Ahead of today’s Scottish Open and John Deere Classic, taking place on each side of the Atlantic, the Racing Post’s Bruce Millington and Steve Palmer analysed the ‘fantastic field’ ahead of a bumper few days of golf.
Commenting on the performance of 150/1 Cameron Davis, Palmer remarked: “We’ve had down as a maiden who’s going to win very, very soon, and obviously we’ve missed the Cameron Davis breakthrough victory there’.
The Scottish Open, taking place at the Rennaicense Club in North Berwick, has seen Johnny Rahn lead the odds-table as the favourite at 7/1, followed by Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa at 14/1 each.
Although noting that he was ‘not convinced’ with the quality of the course – and also making some choice comments about tournament sponsor Aberdeen Standard Investments decision to brand the competition as the abrdn Scottish Open – Palmer added that ‘field is fantastic’.
When quizzed on his headline selection for the tournament,Palmer highlighted Tyrrell Hatton as his top pick of the week.
The Englishman from High Wycoombe comes into the tournament as the fifth favourite at 22/1, offering a lucrative proposition for golf bettors.
Palmer stated: “I think Tyrell Hatton has got more hunger for this tournament than the bib guns who are further ahead on the betting.
“He missed the cut in the US Open last time, he’s not played much lately, he got married at the end of May, then he came back in the Palmetto Championship and came second despite missing everything on the green.”
The pundit added: “The last time he missed the cut in the US Open, his following event was the BMW PGA Championship and he won that in fine style. I think the same thing is going to happen in a different European Tour event this week.”
Heading stateside, Millington described the tournament as not having ‘the greatest field,’ noting that many of the world’s most high profile golfers will be playing at the aforementioned Scottish Open.
Daniel Berger is leading the betting market at 11/1, followed by Brian Harman at 14/1 and Sungjae Im at 18/1, whilst South Korea’s Soo Woo Kim has enjoyed the highest odds at 33/1.
Held at Deere Run in Silvius, Illinois, the course is a formidable 7268 yards in length and is described as ‘always easy’ by Palmer, who identified a ‘strong wedge game and a hot putter as the key to victory, whilst also predicting a ‘birdie fest’.
Palmer agreed with Harman’s status as favourite, describing him as ‘dangerous on the green,’ adding that he is a ‘sure fire contender’ for the John Deere Classic crown.
Source – Racing Post YouTube Channel
