By Starting on July 15th, the worlds best golfers will descend upon Royal St. George’s Golf Course in Sandwich, Kent in England for the British Open. This will look a little different than most majors for American golf fans, with the first golfer teeing off 1:35 AM EST and the last at 11:16 AM EST. John Rahm, the current world number two according to the PGA is the favorite to win but there are many strong contenders.
The Course
As previously mentioned, this years British Open is at Royal St. George’s, a links style golf course that overlooks the English Channel. It is a lower par course with only two par 5’s on the 18 hole course. A links style golf course is categorized by “a course along the sea, consists of sandy soil and has little vegetation other than tall sea grasses and gorse, a hearty low-growing evergreen plant” according to Golfweek.com. This differs from most American courses like Augusta National where it is heavily wooded, protected from the wind and other elements. The weather will be helping the golfers this weekend, something not as common for an English links course. Dry and breezy, with wind gusts 20-28 mph all weekend long.
The Favorites
John Rahm
Since this is a such a distinct style of course, there is bound to be some more surprises than in the American tournaments. Keeping the ball low and safe from the wind is a key component of every British Open. The big Spaniard John Rahm is the favorite this weekend after recently winning the 2021 U.S. Open and a strong showing at the Scottish Open on July 8-11. Rahm has been the best major player on tour in 2021, finishing no worse then eigth in his past four majors dating back to the Masters in November of 2020.
Brooks Koepka
Brooks is a fan-favorite on tour and has the second best odds to win in most sports books. Koepka has had a strong run in 2021 just like Rahm, even through a knee injury that he played on earlier this year. His game can be classified as “all-around”, which suits a difficult course like Royal St. George’s well. In 2021 he has finished fourth at the U.S. Open, second at the PGA Championship and won the Waste Management Phoenix Open. Koepka finished T4 in the 2019 British Open held at Royal Portrush. One of golf’s best major players, Koepka is a great bet at every tournament, especially the big ones.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy sits at 11th in the World Golf Ranking, behind other favorites Rahm and Koepka. He missed the cut at the Scottish open last tournament and that can lead people to doubt. He missed the cut at the Masters this year and then went on to win the very next week at Quail Hollow. If anyone can rebound after a poor performance, it is McIlroy. He has performed extremely well in the British Open in his career, finishing second in 2018, fourth in 2017, fifth in 2016 and winning it in 2014. That type of success can not be overlooked when picking a winner.
Sleeper
Abraham Ancer
A long shot to win in all sports books, Ancer has been a solid player on the tour in 2021. He has three top five finishes in 2021 and is playing steady golf. On a links course, the need for accuracy is paramount. Royal St. George’s is known for the tall, thick grass that line the rough near the fairway. Driver accuracy is crucial to staying in the fairway and getting clean second shots. Ancer is sixth on the tour in driving accuracy and the rest of his game is good enough to make some noise if he he gets hot.
Player to avoid
Bryson DeChambeau
Bryson DeChambeau is currently ranked sixth in the world according to Official World Golf Ranking. With what looks like such open spaces, it should be appealing to take the long-baller DeChambeau. In reality, with such narrow fairways and greens, this may be troublesome. DeChambeau is 188th on tour in driving accuracy (he leads the tour in driving distance). That style of play does not project well in the windy conditions and narrow fairways the course provides. Recently he said “The thing is you can’t miss it out here very often. If you do, you’re in the hay and it’s not easy to get out of. This is the first time I’ve taken my length to links golf. We’ll see how that plays” according to CBS Golf.
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