By: Max Bechtoldt
Golf is back in Great Britain after a brief break during the Paris Olympics for the LPGA Tour. Before the tour takes the trip to The Old Course at St. Andrews next week, we have a week at the Scottish Open at Dundonald Links once again. Here are the five players I find most likely to win the Scottish Open this week:
No. 5 Ally Ewing – Though Ewing had her worst week in months at the CPKC Women’s Open, finishing 25th, she did show some flashes there, particularly in the second round. Before that week, Ewing had five top-10 finishes in a row. While strong putting seems to do well at Dundonald, Ewing did finish top 10 here in 2023.
No. 4 Lydia Ko – Coming off the Olympic win, I have to have some faith that the newest member of the LPGA Tour Hall of Fame could be in contention. With all the festivities of the week, it could be easy to get distracted, making this a risky pick. Her putting was on point last week and there weren’t any real weaknesses to be seen.
No. 3 Hyo Joo Kim – Good putting does well here, and Hyo Joo Kim has shown that in the past two seasons. Kim came in third place at Dundonald in 2022 and second at the course last season. While this hasn’t been the season I think many were expecting out of Kim, she has had some better results in recent events.
No. 2 Ayaka Furue – The No. 8 player in the Rolex Rankings hasn’t actually played since her first major championship title about a month ago, but here she returns to the place of her first win on the LPGA Tour. Furue won on Dundonald in 2022 and it was in pretty dominant fashion, shooting -21 with a three-stroke victory. I could see her winning a second time in a row this week.
No. 1 Celine Boutier – After a disappointing last few rounds at her home-country Olympics, Boutier is back on a course she clearly loves. Boutier is the defending champion at Dundonald and was the runner-up the season before. While this season hasn’t been as strong for Boutier as 2023, this would be a great place to get back on track.
