British Open 2019: 5 bold predictions for The Open Championship

2. Tiger Woods finishes as top American in British Open

If you’re just looking at the odds to win The Open Championship, this might not seem like a bold prediction. According to Odds Shark, Tiger Woods is listed with the top three Americans in the field at Royal Portrush in terms of odds to win, though he’s actually tied for second with Dustin Johnson at 16-1, both sitting behind Brooks Koepka, who’s at 10-1.

Where things start to change outside of that, however, is the fact that even Woods himself doesn’t seem all that confident in his chances heading into the British Open. When talking to the media this week in Northern Ireland, Woods noted how much winning The Masters took its toll on him. Woods even went as far as to essentially note that he wasn’t 100 percent ready for The Open.

Woods also hasn’t been on the course competitively since the U.S. Open, where he finished just on the outside of the top 20. Put simply, the narrative around Woods coming into this event makes it really seem like the 2019 Masters winner is just heading towards a mediocre-at-best finish in this final major of the season.

However, Woods is a three-time champion at The Open and even showed out well last year, tying for sixth in the 2018 British Open at Carnoustie. While he may not be in perfect form, these are the moments he’s trying to get up for at this point of his career. Subsequently, he’s going to do just that and better Johnson as he trails off and Koepka as well, even if the latter continues his torrid major pace.