Tour News
2017 Open Championship: Preview, Picks, and Prop Bets
The Open Championship has arrived as the world’s top players head to Royal Birkdale for a chance at the Claret Jug. The field is headlined by Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, and Rory McIlroy, and it includes 73 of the top-75 ranked players in the world. Last year, we saw arguably the most memorable Open Championship of all-time, and although this year probably won’t live up to 2016, there are several intriguing storylines.
Dustin Johnson comes in as the favorite, but he has struggled recently, missing two cuts in his last two starts. He hasn’t played weekend golf in a major since last year’s Open. Rory McIlroy is in a similar situation; he missed the cut at both the Irish and Scottish opens and is desperately trying to find his game. The biggest storyline of the week, though, surrounds Jon Rahm’s continued emergence as one of game’s best players. After his win at the Irish Open, he is now No. 7 in the Official World Golf Rankings, and he’s looking to capture the first major of his young career.
- Tournament Record: 264 by Henrik Stenson
- 18-Hole Record: 63 by Mark Hayes (1977), Isao Aoki (1980), Greg Norman (1986), Paul Broadhurst (1990), Jodie Mudd (1991), Nack Faldo (1993), Payne Stewart (1993), Rory McIlroy (2010), Phil Mickelson (2016), and Henrik Stenson (2016).
The Course
Royal Birkdale plays at 7,156 yards, and the par-70 is regarded as the fairest course in the Open rota. Birkdale first played host in 1954 and has held eight Opens since. Some of golf’s greatest names have won here, including Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, and Tom Watson. As with most courses in the rota, the play will be determined by the weather. If it’s calm and steady, this could turn into a shootout. The current forecast, however, looks like rain and wind for most of the week, which will favor a penetrating ball flight and a willingness to grind it out. Birkdale is a bit unique though as the course seems to wind through the hills and dunes instead of roll over them.
Odds
Past Champs in the field:
- Paul Lawrie +50000
- Mark O’Meara +150000
- Tom Lehman +75000
- John Daly +100000
- David Duval +150000
- Ernie Els +25000
- Todd Hamilton +200000
- Padraig Harrington +5500
- Stewart Cink +22500
- Louis Oosthuizen +4500
- Darren Clarke +100000
- Phil Mickelson +4000
- Rory McIlroy +2000
- Zach Johnson +8000
- Henrik Stenson +2500
Favorites
- Dustin Johnson +1400
- Jordan Spieth +1600
- Rickie Fowler +1600
- Jon Rahm +1600
- Sergio Garcia +1800
- Justin Rose +2000
- Rory McIlroy +2000
- Hideki Matsuyama +2000
- Tommy Fleetwood +2200
Picks
My Pick: I’m going with Jon Rahm this week at +1600. I have to go with the hot hand here; Rahm won two weeks ago at the Irish Open by six (that’s right, SIX shots), and he finished with a 65. He ranks 3rd in Shots Gained: Off the Tee and Approach the Green, so I expect a lot good opportunities for birdie. Rahm’s short, compact swing will also come in handy when the wind starts to gust.
Value Pick: I’m going with Jason Day at +3300. I know he’s struggled all year — he hasn’t had a win yet and is actually giving shots back to the field with his approach shots — but at +3300 his odds are too good to pass up. He’s still ranked No. 6 in the OWGR, and he has the game to win if he can pull it together for four consecutive rounds.
Long Shot: My dark horse this week is Marc Leishman (+5000). He ranks 8th in Shots Gained: Total and 4th in Scoring Average, so we should see him hanging around the top of the leaderboard. He also has a pretty good track record in the Open; Leishman’s made four cuts in his six starts including a T2 and a T5.
Props
Phil Mickelson to Miss the Cut (+275): I generally don’t like to bet against people — it’s a lot less fun rooting for bogeys than birdies – but I think Phil is going to struggle this week. He’s been all over the place off the tee this year, which isn’t too surprising, but with the potential for strong winds, driving accuracy could be crucial this week. He’s also just getting older; it’s going to be a tough couple of days grinding it out through the wind and rain.
Will there be a wire-to-wire winner (Yes +1600) – I’m going with “Yes” on this. I think Rahm is going to jump out to an early lead and hold off the pack the rest of the way. He’s considered more of a comeback player, but he ranks 12th in Round 1 scoring average, so he’s more than capable of getting off to a hot start. If the weather picks up for the weekend like it’s supposed to, it’ll be tough for someone to make a run at him.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans
GolfWRX is live on site this week at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans for the PGA Tour’s one-and-only two-man team event.
As usual, general galleries, WITBs, and pullout albums — including some pretty spicy custom putters and headcovers — await your viewing.
Be sure to check back for more photos from the Big Easy, as we’ll continue to update this page with additional galleries throughout the week.
