Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy are the names at the top of the market but Niall is looking elsewhere
After a runaway victory by the mighty impressive Jon Rahm last week in Ireland attention turns to a short jaunt across the Irish Sea towards Troon and the new venue for the Scottish Open, the Dundonald Links. With the Open Championship only a week away and this tournament maintaining it's Links roots it means a top class field has assembled. It is no wonder plenty are flocking here as five out of the last six Open champions have prepared by playing in this event. The Kyle Phillips design is a short par 72 layout where low scores will no doubt once again be on the cards like last week. I don't think we'll reach the heights of last weeks scores as this venue is slightly tighter off the tee and a few more hazards await errant shots. There is certainly less room off the tee than last week and there will be a higher importance for the efforts with the first shot.
Rickie Fowler is handed the baton of the favourite this week and it is perfectly understandable having won this event two years ago and the his links form over the years. Single figures will put off plenty though I'm guessing as Fowler has failed to get over the line in recent months despite some very impressive golf. That will probably not continue for much longer though and Fowler will be back in the winners enclosure before we know. At 8/1 though I'm prepared to let him go unbacked. McIlroy could spring into life at any minute. With all the work he puts in off the course his performance can be forgiven. He won the year previous but when he is in the South he is nowhere near as sought after as what he is when playing in the North. So given his performance a few weeks previous in the States I wouldn't be surprised if McIlroy bounced back, but he is still nowhere near 100% and will go unbacked also.
Although going through long periods of believing this player is well overrated I think the time has come to finally invest my first few quid on Peter Uihlein. Plenty has been written about the motivation he will have gained from his good friend Brooks Koepka's win at the US Open. That is overplayed truth be told, but results the past few weeks have been excellent. A top15 in Ireland last week was quite respectable following his runner up spot in France the week previous. I was very impressed by his back 9 comeback that Sunday to press the winner Fleetwood close home. That for me was the most mature 9 holes of golf he has played on the tour to date. With a top ten in this event four years ago and a runner up finish posted at the Alfred Dunhill Links, Uihlein rates as my top selection this week at a top price of 45/1.
8 made cuts on the trot has ensured Andy Sullivan a few quid this past few months and his form heading to Scotland is solid enough to warrant a bet at odds of 50/1. As I wrote last week Sullivan won very cosily a few years back in very windy conditions in Portugal. The wind normally associated with links courses didn't materialise last week but nonetheless Sullivan finished the tournament well after a slow start to notch a top 20 finish. The week previous in France he was a shade unfortunate in the final round with his tournament coming a cropper on the second hole on day 4. He rallied well then also so clearly Sullivan is gaining some belief that a win may just be around the corner. His solid iron play should be an asset this week as missing greens will result with some very awkward shots with the slopes around the greens. I definitely see a fair bit of value in his price.
Given the golf Ross Fisher is playing and his pedigree for Links I find it very hard to remove him from my staking plan. He doesn't find it easy to win, nevertheless this may be the event where his putter behaves over the weekend and he'll finally get over the line again. His results in recent months have been quite impressive and it is only the flat stick that is blocking his route to the winning post. A 3rd placed finish in the WGC in Mexico was followed by a 5th placed finish at the Matchplay before posting top tens at the Shenzhen, Volvo China Open, Wentworth and France just two weeks ago. The two missed cuts have come at Sawgrass and the US Open where we normally wouldn't expect Ross to play overly well. This form usually translates into a win at some stage, but it is never set in stone with Fisher. His putting becomes very questionable in the heat of battle. However, Links surfaces he plays very well on. He posted a 7th placed finish here in this event 3 years ago and has two runner up spots to his name at the Alfred Dunhill Links. The 40/1 out there is very fair.
Ryan Fox is showing some exceptional form the past two weeks and I don't see there being any reason why that won't continue into this week. I have mentioned how impressed I've been with this lad and I think it's only a matter of time before he gets over the line in a European Tour event. 6th place in France was followed by a 4th placed finish in Portstewart last week and all signs point towards another decent performance here in Scotland. The weather has been murky the past two weeks and that's exactly what it was like in Galgorm when he won the NI Trophy last year. That weather looks set to continue and there's clearly something that Fox likes about these elements. He hits the ball a country mile and eventually that advantage will pay dividends. This week a strong field needs to be overcome but Fox is certainly not afraid of the challenge and at 80/1 I'm certainly prepared to get involved.
Hao-Tong Li has put together a consistent run of results and despite not having a lot of links form to call upon the young Chinese sensation may be a dark horse in this contest this week. 7 made cuts on the trot, including the US Open this past few months has been a solid period for Li. Tied for 7th in France was an impressive result in such a strong field, and 36th last week in Ireland was no disgrace. He went well back in May on another Phillips track in Sicily by the seaside finishing 3rd behind Quiros and Lombard. Overall this is a talented young golfer who will win again soon and recent results suggest he's in good enough form to contend here.
