by Big Al Staff
Wednesday, Jul 14, 2021British Open 2021 Preview: Royal St. George Golf Course
The fourth and final major for the year takes place at the Royal St. George golf course in Sandwich, Kent, in England for the 149th Open Championship. The event tees off at 1:35 AM ET on Thursday. The Golf Network and NBC will share the broadcast.
Six major championships took place since the last British Open took place when Shane Lowry won at Portrush in 2019. Last year’s British Open got canceled after the pandemic. This week will be the 15th time that Royal St. George is the site of the Open Championship. Darren Clarke won the tournament the last time Royal St. George hosted in 2011. Ben Curtis won in 2003 after Greg Norman won in 1993 in the two previous British Opens here.
Jon Rahm is the favorite at +700 (all odds from DraftKings). The US Open champion last month returned to action by finishing in 7th place at the Scottish Open warmup last weekend. Rahm has fallen back to being ranked second in the world in the global rankings. With two victories at the Irish Open, he has had success on links course.
Jordan Spieth is priced at +1400. He is a former British Open champion in 2017 who has made all seven of the cuts in his seven Open Championships with three top-ten finishes. With a win at the Valero Texas Open this year, Spieth has ten top-20 results in his last 14 stroke-play events.
Brooks Koepka is at +1600 to win. The major championship specialist has finished in the top five in three of his last four tournaments, including a tie for second place at the PGA Championship and a tie for fourth place at the US Open. The four-time major championship winner has three top-tens in his four British Open starts.
Rory McIlroy has a +1800 price. He has five career top-five results at the Open Championship including a victory at the 2014 British Open. McIlroy finished tied for 7th place at the US Open last month. He has since finished tied for 59th place at Irish Open before missing the cut last week at the Scottish Open.
Dustin Johnson is listed at +1800. He regained his number one ranking in the world despite not playing last week. Johnson’s most recent event was the Traveler’s Championship at the end of June, where he finished tied for 25th place. Johnson won last November’s Master’s Championship before later winning in Dubai in February. He finished tied for second place at Royal St. George in the 2011 British Open.
Xander Schauffele is priced at +1800. With Rahm winning his first major championship last month, Schauffele may inherit the moniker of being the best player in the world to not win a major. He finished tied for third at the Masters before a tie for seventh place at the US Open last month. He comes off a tie for 10th place last week at the Scottish Open. Schauffele co-led at Carnoustie at the 2018 British Open after 54 holes before settling for a tie for second place.
Justin Thomas has +2000 odds to win. The 2017 PGA Champion finished tied for 19th at the US Open last month. He has since taken on a new putter that he tested out in a tie for 8th place finish at the Scottish Open last week. After missing the city at the Open Championship in 2017 and 2018, he finished tied for 11th in 2019.
Collin Morikawa makes his debut at a British Open as a +2500 favorite. The 2020 PGA Champion has finished in a tie for 18th, a tie for 8th, and a tie for 4th place at the Masters, PGA Championship, and US Open this year. Morikawa struggled with a tie for 71st place last week at the Scottish Open.
Louis Oosthuizen is priced at +2500. He finished tied for 54th place here at the 2011 British Open as the defending Open Champion from winning his lone major the year before. Oosthuizen has finished in second place at the PGA Championship and US Open this summer.
Bryson DeChambeau is listed at +3000. After his tie for 26th place at the US Open was his best result at a major championship this year, he has changed caddies. DeChambeau last played at the Rocket Mortage, where he missed the cut two weeks ago. The 2020 US Open champion missed the cut twice in his three British Opens, with his best finish being a tie for 51st place.
Viktor Hovland rounds out the top ten favorites at a +3000 price. The 23-year-old is making his Open Championship debut. Hovland withdrew from the US Open with an eye issue that was not an issue three weeks ago when he won BMW International Open in Munich. He has two PGA Tour wins in his young career, and he has finished in the top-13 in two previous US Opens. Hovland has four top-three results this season.
The fourth and final major for the year takes place at the Royal St. George golf course in Sandwich, Kent, in England for the 149th Open Championship. The event tees off at 1:35 AM ET on Thursday. The Golf Network and NBC will share the broadcast.
Six major championships took place since the last British Open took place when Shane Lowry won at Portrush in 2019. Last year’s British Open got canceled after the pandemic. This week will be the 15th time that Royal St. George is the site of the Open Championship. Darren Clarke won the tournament the last time Royal St. George hosted in 2011. Ben Curtis won in 2003 after Greg Norman won in 1993 in the two previous British Opens here.
Jon Rahm is the favorite at +700 (all odds from DraftKings). The US Open champion last month returned to action by finishing in 7th place at the Scottish Open warmup last weekend. Rahm has fallen back to being ranked second in the world in the global rankings. With two victories at the Irish Open, he has had success on links course.
Jordan Spieth is priced at +1400. He is a former British Open champion in 2017 who has made all seven of the cuts in his seven Open Championships with three top-ten finishes. With a win at the Valero Texas Open this year, Spieth has ten top-20 results in his last 14 stroke-play events.
Brooks Koepka is at +1600 to win. The major championship specialist has finished in the top five in three of his last four tournaments, including a tie for second place at the PGA Championship and a tie for fourth place at the US Open. The four-time major championship winner has three top-tens in his four British Open starts.
Rory McIlroy has a +1800 price. He has five career top-five results at the Open Championship including a victory at the 2014 British Open. McIlroy finished tied for 7th place at the US Open last month. He has since finished tied for 59th place at Irish Open before missing the cut last week at the Scottish Open.
Dustin Johnson is listed at +1800. He regained his number one ranking in the world despite not playing last week. Johnson’s most recent event was the Traveler’s Championship at the end of June, where he finished tied for 25th place. Johnson won last November’s Master’s Championship before later winning in Dubai in February. He finished tied for second place at Royal St. George in the 2011 British Open.
Xander Schauffele is priced at +1800. With Rahm winning his first major championship last month, Schauffele may inherit the moniker of being the best player in the world to not win a major. He finished tied for third at the Masters before a tie for seventh place at the US Open last month. He comes off a tie for 10th place last week at the Scottish Open. Schauffele co-led at Carnoustie at the 2018 British Open after 54 holes before settling for a tie for second place.
Justin Thomas has +2000 odds to win. The 2017 PGA Champion finished tied for 19th at the US Open last month. He has since taken on a new putter that he tested out in a tie for 8th place finish at the Scottish Open last week. After missing the city at the Open Championship in 2017 and 2018, he finished tied for 11th in 2019.
Collin Morikawa makes his debut at a British Open as a +2500 favorite. The 2020 PGA Champion has finished in a tie for 18th, a tie for 8th, and a tie for 4th place at the Masters, PGA Championship, and US Open this year. Morikawa struggled with a tie for 71st place last week at the Scottish Open.
Louis Oosthuizen is priced at +2500. He finished tied for 54th place here at the 2011 British Open as the defending Open Champion from winning his lone major the year before. Oosthuizen has finished in second place at the PGA Championship and US Open this summer.
Bryson DeChambeau is listed at +3000. After his tie for 26th place at the US Open was his best result at a major championship this year, he has changed caddies. DeChambeau last played at the Rocket Mortage, where he missed the cut two weeks ago. The 2020 US Open champion missed the cut twice in his three British Opens, with his best finish being a tie for 51st place.
Viktor Hovland rounds out the top ten favorites at a +3000 price. The 23-year-old is making his Open Championship debut. Hovland withdrew from the US Open with an eye issue that was not an issue three weeks ago when he won BMW International Open in Munich. He has two PGA Tour wins in his young career, and he has finished in the top-13 in two previous US Opens. Hovland has four top-three results this season.