General Albums
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Monday #2
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #1
- 2024 Zurich Classic – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Alex Fitzpatrick – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Austin Cook – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Alejandro Tosti – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Davis Riley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- MJ Daffue – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Nate Lashley – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- James Nicholas – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Kevin Streelman – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rasmus Hojgaard – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Tom Whitney – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- SangMoon Bae – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Daniel Berger – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Rory McIlroy – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Russ Cochrane – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Aldrich Potgieter – WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Steve Stricker WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Drew Brees WITB (Legendary New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Derek Carr (New Orleans Saints QB) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Thriston Lawrence WITB – 2024 Zurich Classic
Pullout Albums
- MJ Daffue’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Cameron putters – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Swag covers ( a few custom for Nick Hardy) – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Custom Bettinardi covers for Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Doug Ghim’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
- Patrick Cantlay spotted testing a Scotty Cameron blade putter – 2024 Zurich Classic
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 RBC Heritage
GolfWRX is on site this week at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island for the RBC Heritage. Plenty of golfers who competed in the Masters last week will be making the quick turnaround in the Lowcountry of South Carolina as the Heritage is again one of the Tour’s Signature Events.
We have general albums for you to check out, as well as plenty of WITBs — including Justin Thomas and Justin Rose.
We’ll continue to update as more photos flow in from SC.
Check out links to all our photos, below.
General Albums
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Monday #2
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #1
- 2024 RBC Heritage – Tuesday #2
WITB Albums
- Justin Thomas – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Rose – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Chandler Phillips – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Nick Dunlap – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Thomas Detry – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Austin Eckroat – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Jason Day – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Will Zalatoris – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Patrick Cantlay – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Ludvig Aberg – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Collin Morikawa – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Sam Burns – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Stephen Jaeger – WITB – 2024 RBC Heritage
Pullout Albums
- Wyndham Clark’s Odyssey putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- JT’s new Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Justin Thomas testing new Titleist 2 wood – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey putter with triple track alignment aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Scotty Cameron The Blk Box putting alignment aid/training aid – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Cameron putter – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Odyssey Ai One Eleven T putters – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Christian Bezuidenhout – testing new Callaway Ti 340 mini driver – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Rory McIlroy testing the new TaylorMade BRNR Mini Driver Copper – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Xander Schauffele testing the Callaway Ti 340 mini driver & the DUW – 2024 RBC Heritage
- Byeong Hun An, two new L.A.B. Golf putter builds with “T” alignment – 2024 RBC Heritage
See what GolfWRXers are saying and join the discussion in the forums.
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Tour Photo Galleries
Photos from the 2024 Valero Texas Open
GolfWRX is on site this week at the Valero Texas Open.
The event has been around since 1922, making it one of the oldest on the PGA Tour calendar. Over the years, it’s been held at a variety of courses across the Lone Star State, but it’s found its home at TPC San Antonio in recent years. Some of the biggest names in golf have taken home the title here, including Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, and Ben Crenshaw.
GolfWRX has its usual assortment of general galleries, WITBs and special pull-out albums. As always, we’ll continue to update the links below as more photos come in from TPC San Antonio.
General Albums
WITB Albums
- Ben Taylor – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Paul Barjon – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Joe Sullivan – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Wilson Furr – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Willman – SoTex PGA Section Champ – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Jimmy Stanger – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Rickie Fowler – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Harrison Endycott – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Vince Whaley – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Kevin Chappell – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Christian Bezuidenhout – WITB (mini) – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Scott Gutschewski – WITB – 2024 Valero Texas Open
Pullout Albums
- Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Ben Taylor with new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Swag cover – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Greyson Sigg’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Davis Riley’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Josh Teater’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hzrdus T1100 is back – – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Mark Hubbard testing ported Titleist irons – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Tyson Alexander testing new Titleist TRS 2 wood – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Hideki Matsuyama’s custom Cameron putter – 2024 Valero Texas Open
- Cobra putters – 2024 Valero Texas Open
See what GolfWRXers are saying in the forums.
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Dave
Jul 20, 2017 at 4:17 pm
So much for Rahm getting off to good start. My top four picks in the pool are -12 after round one.
Nick Ritacco
Jul 20, 2017 at 4:28 pm
Who’d you go with?
Lloyd
Jul 19, 2017 at 6:30 pm
Some no-name golfer will win The Open, and I hope it’s somebody from GB or EU.
Tom54
Jul 19, 2017 at 8:53 am
All the big boys DJ Rory&Jason seem to be struggling lately but all 3 can find a way to get it done. Rahm definitely a good pick but anyone can get it together this week. There is so much talent at the top nowadays is why this Open is wide open. I have no pick but will be watching with great expectations. Ok Fowler or Matsuyama are my picks to have a great week
Sam
Jul 18, 2017 at 3:52 pm
Did you even do any research…? Course is hard and fast, few drivers will be hit. Phil has two 3 irons in the bag no driver. Your analysis is pretty weak.
Nick Ritacco
Jul 18, 2017 at 5:21 pm
Hey Sam – when did I mention Driver? Can you find it in there even once? Also this was posted prior to Phil announcing no driver.
freeze
Jul 18, 2017 at 11:38 am
I think Rory will have a great week.
Oi
Jul 18, 2017 at 11:24 am
What, no Fleetwood?
Rahm will falter badly.
JDay? You’re crazy.
Nick Ritacco
Jul 18, 2017 at 11:36 am
What makes you think Rahm will falter? As for Day – he’s struggled all year like I said but when’s the last time you got someone with his talent, ranked #6 at +3300? That’s VALUE.