Nexo Championship 2025 Betting Tips: Five names to back Each-Way in Scotland this week

The DP World Tour heads to Scotland this week for the Nexo Championship, which replaces the Scottish Championship as was, which last took place in 2020. Adrian Otaeugi won back then at Fairfont St. Andrews but we are playing at the Trump International this week.

Our golf tipster Jamie Worsley is here with his long-read preview of the event and has picked out six players to back each-way this week. Please check out his thoughts and those all-important Next Championship 2025 Betting Tips below...

The DP World Tour rolls back into town with the start of a seven-week stretch of golf that leads into the Ryder Cup. We're in Scotland this week for the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links. 

*You can check out the latest Nexo Championship 2025 Odds over on betfred.com

TOURNAMENT HISTORY 

This event is a revival of the Scottish Championship that was played at Fairmont St Andrews in 2020. There, Adrian Otaegui ran out an impressive four-shot winner over Matt Wallace and he gets the chance to make a long-awaited title defence this week.  

THE COURSE 

The Old Course at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen was designed by Martin Hawtree and opened in 2012. It is not to be confused with the New Course that was unveiled just last week at the same resort amidst much media attention. 

Although it is making its debut hosting a DP World Tour event, it has staged the PGA Seniors Championship on the Staysure Tour (European Senior Tour) in 2023, 2024, and 2025 – events won by Peter Baker (-12), Robert Coles (-4), and Bo Van Pelt (-3). 

This lengthy modern links course plays as a par 72 and will stretch out 7439yds this week. It possesses 4x par 3s (170-229yds), 10x par 4s (281-500yds), and 4x par 5s (541-651yds).  

Located on the east coast of Scotland along the Aberdeenshire coastline, Trump International is a beautifully scenic golf course. Towering and imposing dunes frame most holes, creating a sense of serenity and there are frequent, often dramatic elevation changes, which initiate many blind tee shots. 

The flat fairways are predominantly wide, though they regularly bottleneck and the landing areas are pinched by strategic, penal bunkering. However, it's the thick fescue rough that offers the main protection – described as brutal and can be impossible to play out of. 

This rough surrounds the majority of the bentgrass/fescue greens, which are frequently multi-tiered but rarely excessively contoured. Often elevated, these surfaces vary in size, are narrow in shape, and are littered with subtle run-offs at the edges that lead into swales and hollows, making them tricky to hold. Meanwhile, the deep greenside bunkers typically guard the front of the greens, leaving unenviably long bunker shots to get it up and down. 

There's always a touch of guesswork involved with a course that is new to tour. That being said, almost everything I've seen and read about Trump International's Old Course – along with those winning scores on the Staysure Tour – suggests a tough test is on the way in Scotland. 

THE WEATHER 

To ensure the players get no respite this week, wind is forecast to be a prominent feature. It is predicted to be especially strong on Thursday and Saturday, blowing at a constant 21mph and gusting at upwards of 32mph.  

Although Friday and Sunday aren't scheduled to be as severe, players will still be tested by consistent wind speeds of around 15mph. 

KEY STATS 

• SG: Around-the-Greens/Scrambling 

• SG: Putting 

• SG: Off-the-Tee and/or Driving Accuracy 

• Bogey Avoidance 

Those forecasted conditions should make it very tough to hit greens this week. Therefore, I feel the short game will be of most importance in Aberdeen. 

The driver will also be key and although the fairways are generous, the punishment that awaits for missing the short grass places a premium on finding fairways in the challenging weather.  

CORRELATING EVENTS 

We're not blessed with any course form this week, but fortunately there are numerous events on the DP World Tour that are played on links/links-style courses. 

The Open Championship is the most obvious place to search for clues, for all there is little high-level form in that event amongst this field. 

Staying in Scotland, the Scottish Open – which has been played on links courses since 2011 – and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship can function as great comps. In addition, the 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2024 editions of the Irish Open have been held on the links, as were the 2019 British Masters and 2022 Cazoo Classic – both events staged at Hillside Golf Club. 

Leaving the UK & Ireland, the Middle East has often been a happy hunting ground for links performers, due the sandy, exposed, and wind-affected nature of the courses there. The Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club has a particularly appealing history with Open Championship winners/contenders, whilst the Abu Dhabi Championship at Yas Links and Bahrain Championship at Royal Golf Club can also be of help. 

Other events of interest include the KLM Open at Bernardus Golf (2021-2023) and The International (2019, 2024-2025); the SDC Championship at St Francis Links (2023-2024); and the Mauritius Open at Mont Choisy Le Golf (2022, 2024) and Heritage La Reserve Golf Links (2023) was also played on somewhat linksy layouts. 

*Please check out Jamie's FedEx St. Jude Championship 2025 Betting Tips for the PGA Tour event this week if you haven't already here on Betfred Insights.

THE FIELD 

After enjoying a positive spell on the links in Scotland and Northern Ireland, Norway's Kristoffer Reitan is the top-ranked player in this field at No. 89. He is one of three from inside the top 100, alongside No. 91 Jordan Smith and No. 99 Marco Penge. 

Adrian Otaegui makes a belated title defence. Among other entrants of interest are Martin Laird, who appears in a regular DP World Tour event for the first time since the 2018 Scottish Open; fellow Scot Daniel Young will tee it up after earning the biggest win of his career in the Scottish Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour last week; and look out for former No. 6 amateur Pablo Ereno, making his first DPWT start since turning pro in June.  

