The Scottish Open serves as the final tune-up before the last major of 2024, and six of the top 10 players in the world have made their way to North Berwick this week along with top players from the DP World Tour. The event also serves as the return of Rory McIlroy, who tees it up for the first time since his Sunday meltdown at last month's U.S. Open. The Scottish Open begins Thursday, and our golf experts preview the event and provide their favorite prop picks along with best bets to win this week. SCOTTISH OPEN Location: North Berwick, Scotland, July 11-14 Course: The Renaissance Club (Par 70, 7,237 Yards) Purse: $9M (Winner: $1.62M) Defending Champion: Rory McIlroy FedEx Cup Leader: Scottie Scheffler HOW TO FOLLOW TV: Thursday-Friday: 10:30-11 a.m. (Golf Channel - world feed), 11 a.m.-2 p.m. (GC); Saturday-Sunday: 10 a.m.-12 p.m. (GC), 12-3 p.m. (CBS) Streaming (ESPN+): Thursday-Friday, 2 a.m.-2 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 4:15 a.m.-3 p.m. X: @ScottishOpen PROP PICKS --Xander Schauffele to Beat Rory McIlroy (+100 at DraftKings): Not only is McIlroy fighting the demons of losing the lead with three holes to play at the U.S. Open, but no one has successfully defended at the Scottish Open. McIlroy is always dangerous at The Renaissance Club but so, too, is Schauffele. The PGA Championship winner won here two years ago and his 11 top-10 finishes on tour this year are five more than any other player in the field. --Tommy Fleetwood Top 20 (+100 at BetRivers): Fleetwood has quietly worked his way back to 11th in the world rankings on the strength of three consecutive top-20 finishes. Those came against elite fields at a major and a pair of signature events. He also tied for third at the Masters and has only one finish outside the top 26 in his past nine starts worldwide. 2024 Prop Picks Record: 34-40-1 BEST BETS --Rory McIlroy (+800 at DraftKings) hasn't played since the U.S. Open, but does have a win among three top-5s while posting top-15 finishes in five consecutive starts. He leads the field with 11 percent of the money and 8 percent of the total winning bets backing the Northern Irishman at the book. --Xander Schauffele (+900) won the Scottish Open two years ago, his last tournament victory until claiming the PGA Championship this year. --Ludvig Aberg (+1600) is second only to McIlroy with 10 percent of the money backing him to win this week. The young Swedish star has four top-10s in his past eight starts. --Collin Morikawa (+1600) hasn't won since last fall, but does enter this week with a streak of eight consecutive top-16 finishes that includes a runner-up at the Memorial. --Tommy Fleetwood (+2000) and Tom Kim (+2500) are the only players to post top-10 finishes in the event each of the past two years. --Viktor Hovland (+2200) has lacked consistency throughout most of 2024 but is still dangerous on the big stage, including his solo third at the PGA Championship. --Robert MacIntyre (+4000) finished second last year and the Scotland native won his maiden PGA Tour event at the RBC Canadian Open last month. NOTES --The PGA Tour is co-sanctioning the event for the third consecutive year, with the field including 75 tour players along with a similar number of DP World Tour players. --It is the final event of The Open Qualifying Series, with three spots available into next week's field at Royal Troon. The top three players who make the cut and are not otherwise exempt will earn spots into The Open. --Cole Rueck will make his PGA Tour debut after recently finishing his sophomore year at Boise State. He earned a sponsor exemption by winning the Genesis Collegiate Showcase at The Riviera Country Club in February. --Thirty-five players in the field competed at last week's John Deere Classic. Davis Thompson is coming off his tournament-record 28-under par 256 at TPC Deere Run to earn his first spot in the Scottish Open. He has three consecutive top-10 finishes. --Field Level Media
Jun 22, 2024; Cromwell, Connecticut, USA; Xander Schauffele tees off on the third hole during the third round of the Travelers Championship golf tournament at TPC River Highlands. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports