The Open Championship 2019: Preview and predictions
By Luke Norris
The top five in the world
1. Brooks Koepka
Well, it’s a major championship so I suppose that means that it’s time for Brooks Koepka to start taking things seriously. The stats on this guy are insane, aren’t they? He ties for second at The Masters, wins the PGA Championship and finishes second at the U.S. Open. Yes, he finished fourth at the Byron Nelson but outside of that since April, he finished 50th at the Canadian Open, tied for 57th at the Travelers Championship and 65th at the 3M Open two weeks ago. But we somehow know that he’ll be ready for Royal Portrush.
2. Dustin Johnson
Even with three top-10 finishes in his career at The Open, including a runner-up finish in 2011 to Northern Irishman Darren Clarke, this is the major in which Dustin Johnson has struggled the most. After tying for ninth three years ago, he finished tied for 54th in 2017 and missed the cut a year ago at Carnoustie.
His length will always be an asset and he’s played his best golf in 2019 in the biggest events. He already has two runner-up finishes at majors this season to go along with his win at the WGC-Mexico. Johnson isn’t coming in overly hot though. He finished tied for 35th at the U.S. Open last month and then missed the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in his most recent start.
3. Rory McIlroy
With an entire country in his corner, Rory McIlroy is the favorite coming into The Open Championship and for good reason. The world No. 3 has played outstanding golf in 2019, finishing outside the top 10 just three times in 14 starts, including a victories at The Players Championship and the Canadian Open. Oh yeah, there’s also that matter I mentioned earlier where he shattered the course record at Royal Portrush by shooting a 61 when he was just 16 years old.
Yes, this will obviously be a much different golf course than it was then. But just being one of the few players in the field with some familiarity here can do nothing but help Rory, who’ll be looking to avoid going five years without a major with a win here.
4. Justin Rose
Justin Rose rose to fame with his T-4 finish at The Open Championship as a 17-year-old back in 1998 but since then, this tournament hasn’t been his favorite major. He’s carded just two top-10 finishes since then, but the good news is that both of those have come in the last four years, including his runner-up finish last year.
Rose didn’t have his best stuff last month at Pebble Beach and still put himself in decent shape to win the U.S. Open, where he tied for third. He’s been a bit more inconsistent this season, which isn’t something we’re used to seeing from Rose, but his all-around game always makes him a threat.
5. Tiger Woods
Three-time Open Champion Tiger Woods will naturally be a big story when play opens on Thursday, as he always is, but things are a little different this time around. Tiger used to be the most prepared individual coming into a tournament but even he admits that his body won’t let him do all the things he wants to do to get ready for an event. He hasn’t played a competitive round since Pebble Beach and doesn’t sound overly confident coming into Royal Portrush.
He did get to Northern Ireland very well in advance of the start of the tournament to get himself used to this new venue and says he’s had some good range sessions. Since winning The Masters, Tiger has only played in three tournaments, a missed cut at the PGA Championship, a tie for ninth at the Memorial and a tie for 21st at the U.S. Open.