Paulie's Picks: 2026 Genesis Scottish Open

The PGA Tour heads across the pond for the Genesis Scottish Open, held once again at the Renaissance Club. This event is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour, so we have an extremely strong field, including some LIV Golf players such as Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. 

Year in and year out at Renaissance, one thing is evident: distance off the tee is of extreme importance at this course. Being able to drive it long allows players to carry some of the bunkers off the tee and play more aggressively on some holes where shorter hitters are not able to attack. That makes handicapping this week pretty easy. I’m looking to target players who have above-average distance off the tee, combined with solid recent form. Let’s take a look at three bombers to back this week:

Wyndham Clark: Top 30, -105

Wyndham Clark checks all the boxes this week. He is well above Tour average in driving distance and comes into this event in great form. Clark has finished 11th or better in each of his last five starts, including two wins. He has played the Scottish Open each of the last four years, finishing in the top 25 each year. Don’t overthink it. Bet on the in-form Clark to have another solid finish this week.

Nicolai Hojgaard: Top 40, -120

If you look purely at all of Nicolai Hojgaard’s results in 2026, you wouldn’t expect there to be much value on a top 40 for him this week. However, Hojgaard is one of the most course-dependent players on Tour. If he is playing on a course that allows him to unleash his biggest strength in his driver, he plays well above average. On courses that minimize his distance advantage, he struggles mightily. He has finished in the top 40 in each of his last three appearances at the Renaissance, including two top-six finishes.

Kristoffer Reitan: Top 40, -112

Kristoffer Reitan is of a very similar mold to Hojgaard. Both players have elite distance but struggle on courses that don’t reward distance or punish inaccuracy off the tee. In the last 14 months, he has won twice on the DP World Tour and also claimed the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow. This has him up inside the top 40 in both the OWGR and Data Golf rankings. I don’t quite understand how we are getting such a low price on him this week. This is a great course fit for him, and he finished 13th in his sole appearance here in 2025.