The first round of the Scottish Open takes place on Thursday and each member of this stellar field will be eyeing a fast start at the Renaissance Club.
World number one Scottie Scheffler is making his first appearance since losing in a play-off at the Travelers Championship and he is the 16/1 favourite to be leading after day one.
Rory McIlroy can be backed at 20/1, ahead of 25/1 Jon Rahm, while Matt Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Xander Schauffele are all priced at 30/1 to set the early pace.
This will be the eighth year in a row the tournament has been staged at the Renaissance Club in North Berwick, while it is also the second Rolex Series event of the DP World Tour season.
Scottish Open First-Round Leader Tips Summary
Best Bet - Matt Fitzpatrick each-way @ 30/1
Alternative Bet - Wyndham Clark each-way @ 40/1
Alternative Bet - Eric Cole each-way @ 80/1
Scottish Open First-Round Leader Prediction
Best Bet: Matt Fitzpatrick each-way @ 30/1
It has been a memorable season for Matt Fitzpatrick, who won the Valspar Championship and RBC Heritage before partnering his brother, Alex, to glory at the Zurich Classic.
Fourth at the Travelers Championship on his last outing, the Englishman is in complete control of his game and he looks capable of coming out of the blocks quickly north of the border.
Fitzpatrick has been sitting third and second after day one in his last two starts, at the US Open and the Travelers, while he was also fourth at the Valspar and seventh at the RBC Heritage after the first 18 holes.
The Renaissance Club demands a deft touch around the greens and it bodes well that Fitzpatrick is unrivalled in strokes gained in that department on the PGA Tour and is 21st in scrambling.
Alternative Bet: Wyndham Clark each-way @ 40/1
Another player who is at the peak of his powers right now is Wyndham Clark, who won the US Open for the second time two starts ago and followed that up with a tied-fifth effort at the Travelers.
Since missing the cut at the PGA Championship in May, the American's next five appearances have produced results of 1-3-T11-1-T5.
Clark was leading the way after day one at both The Memorial Tournament and US Open, evidence of how strong he has been starting events of late.
It is also worth noting that the 32-year-old opened with a round of 66 at last year's Scottish Open, which left him two shots off the lead.
Alternative Bet: Eric Cole each-way @ 80/1
Eric Cole has had to endure more near-misses this season in pursuit of a maiden PGA Tour title, but continues to plug away in search of glory and he could make another quick start in Scotland.
The American has been leading after day one in two of his last three outings and he has also been sitting fifth and eighth in two other tournaments this year at the conclusion of the first round.
Cole has a habit of starting off strongly and then failing to maintain that high standard, which is why he makes a lot of appeal in the first-round leader market.
The 38-year-old is eighth in strokes gained for both around the green and putting, while he is 27th in scrambling, and his solid short game should make him a threat.
Key Tournament Stats
Defending champion Chris Gotterup opened with a round of 68 last year, leaving him four shots off the early pace
Sepp Straka, Victor Perez, Jake Knapp and Nico Echavarria shared the first-round lead last year
The top five players in the leaderboard in 2025 ranked 14th or better in strokes gained putting for the tournament
Byeong Hun An and and Cameron Tringale signed for rounds of 61 to lead the way after day one in 2023 and 2022 respectively
A score of 64 or better has been required to be in with a chance of leading after round one in the seven Scottish Opens at the Renaissance
The leading score after round one in the last seven years has been 64 (2025), 62 (2024), 61 (2023), 61 (2022), 64 (2021), 62 (2020) and 63 (2019)
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
