Who Will Win the British Open Golf Championship?
The famous Claret Jug is up for grabs once again as the world’s top golfers get set to contest the final Major of the season: the British Open. Royal Troon will host the 152nd running of the oldest of all golf majors from the 18th to the 21st of July. Which golfing superstar will be the one to lift the iconic trophy?
Scheffler’s Leads Strong American Challenge
Six different American golfers have won the last six Majors in golf. Since Jon Rahm’s victory at the Masters in April 2023, Brooks Koepka (US PGA), Wyndham Clark (US Open), Brian Harman (The Open), Scottie Scheffler (Masters), Xander Schauffele (US PGA) and Bryson DeChambeau (US Open) have triumphed in the last six Major tournaments.
World Number 1 Scottie Scheffler is the one who will undoubtedly steal the spotlight. Not since the era of Tiger Woods at the turn of the millennium has a single golfer reigned over the sport as Scheffler has in the past two years. His dominance is truly impressive.
This year alone, he has landed six wins before July, only the sixth player in PGA Tour history to achieve that feat and he has picked up another win at The Masters, as well as winning The Players Championship, the unofficial second major, for the second time in two years.
However, his best finish at The Open came in 2021, when he managed to finish tied-eighth – a statistic he will be keen to improve upon at Royal Troon.
The American challenge extends well beyond Scheffler though. Xander Schauffele was in stunning form when winning the USPGA back in May, while Bryson DeChambeau took full advantage of Rory McIlroy’s nerves to bag himself the US Open last month.
Other players from across the Atlantic in solid form include Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa, Patrick Cantlay and the defending Open Champion, Brian Harman.
McIlroy Seeks To Put US Open Meltdown Behind Him
The challenge from Europe and the rest of the world will be led by Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irish star has taken some time away from golf after his meltdown on the final three holes of the US Open gifted the win to Bryson DeChambeau. He will be able to count on vociferous support at Royal Troon however as he seeks to win The Open for the second time, ten years after his first win at Royal Liverpool.
Jon Rahm (Spain), Cam Smith (Australia), Tommy Fleetwood (England), Tyrrell Hatton (England), Ludvig Aberg (Sweden), Viktor Hovland (Norway), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan) and Tom Kim (South Korea) are also expected to be amongst the main challengers.
However, as Brian Harman’s victory last year showed, the British Open does have a tendency to surprise everybody in terms of the winner not coming from the expected group of players.
That said, the quality being shown by the players at the top of the World Rankings is so high that it is hard to look beyond that elite group for the winner here.
And while Scottie Scheffler may be the favourite with the bookmakers, backing the supremely talented, and consistent Ludvig Aberg looks a good selection here.
