The fifth edition of ‘Round the Sports World in five minutes’ will give you the lowdown on the action in Scotland ahead of the star-studded-field Scottish Open in golf that starts on Thursday, while we also look ahead to the vital Third Test between England and India in cricket, and round things off with our Bet of the Week.
The Scottish Open Golf
- Start: Thursday, July 10
- Venue: Renaissance Club, North Berwick, Scotland
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event
- Fun Fact: It’s easy to assume that British links specialists have dominated this event, but that’s not necessarily been the case. Though last year’s winner, McIntyre, certainly comes under that category, it was a rarity, with 14 different nationalities represented by the winner in the 24 editions of the Scottish Open this century. Home winners are particularly rare, with McIntyre’s triumph coming 25 years after the last one: Colin Montgomerie.
Betting
You could be forgiven for thinking this was the week of The (British) Open rather than the Scottish Open, such is the strength of the field this week as the world’s best golfers look to get some much-needed time out on a links course before taking on the last of the four majors next week in Portrush.
World Number 1 Scottie Sheffler is generally priced at golf odds of around 4.5 with Rory McIlroy 8.5, last year’s Open winner Xander Schaufele 21.0, and Tommy Fleetwood around the 20.0 mark.
But this quartet is really just the tip of the iceberg in terms of golfing superstars here because eight of the world’s Top 10 players and 13 of the world’s Top 20 will be in action over the next few days.
There are good reasons for the all-star field. The Scottish Open is now co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour, meaning plenty of ranking points are up for grabs for the PGA boys, while the fact that this is one of five Rolex Series tournaments on the European DP Tour means the prize money is seriously bigger than for most other events on the DP Tour.
It’s also the last chance for players who haven’t yet qualified for The Open to do so, if they secure a high finish here.
Home favourite Robert McIntyre won it last year in style and in the process became just the second Scottish golfer to win two events on the PGA Tour in the same year. He’s a man to be reckoned with here because in 2023, he finished as runner-up to Rory McIlroy, losing by just one shot.
Summary
In addition to big points and prize money, the bigger picture is that a player performing well this week in unique links golf conditions will be fancying their chances when they head to Ireland next week.
One of the interesting aspects of this tournament is that conditions are probably the single most important factor here. If the wind is blowing and it’s cold and rainy, scoring can be tough, as we saw when Xander Schauffele won it in 2002 with just -7.
However, if the weather is fair and not too windy, a score between -15 and -18 may be needed to win, with the winning totals in 2021, 2023, and 2024 being -18, -15, and -18, respectively.
One thing is for sure: great putting is absolutely essential. All the previous winners had extremely strong stats for the week, so if the short stick isn’t hot this week, you’re going to be in trouble.
England vs India Third Test
- Start: Thursday, July 10
- Venue: Lords, London, UK
- TV Coverage: Sky Sports Cricket
- Fun Fact: Indian skipper Shubman Gill had the match of his life last week, scoring 430 runs in the game, in the process breaking numerous records. Among them: It was the second most runs ever scored by one player at Edgbaston in the same game (behind Graham Gooch in 1990, who scored 456) while Gill became only the second batter to make two 150+ scores in a Test, after Allan Border in 1980.
Betting
After India’s brilliant win in the Second Test at Edgbaston, which finished on Sunday, the bookies have lengthened the odds on England with Betfred now going 1.9 on the hosts to win this Third Test, whereas they were around the 1.6 mark to win ahead of the Second Test.
India are now 2.3 to win at Lord’s in north London (the draw is 6.5), and there are good reasons to think that’s a slightly better price than the one on England.
Shubman Gill is probably the most in-form batsman in the world at the moment, so it’s no surprise that Betfred are going no bigger than 7/2 that he top-scores in the first innings, for what would be the fourth time in five innings so far this Series, a remarkable feat. Pant and Jaiswal (both 4/1) are other options to consider for India's top bat.
For England, Joe Root (100/30) will, as ever, be the man to beat for top bat honours, but don’t dismiss the chances of keeper Jamie Smith, who top-scored in both innings last week with 184 and 88 and looks in terrific form. He’s 7/1.
Summary
The narrative going into this Series was that India were almost solely dependent on Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance if the wicket wasn’t doing much and that England’s bowlers- so much more experienced in these conditions - could have India’s batsmen in trouble throughout.
Well, the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep made a mockery of that theory by taking seven and 10 wickets in the match respectively as Bumrah was rested to manage his workload. And it wasn’t just the Indian bowlers who had the better of things with Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja all scoring plenty of runs at Headingley to show everyone they’re not flat-track bullies who can only score runs at home.
This should be a cracking match and the loser of it (if it’s not a draw) will have it all to do to recover over the last two matches.
England’s so-called Bazball style of play has been praised no end for making the game more exciting but it’s a double-edged sword and their all-out aggression cost them last week. So, the contrast in styles here, with India far more conservative, will be fascinating to watch.
Betting Tip of the Week – India to beat England in the Third Test @ 2.3 with Betfred
India has a habit of starting Tours slowly and then getting better as the series progresses, and this might be a case in point right here.
They didn’t do too much wrong in the First Test and may well have won it if the fielding had been a bit better, meaning they could easily be 2-0 up by now.
The return of Bumrah will only help their cause, while everyone else seems to be in decent form with both bat and ball, none more so than Gill. Carrying the momentum, high on confidence and now better accustomed to English conditions, the cricket odds should be tighter, so India represents decent value as outsiders.
