The Open Championship
What a week it’s been in Scotland. This past week the players from far and wide gathered in North Berwick, Scotland for the Genesis Scottish Open. This type of golf is radically different from what many of the players are used to and it provides extremely exciting golf. Through the wind, the firmness and difficult course conditions Xander Schauffele edged out Kurt Kityama by one shot. It’s safe to say Xander is peeking at the right time. This is a situation players dream of, winning a tournament leading up to a major gives you so much confidence. Xander has now racked up three wins this season along with five top 10’s in just 17 events. Xander is primed and ready to go for The Open this week.
This event is going to be one for the history books. This week the R&A will be hosting the 150th Open Championship at the historic Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland. The Open Championship is the equivalent to the U.S. Open in America. It’s Europe’s major championship and they treat it equally to the way Americans treat our Open Championship. It’s very appropriate that the 150th Open Championship landed at The Old Course. St. Andrews is the home of golf and it's only fitting that the 150th Open Championship will be played on such hallowed ground. Players from far and wide will be gathering at the Old Course to compete for the coveted Claret Judge.
The field this week is probably the best field I’ve seen in a major championship in awhile, including fan favorite and legend himself Tiger Woods. On top of having the pleasure of watching Tiger Woods fans will be able to catch a glimpse of Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele, Max Homa, and Matt Fitzpatrick. The field will also be joined by a variety of LIV members including Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau. It’s safe to say they won’t have the largest galleries following them. Fans this week should also expect very low scores. The Old Course’s major defense is the weather. When the wind blows sideways like it typically does, the course becomes extremely challenging. However the weather forecast is calling for calm winds and sunny skies. Nevertheless whether 16 under par or 4 under par wins, incredible golf will be played either way. With that being said, links golf is tricky and only certain players really know how to manage their way around a true links course. My winning pick this week goes to Cam Smith. (Mike)
It is hard to put into words what this week means for me as The Open Championship heads back to St. Andrews. This is the 150th edition of what I think is the best tournament in golf. This is also the first time that The Open is headed back to the Old Course since I have been a student there. It is impossible to put into words how surreal it is to see the best players in the world speak so highly of a place I have so many special memories. St. Andrews is so much more than just golf and anyone that is fortunate enough to get to spend time in the town will quickly realize that. Seeing all of the montages from a town that I used to be apart of as a student brings back such joyous memories. The Champion golfer of the year will be crowned on Sunday, but St. Andrews, the town will be a huge winner from this week.
As for the golf, The Old Course does not appear to be getting the defense of Mother Nature this week. If that holds true, scores will be very low and that is okay. Courses like The Old Course rely significantly on the weather to give the course some protection. We will see some truly unique links golf and I have no doubt we will also see a finish for the ages. With a handful of holes being drivable par 4’s there will surely be fireworks at all times. Not many golfers face many one hundred foot putts, but on The Old they are more common than one would hope.
As any event Tiger plays in, he is a massive storyline. Some of his most historic moments have happened at The Old Course. He has not been shy to let people know he wanted to give it at least one more competitive go at it here. I think we will see him back in St. Andrews in a few years, but you simply never know. The injuries for Tiger are piling up as he continues to age. I believe this is his last true chance to ever win a major again in his career. There are not any courses that will play this short and this is a course that he knows very well. I hope this is not the last time we see Tigers play in St. Andrews competitively, but this certainly feels like the last time we will see him tee it up with a real chance to win at The Home of Golf. (Tyler)
Pick’s of the week:
Mike: Cam Smith has really been trending in the right direction leading up to The Open. This season alone he has already notched two wins and six top 10’s in only 15 events. On top of that he’s ranked in the top five in scoring average on tour and when it comes to a birdie fest like this he will thrive. Another strength of Smith is his chipping and wedges. He’s got some of the best hands on tour right now. Cam has the ability to get up and down from everywhere. All that being said Cam Smith will win at 16 under par.
In regards to the rest of the field, players like Brooks, Finau, Zalatoris, and Patrick Cantlay will struggle. I wouldn’t be surprised if all four of them as well as other top ranked world players miss the cut. Links golf is difficult and some player’s style of play just doesn’t fit links golf. (Mike)
Tyler: My winner for this week is Cam Smith. I think he has the perfect combination of world class short game and putting that will be required to win this week at The Old Course. He makes birdies in bunches and in a week where scores will be low, there is no better pick. I think he will pull away and end winning by a couple of strokes on Sunday to be crowned the Champion Golfer of the Year.
My bold prediction for this week is that someone outside of the world 100 will be in one of the final two groups on Sunday. I am not sure who it will be, but a place like The Old Course is full of history so what is one more underdog story? Two guys that could do it are Robert MacIntyre and Jordan Smith. Robert is the Scottish countryman, but he seems to play well on links courses and is just outside the top 100. Jordan Smith played himself into The Open last weekend at The Scottish Open and if he can ride that hot streak he’s another one just outside the world top 100. (Tyler)