The 149th Open - Tournament Preview
COURSE: Royal St. George’s Golf Club (Sandwich, Kent, England)
ARCHITECT: William Laidlaw Purves
YARDS/PAR: 7,189 yards/Par 70
PRIZE Money/First Place Winnings: $6,200,000 /$1,116,000
DEFENDING CHAMPION: Shane Lowry (July, 2019)
PAST RESULTS: (link)
PAST CHAMPIONS: (link)
FEDEx CUP Points Total/Winner: 23,379/600
SOCIAL MEDIA: #PGATour #FedExCup @TheOpen
PGA TOUR SITE: (The Open)
TV COVERAGE: Thursday, July 15 and Friday, July 16: From 4:00am to 3:00pm (EDT) on Golf Channel. *(See additional Peacock Channel coverage listed below).
On Saturday, July 17, Round 3 coverage 5:00am to 7:00am (EDT) on Golf Channel. NBC takes over from 7:00am to 3:00pm (EDT). On Sunday, July 18: Golf Channel opens final round coverage 4:00am to 7:00am (EDT) and NBC wraps it up from 7:00am to 2:00pm (EDT).
STREAMING: Streaming coverage is different this week, with Peacock Channel promoting its service and connection to NBC Sports and Golf Channel. On Thursday and Friday, Peacock will cover The Open from 1:30am (EDT) to 4am (EDT) and from 3:00pm to 4pm (EDT each day.
The OPEN RADIO COVERAGE: Due to rights restrictions, The Open will not be online via PGATour.com. SiriusXM Radio will have live radio calls of The Open with Thursday and Friday coverage 2:00am (EDT) to completion of play. Weekend coverage on Sirius XM Radio begins at 4:00am (EDT) until conclusion. The Open Radio is available on Sirius 208/XM 92)
How to Watch: In case of changes, see: (PGATourCom)
*For Information on the Barbasol, please visit HERE
The Open: Notebook
The Open Championship was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was the only one of the four men’s major championships not played during the 2020 calendar year (other three were rescheduled). Prior to 2020, the last time The Open was not played was from 1940-1945 due to World War II.
Royal St. George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England, will host The Open for the 15th time and first since 2011 (won by Darren Clarke). The course first hosted the event in 1894 and other past champions include Harry Vardon and Walter Hagen (twice each).
The 2021 U.S. Open champion Jon Rahm will attempt to become the first player since Jordan Spieth (2015 Masters Tournament, 2015 U.S. Open) to win back-to-back majors. Rahm finished T-11 in 2019, his best result in four starts at The Open.
Due in part to the tournament being canceled in 2020, several of the top players on the PGA Tour have not competed in The Open, including three of the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking: Collin Morikawa (No. 4), Viktor Hovland (No. 14) and Scottie Scheffler (No. 19).
None of the top 10 players in the current Official World Golf Ranking have won The Open. The highest ranked golfer to have won an Open championship is No. 11 Rory McIlroy.
The Basics:
Tournament Tee Times begin Thursday at 1:35am (EDT)/6:35am (local) through 11:16 (EDT)/4:16pm (local).
Weather: Thursday’s forecast in Sandwich, Kent, England is for partly cloudy skies, 60-degrees (F), but 84% humidity. There’s a 10% chance of rain.
PGATourBrunch will post at 9:00pm (EDT) on Thursday to advance Round 2.
Next Week: The 3M Open (Blaine, Minnesota)
Last Week: John Deere Classic (Results)
Field:
Zach Johnson (COVID+ protocol) OUT/ Sam Horsfield IN
Louis de Jager (COVID+ protocol) OUT/ Dylan Frittelli IN
Ryan Moore OUT/ (Declined invite after John Deere) / Adam Long IN
The Field - (link)
Tee Times: (link)
Odds for The Open
(Odds by William Hill)
Jon Rahm 7-1
Bryson DeChambeau 14-1
Dustin Johnson 15-1
Rory McIlroy 16-1
Xander Schauffele 16-1
Brooks Koepka 16-1
Justin Thomas 20-1
Jordan Spieth 20-1
Louis Oosthuizen 30-1
Shane Lowry 33-1
Tommy Fleetwood 33-1
Patrick Cantlay 33-1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 33-1
Patrick Reed 33-1
Tyrrell Hatton 33-1
Paul Casey 35-1
Lee Westwood 35-1
Viktor Hovland 40-1
Scottie Scheffler 40-1
Webb Simpson 40-1
Collin Morikawa 40-1
Tony Finau 45-1
Justin Rose 45-1
Daniel Berger 50-1
Cameron Smith 55-1
Sergio Garcia 55-1
Marc Leishman 55-1
Branden Grace 55-1
Joaquin Niemann 60-1
Ian Poulter 60-1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 66-1
