Location
The 152nd Open Championship will be returning to Royal Troon this week for the first time in 8 years. The last time The Open was held at Royal Troon, Henrik Stenson defeated Phil Mickelson in what was a pure display of golf excellence between the two. This course features challenges both long and short. The 'Postage Stamp' will be the shortest par 3 of the week at only 123 yards. However, this course will also feature the longest hole in Open history along with the 490-yard par 4 'The Railway' hole- which in 2016 had a scoring average of 4.6 throughout the week. With unpredictable winds and torturous out of bounds, this course will test the world's most elite golfers to keep ball flight low and accurate all week. If you'd like to learn more on Royal Troon, we highly recommend watching this video below from Daniel Rapaport.
Favorites to win The Open
There won't be a major this year in which Scottie Scheffler will not be the outright favorite. However after a disappointing showing at the US Open, it won't be quite as wide of a margin for him to take home the Claret Jug. Rory McIlroy is the second favorite to win this tournament and after that debilitating finish at the US Open, he will have the support of the gallery to do so. Last week's Scottish Open featured similiar style golf and ended up with Robert MacIntyre winning. But it also showed some other golfers who are looking prime for this week, one of which was past Open Champion Collin Morikawa. Don't be surprised to see his name up the leaderboard if keeps his form from last week. Here are the top ten betting odds this week:
Golfer | To Win |
+500 | |
+800 | |
14-1 | |
16-1 | |
16-1 | |
18-1 | |
22-1 | |
25-1 | |
28-1 | |
30-1 |
TV Schedule
NBC has the rights to this tournament in the United States, they will keep all times on regular cable channels and their main network channel. Unlike the US Open, you will not need to download and stream on Peacock (unless you'd like feature group coverage). Below is on air times for the week:
Thursday, July 18
First Round
USA Network: 4:00 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Friday July 19
Second Round
USA Network: 4:00 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Saturday July 20
Third Round
USA Network: 5:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m.
NBC Network: 7:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sunday July 21
Final Round
USA Network: 4:00 a.m. - 7:00 a.m.
NBC Network: 7:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Quick Note From Author on Tiger
There is no hiding the idea that this author has a Tiger bias. I believe that he has at least one more major in him, and I think his best chance is at an Open. What separates Tiger, in my opinion, is his shot creativity and sculpting. Nobody has more experience in this field than Tiger on links golf and it really does play well to him as he ages. His practice videos and rounds have looked crisp, it feels like he could make a legit push this week. The Open Championship on average, has had the highest aged winners versus all other majors. I believe that it does reward golf knowledge and expertise with a chance at winning. These young golfers don't get to just reminisce and talk about what it was like with Tiger creeping on the board more than a decade ago, they must prove the ability to overcome it -- if given the chance. It's undoubtedly, a long shot, but one I will be rooting for this week.
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