2008. Undulating fairways and elevated greens separate this course from most links-style courses, though many of the trademark features of British and Scottish golf are still present.

This tournament became a co-sanctioned PGA Tour/DP World Tour event ahead of the 2022 tournament and has since hosted a much stronger field as the final official tune-up for the British Open.

Past Scottish Open winners

Historical odds via golfodds.com

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