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The Open Championship: Expert Picks

Jordan Spieth has been strong at the Open, and this year he’s turning a corner.

By Mark Abell
148th Open Championship - Day Four Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images

Tournament Information

The Open Championship
Date: July 15th -18th
Course: TPC Deere Run
Purse: $11.5 MM ($2 MM to winner)
2020 Winner: Dylan Frittelli (-21)
OWGR Points: 100

Course

Royal St. George’s Golf Club. Established in 1887, this course was founded by Laidlaw Purves and has hosted the Open Championship 14 times. At 7,204 yards, this par 70 holds a slope rating of 138 and a course rating of 75.2. The links course runs along the coast of the English Channel and features numerous rolling hills and some damaging bunkers. This course is featured in Ian Fleming’s Goldfinger.

Royal St. George’s Golf Club General Views Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images

My Starting 4

Jordan Spieth (fourth selection this year) – Jordan has finished top 20 each of the last three years at the Open Championship.

Alexander Noren (first selection this year) — Alexander seems comfortable with links courses. He has been as high as sixth and as low as 17th here the last three years—quite formidable.

Tony Finau (second selection this year) — Tony did NOT have a good US Open and hopefully he can shake it off for the Open Championship, where he keeps getting better. He was 27th three years ago, then ninth, then third. He can hit the ball far and has solid placement to succeed at Royal St. George’s.

Brooks Koepka (third selection this year) – If his health can hold up, he stands to succeed here with his strength and accuracy. He was among the top 10 twice over the last three Open Championships.

My Bench 2

Lee Westwood (first selection this year) — Lee has shown strong play at a few tournaments this season and he generally does well in the Open Championship. He was 27thhere in 2017 and 4th here in 2019.

Xander Schauffele (fourth selection this year) — Xander was a top 20 finisher in 2017 and 2018. He fell down to 41st but he could stand to rebound in a strong fashion this year.

Dark Horse Pick

(because I had one extra pick to highlight this tournament)

Francesco Molinari (first selection this year) — Francesco used to struggle here and found his way around 2018. Since then he has been a top 12 finisher.

2020-2021 Stats

(1st percent would be the top golfer picked every week)

Starting 4: average finish 40th (30th percent)
Bench 2: average finish 50th (38th percent)