KSR Golf: Barbasol Championship, Scottish Open double-dip

We’ve reached the best two-week period on the golf calendar. As we get ready for another Open Championship at St. Andrews, we’ve got most of the best players in the world across the pond to play in the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open. However, there is also an important tournament locally.

Keene Trace Golf Club (Nicholasville, Ky.) will be hosting the Barbasol Championship again this week and this year the event was bumped up a week so the tournament will not be going head-to-head as an alternate event to a major championship. Therefore, we are going to have a little bit more fun this week with KSR Golf.

It’s time to take a double-dip as we look to provide winners for both big golf tournaments this weekend before moving our attention to the fourth major championship next week.

Course layout

The setup is going to be a little different on KSR Golf this week. So let’s go ahead and breakdown both Keen Trace Golf Club and the Renaissance club.

Barbasol Championship: With most of the best players not participating, the field in Central Kentucky will be made up of players from both the PGA Tour and DP World Tour. The Par 72 layout stretches over 7,300 yards with over 70 bunkers and big greens that will make accurate lag putting essential.

Due to the large green and the plethora of sand, strong iron and wedge play will be essential. Expect a birdie party.

Genesis Scottish Open: At the Renaissance Club in Scotland, 70 percent of the top 10 in the OWGR will be participating in the Scottish Open before moving over to St. Andrews next week. The course is near 7,300 yards in a Par 71 layout with very thick rough on a links course.

The wind could play a big factor as with any tournament in Scotland. However, getting tee-to-green without landing in the rough or bunkers is where separation could be made.

Advanced stat of the week

Barbasol Championship: Keene Trace is not very long, and there are enough hazards where gaining strokes with the driver may not be super easy. However, there is a real advantage available in approach. The greens are very big, and the players that create the shortest putts should have the best chance at contending.

Scottish Open: We’re not going to complicate things here. Wind or not, getting from tee to green will be most important in this links tournament. That’s where KSR Golf will be focused this week.

Luckett’s Locks

Barbasol Championship: Patton Kizzire ranks inside the top-75 in strokes gained approach and has made 15 of 24 cuts this week and finds himself in a light field. The 36-year-old Auburn product has a great shot at contending. Let’s lock in a win at 35/1.

Kevin Streelman appears to be the best player in the field. That means he needs to be in our lineups for daily fantasy. We’re also taking him with a top-10 pick (+350).

Scottish Open: Will Zalatoris has been knocking on the door and will be a popular pick for The Open. However, we’re calling for a big win to come one week earlier. Zalatoris is No. 2 in strokes gained tee-to-green and should be in contention all weekend. Let’s lock in a win at 25/1 over at Draft Kings.

Hideki Matsuyama is in the top-10 in strokes gained tee-to-green and has seen that number take a big jump in recent weeks. The 2021 Masters champion has performed well in big tournaments this year with a top-10 at the U.S. Open and Waste Management Phoenix Open. Let’s lock in a top-10 play (3/1).

Joaquin Niemann is up to No. 12 in tee-to-green and No. 17 in the OWGR. The young player has a plethora of top-20 finishes and fits the key metric. We’re locking in a top-20 pick (2/1) at Renaissance.

Matthew NeSmith has made seven consecutive cuts with three consecutive top-40 finishes. Ranking No. 40 in tee-to-green, the 28-year-old fits the KSR Golf model this week. A top-20 finish (+550) is a longshot but is definitely feasible.