SELECTIONS 

Market leaders (1/4 5 places): Marco Penge 12/1, Jordan Smith 14/1, Kristoffer Reitan 18/1, Francesco Laporta 22/1, Ewen Ferguson 25/1, John Parry 25/1 

Angel Ayora 

Angel Ayora is one of the strongest drivers on tour and possesses a neat and tidy short game. His links record is limited but offers encouragement and having won his maiden pro title in breezy conditions on the HotelPlanner Tour last year in the Rosa Golf Challenge, he can manage whatever the elements throw at the players. 

Ayora made a great start to his rookie season, finishing 5th in the Alfred Dunhill Championship and 6th in the Australian PGA Championship at the end of 2024. Although he hasn't quite hit those heights this year he's been rock-solid, missing just three of 15 cuts on the DPWT and picking up a further five top-20s, with his best effort coming in Italy three starts ago, finishing 7th.  

He ranks 15th on tour from tee-to-green and is an elite driver of the ball, combining top-20 power with a decent level of accuracy to rank 7th off-the-tee. That will serve him well around this course and also ranking inside the top 50 around-the-greens, his skillset looks well suited to the challenge that awaits in Scotland. 

Ayora gained some links experience in his amateur career, finishing 17th at Carnoustie in the 2022 Boys Amateur Championship, and he was 9th after the stroke-play section of the 2023 Amateur Championship at Hillside. Top-25 finishes in the KLM Open the last two years in tough conditions adds to the optimism, as does a 14th-place finish in Qatar. 

Andy Sullivan 

Arriving in Scotland with five top-25 finishes in his last eight starts, Andy Sullivan has been playing great golf of late. He's got tonnes of strong links form and producing some of his best iron play of the season in recent starts, this four-time DPWT winner looks of value in this weak field. 

Sullivan's results were consistent at the start of the year, but they've gone up a level since the end of April. He has a best of 7th in the KLM Open among those eight latest starts, and when we last saw him he finished 17th amongst an elite field in the Scottish Open. 

It was his approach and short-game numbers that engineered that result, ranking 6th in scrambling, 15th around-the-greens, and 16th in approach. He's been scrambling well all season, ranking 19th, and with the putter and driver both behaving, his all-round game is in fine shape. 

Sullivan's career is packed with quality links displays. He finished 2nd in the Irish Open at Lahinch in 2019 and has two further top-10s in that event on links layouts, as well as bests of 6th and 9th in the Scottish Open. A 4th-place finish at St Francis Links in windy conditions last year is another plus, and those recent efforts in the Netherlands and Scotland should act as ideal prep for this challenge.  

Oliver Lindell 

Oliver Lindell made not only his Open Championship debut at Royal Portrush, but his first ever appearance in a major. A 28th-place finish there was seriously impressive in those circumstances, and it should provide him with confidence that he can follow it with a first DPWT victory at Trump International. 

Lindell has looked largely comfortable in his rookie season, achieving eight top-25 finishes and missing just five cuts in 20 starts. Four of those top-25s have come across his last six, including a best-of-the-year 10th in the Italian Open, and he arrives here after that top-30 in Northern Ireland. 

He was strong on the greens and in approach three weeks ago, ranking 7th and 20th in each area, respectively. Indeed, his approach play has been the standout all season, ranking 16th, but he's also been strong around-the-greens, ranking 31st, and having controlled the driver better in recent months, he has a complete profile. 

Lindell's performance in The Open is an obvious positive in relation to this course. In addition, he's finished inside the top 20 in Qatar and Mauritius this season – emphasising his ability to perform on exposed, wind-affected courses.  

Alex Fitzpatrick 

Alex Fitzpatrick hasn't quite got going in 2025, with the driver causing particular concern earlier in the year. However, he appears to have got that club under control and as a strong links performer with a sharp short game, he can kick-start his season in Aberdeen. 

Fitzpatrick missed his first three cuts of the year but followed with a string of solid displays, recording five top-25 finishes across his next eight DPWT starts. He has missed his three latest cuts, though he wasn't all that far away in the Scottish Open two starts ago, and it was promising to witness him driving the ball better than he has all season. 

The driver was an asset for him in 2024, ranking 38th. Producing positive driving accuracy numbers in five of his last six starts, he has seemingly fixed the issue. He has a deft touch around the greens and with putting displays generally solid at present, the Englishman looks primed for a big performance. 

Fitzpatrick made a taking start to his major championship career at The Open in 2023, finishing 17th at Hoylake, and he again impressed on the links last year, finishing 9th at Royal County Down in the Irish Open. He can put those experiences and comfort at this brand of golf to effective use this week. 

Zander Lombard 

Zander Lombard was absolutely flying at the beginning of last season, then saw his season cut short due to a serious knee injury. It's understandably been a bit of a struggle since he made his return in March this year. Although, signs have been more positive of late and as a player who has some taking form on links/linksy layouts, I'm happy to chance him at three figures in this field. 

Lombard only made two of his first nine cuts this season, with his long game particularly taking time to warm up. However, he has made three of his last four cuts, which has been aided by improved precision both in approach and off the tee. 

He ranked 12th in approach at the BMW International Open on his latest start, and 15th three starts ago in the KLM Open. His driving stats in those events aren't worth celebrating at first glance, but he did find far more fairways than he was doing at the start of the year. Possessing one of the sharpest short-games in this field, that upturn in ball-striking couldn't have come at a better time for this suitable test. 

Lombard showed affinity for links golf all the way back in 2014, finishing 2nd at Royal Portrush in the Amateur Championship. He's since amassed promising form in the pro ranks, recording top-10s in the Irish Open in 2016 and 2018, whilst a 2nd-place finish at the linksy Royal Golf Club in Bahrain last year is another plus. 

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