5 dark horses who could upset and win The Open Championship 2018

The British Open always offers a unique set of challenges, but these five golfers appear ready to make a dark horse run at The Open Championship in 2018.

Whenever a weekend of a major championship rolls around on the PGA Tour, golf fans take the time to pay attention. However, this is never more evident than when The Open Championship comes around. Particularly for golf fans in the United States, paying attention to the British Open requires a bit of dedication as you must rise early to catch the early tee times and the action set to unfold.

It’s always worth it when you do so, however. With the rotating cast of courses for The Open Championship, you’re talking about one of the most unique events in golf. Between the designs, the wind and weather, and the general aura that surrounds everything in the third major of the PGA Tour season, it’s a can’t-miss type of event.

For the 2018 British Open, the players will head to Carnoustie Championship Course in Scotland looking to follow in the footsteps of the likes of Ben Hogan and Gary Player in winning the tournament at Carnoustie.

The favorites heading into this event are obvious in some cases. People expect to see Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Brooks Koepka, Justin Rose, defending champion Jordan Spieth and even Tiger Woods in contention. What’s more, more knowledgable fans will look for the likes of Tommy Fleetwood to make some noise. After all, he set the course record at Carnoustie (63) at a tournament last year.

However, we’re not here to talk about the favorites for the 2018 British Open. No, we’re here to talk about the guys that aren’t in that conversation that could still make noise. And with that, let’s take a look at these dark horses ready to make noise and go for the Claret Jug at The Open Championship at Carnoustie.

Note: All British Open odds listed come courtesy of Odds Shark.

5. Marc Leishman (+3300)

The big Australian Marc Leishman should probably be more of a household name among casual golf fans at this point than he actually is. He’s a player that often seems to be in the mix at the top of leaderboards, especially as it pertains to big tournaments in recent years. However, just because he hasn’t necessarily been getting the shine in terms of publicity that he might deserve doesn’t mean he’s not capable of coming out at Carnoustie and stealing his first major victory.

Despite not winning yet on the PGA Tour this season, Leishman has still been playing quite well throughout the year. He’s finished in the top 10 seven times in the 18 tournaments in which he’s played, including an impressive ninth-place finish at Augusta in The Masters. More recently, Leishman was solid at the end of June as he came in at tied-13th in the Quicken Loans National.

Perhaps most impressive for Leishman is his recent track record at The Open Championship. After missing the cut in back-to-back years (2012-13), Leishman has gone on to finish tied for sixth or better in three of the last four years, including tying for second in 2015. That’s an impressive run for major championship finishes, especially when you then consider the fact that the Aussie hasn’t missed a cut at a major since the 2016 Masters.

Leishman may not be a favorite to win heading into the British Open, but he could again be a guy that puts himself in the conversation and potentially get his first win of the season in memorable fashion.