Scottish Open 2025 First Round Leader Tips: Sly Fox on early prowl

Our golf tipster Jamie Worsley is back with his First Round Leader tips on the DP World Tour. You can read Jamie's full in-depth preview and Scottish Open 2025 Golf Tips here. 

He's hoping to take advantage of a potential draw bias in the afternoon at The Renaissance Club. Check out his Scottish Open 2025 First Rounder Leader Tips below...

Scottish Open Odds

The Scottish Open begins at The Renaissance Club tomorrow, and I’ve selected a quartet of big-hitting players who I’m hoping can start fast for what promises to be an exciting week.

Conditions are forecast to be reasonably even across the day, with a stiff 12-15mph breeze predicted throughout. However, it is a little cooler and overcast in the morning, brightening and warming up as the day progresses. This should mean that the playing conditions are a touch more favourable for players out later in the round.

That has certainly been the case in previous renewals of the event at this course, as each of the nine players to at least share the first-round lead have teed off no earlier than 09:00. Therefore, that’s where I’m going to focus my attention this week.

0.75 pts Ryan Fox each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 70/1

Start time: 13:32

Two-time PGA Tour winner Ryan Fox is a proven links specialist. With the New Zealander in fine, low-scoring form of late, he has the tools to take the first-round lead in Scotland.

Fox arrives here with two victories in his last six starts – in the Canadian Open and Myrtle Beach Classic – and hasn’t finished any worse than 28^th over that time. He’s shown quality right across his game during, ranking 7^th in this field in strokes-gained total and has fired seven rounds of 66 or better.

He has been starting consistently well this year, ranking 11^th in the field in first-round performance. Most recently, he started with a four-under 67 in the PGA Championship to sit 4^th after the opening round, and the week prior to that he shot a six-under 65 in the Myrtle Beach Classic, to again sit inside the top five on day one.

Fox has countless impressive performances to his name on links courses, winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2022, and he has recorded two top-fours on links setups in the Irish Open. He hasn’t quite managed to transfer that form to The Renaissance Club, but he has gotten better in recent years, recording a best of 12^th in 2023 and firing three rounds of 67 in his last eight at the course.

0.75 pts Chris Gotterup each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 80/1

Start time: 13:21

Despite missing the cut, Chris Gotterup showed some promise at this course on debut in 2024, despite being completely out of form. He now arrives with his game in much better shape and as a player not afraid to go low, this bomber will be a danger in round one.

Gotterup earned his breakthrough victory on the PGA Tour last year, but it’s this year where he looks to have really progressed. He’s been especially good over the last three months, recording eight top-30 finishes in nine starts and has missed just one cut –  ranking 5^th in this field from tee-to-green over that period.

He was in great first-round form at the beginning of the year, shooting a nine-under 63 in the Puerto Rico Open to sit 2^nd thru 18 holes, whilst a seven-under 65 took him into 5^th place at the end of the first round in the Corales Puntacana Championship. His starts haven’t been quite as strong of late, but he did begin with a five-under 66 last week and has been collecting low rounds for fun, with a 64 and four 65s in his last eight starts.

Gotterup made his first appearance in the Scottish Open last year and actually started well, firing a four-under 66 in the opening round. He followed that with a 77 in round two to miss the cut, but he is a different prospect as he heads to The Renaissance Club this time around.

0.75 pts Max Greyserman each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 80/1

Start time: 14:16

Max Greyserman has turned into a strong PGA Tour performer in the last two years, and narrowly missed out on picking up his first tour victory on his latest start in the Rocket Classic, losing a playoff to Aldrich Potgieter. He’s also been starting strongly, and as a decent, lengthy ball-striker who excels on the greens, he has an attractive profile for this course, and indeed this first-round leader market.

Greyserman has secured nine top-25 finishes this season and has not missed a cut in his last 10 starts. That runner-up finish in Detroit is his standout performance, and he’s a player gaining strokes right through his game at present, though he shines with the putter, ranking 15^th in this field.

His first-round displays have been inconsistent, but he does rank 29^th in this field in round one over the last three months. He’s been especially quick to get going in his last two events, with a four-under 66 enough to sit 7^th on Thursday at the Travelers Championship, and he was 3^rd in the first round in the Rocket Classic, thanks to an excellent nine-under 63.

Greyserman made a really taking debut at The Renaissance Club last year, shooting four rounds in the 60s to finish 21^st. Meanwhile, his 11^th-place finish in the Cognizant Classic this year indicates further that he’s a player suited to the links.

0.75 pts Aldrich Potgieter each-way (1/4 - 5 places) @ 90/1

Start time: 13:32

Aldrich Potgieter is a former winner of the Amateur Championship and arrives in Scotland after breaking his PGA Tour duck just two starts ago. He did withdraw from the John Deere Classic last week, but I’ve seen zero notion of any injury, and I am happy to simply put that down to him wanting to get over to Scotland to prepare for the next two weeks.

Potgieter almost made the ideal start to his rookie season on the PGA Tour, finishing 2^nd in the Mexico Open on just his fourth start of the season. He suffered a drop-off after, though returned to form in the Charles Schwab Challenge, finishing 6^th and followed that by winning the Rocket Classic just two weeks ago.

He’s an excellent top-10 driver and the longest hitter on the PGA Tour. His iron play and putting have also looked sharp of late, contributing to his low scoring for that victory in Detroit, where he shot three rounds in the 60s and opened with a spectacular 10-under 62 to share the first-round lead. This was his second 10-under-par round of the season, as he also recorded the same score in the Mexico Open.

Potgieter’s win at Royal Lytham & St Annes in the 2022 Amateur Championship surely bodes well as he prepares to make his first start in the Scottish Open. Due to his power off the tee, combined with recent improvements in approach and putting, he has every chance of taking the lead on day one from this usually fruitful start time.

You can find all Jamie's latest Golf Betting Tips over on our dedicated golf Insights hub.