Adam Scott 66-1
Abraham Ancer 66-1
Garrick Higgo 66-1
Will Zalatoris 66-1
Rickie Fowler 66-1
Robert MacIntyre 66-1
Lucas Herbert 70-1
Phil Mickelson 70-1
Harris English 70-1
Jason Day 70-1
Ryan Palmer 90-1
Jason Kokrak 90-1
Sam Burns 100-1
Alex Noren 100-1
Corey Conners 100-1
Thomas Detry 100-1
Matt Wallace 100-1
Francesco Molinari 100-1
Martin Kaymer 100-1
Brian Harman 125-1
Victor Perez 125-1
Guido Migliozzi 125-1
Danny Willett 125-1
Min Woo Lee 125-1
Stewart Cink 125-1
Max Homa 125-1
Gary Woodland 125-1
Bernd Wiesberger 125-1
Russell Henley 125-1
Padraig Harrington 125-1
Billy Horschel 150-1
Matt Kuchar 150-1
Charley Hoffman 150-1
Harold Varner 150-1
Keegan Bradley 150-1
Kevin Streelman 150-1
Kevin Kisner 150-1
Richard Bland 150-1
Andy Sullivan 175-1
Emiliano Grillo 200-1
Jason Scrivener 200-1
Brendon Todd 200-1
Carlos Ortiz 200-1
Rafa Cabrera Bello 200-1
Lucas Glover 200-1
Henrik Stenson 200-1
Cameron Tringale 200-1
Sebastian Munoz 200-1
Antoine Rozner 200-1
Erik Van Rooyen 200-1
Matt Jones 200-1
John Catlin 200-1
Chez Reavie 250-1
Aaron Rai 250-1
Matthias Schwab 250-1
Troy Merritt 250-1
Johannes Veerman 250-1
Brandt Snedeker 250-1
Dean Burmester 250-1
Joel Dahmen 250-1
Ryan Fox 250-1
Dylan Frittelli 250-1
Justin Harding 250-1
Chris Kirk 250-1
Mackenzie Hughes 300-1
Kurt Kitayama 300-1
Brendan Steele 300-1
Takumi Kanaya 300-1
Adam Hadwin 300-1
Lanto Griffin 300-1
Joost Luiten 300-1
Talor Gooch 300-1
Jack Senior 300-1
Romain Langasque 300-1
C.T. Pan 350-1
Jazz Janewattananond 350-1
Marcus Armitage 350-1
Mike Lorenzo-Vera 400-1
Marcel Siem 400-1
Daniel Van Tonder 400-1
Jimmy Walker 400-1
Rikard Karlberg 400-1
Paul Waring 400-1
Benjamin Hebert 400-1
Jorge Campillo 400-1
Keith Mitchell 400-1
Shaun Norris 400-1
Adam Long 400-1
Hao-Tong Li 400-1
Rikuya Hoshino 400-1
Byeong-Hun An 400-1
Marcus Kinhult 400-1
Chan Kim 500-1
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano 500-1
Marcel Schneider 500-1
Richard Mansell 500-1
Yuki Inamori 500-1
J.C. Ritchie 500-1
Ernie Els 500-1
Cole Hammer 500-1
Darren Clarke 500-1
Yuxin Lin 500-1
Ryosuke Kinoshita 500-1
Matthias Schmid 500-1
Daniel Hillier 750-1
Brad Kennedy 750-1
Ryutaro Nagano 750-1
Poom Saksansin 750-1
Jaco Ahlers 750-1
Christoffer Bring 1000-1
Richard T. Lee 1000-1
Nicholas Poppleton 1000-1
Deyen Lawson 1000-1
Jonathan Thomson 1000-1
Sam Bairstow 1000-1
Aaron Pike 1000-1
Laird Shepherd 1000-1
Ben Hutchinson 1000-1
Joe Long 1500-1
Sam Forgan 1500-1
Ricardo Celia 1500-1
Abel Gallegos 1500-1
Daniel Croft 2000-1
Connor Wordsdall 2000-1
Todd Hamilton 2000-1
TL’s Wedge for an Edge: This week, the PGA Tour Fantasy game is only taking entries for The Open and my starting foursome will include: Paul Casey, Viktor Hovland, Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson. The bench players will be: Lee Westwood and Collin Morikawa. For my one and done, I’m going with Paul Casey.
At the Barbasol in Kentucky, PGA Tour Brunch likes: Adam Schenk, Chesson Hadley, Kiradech Aphibarnat and Cameron Percy.
What They’re Saying:
The First Look (PGATourCom)
Expect Less of the Unexpected at The Open (PGATourCom)
Nine Things to Know About Royal St. George’s (PGATourCom)
Power Rankings for The Open (PGATourCom)
About Royal St. George’s Golf Club (Official Site) - (Course)
The Open - General Info (PGATourCom) - (Golf Week/USA Today)
How to Watch This Week (Golf Week/USA Today)
#SportsBiz, Sports Gambling and Golf Industry News
(Fantasy) Preview of The Open (Golf Week/USA Today)
Expert Picks for The Open - (PGATourCom)
Sleeper Picks for The Open - (PGATourCom)
Horses for the Course at Royal St. George’s (PGATourCom)
Predictions, Odds for The Open - (CBS Sports HQ)
Barbasol Betting Guide (Action Network)
USGA CEO Mike Whan on New Programs (Golf Week/USA Today)
On This Day in Golf History:
July 14, 1973 - Tom Weiskopf closed out his wire-to-wire win at The Open at Troon Golf Club, shooting a final round (70) to claim a comfortable four-stroke victory over runners-up Neil Coles and Johnny Miller. - Courtesy of Randy Walker, Author of On This Day in Golf History, available via Amazon.com and by clicking HERE
Parting Putt:
PGA Tour Brunch is brought to you by Digital Sports Desk:
