2016 British Championship Golf Prediction
Ready to bet this week on the British Open Championship Odds? The PGA pros head to jolly old England this week to play the 2016 British Open at the historic Royal Troon Golf Club in Ayrshire, Scotland for the first time since 2004 which means most of the field teeing it up this week will never have played a competitive round on this track.
2016 The Open Championship
When: July 14 – 17, 2016 on ABC/ESPN
Where: Royal Troon Golf Club, Ayrshire, Scotland
Purse: $9,300,000 / Winner Share: $1,794,690
Defending Championship: Zach Johnson
Updated Sportsbook Bonuses For Today
2016 British Open Championship Preview
Royal Troon is the quintessential links style track on steroids thanks to the inevitable strong winds that the players will encounter this week.
Royal Troon is a par 36-35=71, relatively short 7,190 yards track – it is as tough a test as there is in golf thanks to the aforementioned unpredictable and swirling wind.
Those who can keep the ball low and stay in the fairways will do well.
Length isn’t crucial and a hot putter likely won’t be the determining factor – an ability to keep a cool head and to take what the course gives will.
With that in mind who should we be keeping an eye on this week? Let’s take a look.
2016 British Open Favorites:
Jason Day +800
The clear World No. 1 has three wins this year and has been inside the top 10 in both Majors so far. He has seven wins and 18 Top-12 finishes in his last 22 events – incredible.
Day finished one stroke out of a playoff at St. Andrews last year after a disappointing 72nd hole – his first top 25 in five tries at this event.
Day’s high ball flight style has been a real issue at this tournament in the past. But he’s the best putter on the PGA TOUR and is a weekly threat for sure.
Dustin Johnson +800
Is as hot as they come right now – his performance at Oakmont was out-of-this-world. In 15 events this year, he has made 15 cuts with 10 Top-10 finishes – insane.
He’s second on TOUR in strokes gained off the tee and 10th in strokes gained approaching the green and his putter has been on a different level lately.
He has won his last two starts and looks unstoppable right now. At the Open he has made the cut the last six years with four top 15s including a runner-up finish in 2011 – there simply isn’t anything NOT to like about Johnson in this one!
Rory McIlroy +900
2014 champion missed last year’s Open because of injury but enters having recorded seven top 12 finishes in his last eight starts with five top fives over that span – a missed cut at the US Open being an unfortunate blemish.
He enters off a third place finish at the Open de France and he did win the Irish Open a few starts back so we know his form is there.
Rory is a Stud and would like nothing better than to derail some of the players that have leapfrogged him in the World Golf Rankings – pretty hard to doubt.
2016 British Open Contenders:
Jordan Spieth +1000
Spieth came close last year and enters this year in somewhat underwhelming form. He does have two wins and a runner-up at the Masters this year but also had a T37 at the US Open.
He’s been inside the top 4 in five of the last six Majors and he does play well in the wind which will help this week.
He won at Colonial in May and tied for third at Firestone two weeks ago but has been a bit too inconsistent for me.
It would be a mistake to overlook Spieth but he is a tad hard to trust at this point.
Adam Scott +2200
Has seriously contended in this event in the past only to melt down at the end in both 2013 and 2014 and he did have a 10th place finish at St. Andrews last year.
Scott has top 10s in 5 of the 12 times he’s played the Open (top 10s the last four years). He has found the top 20 in four of his last five PGA Tour starts to boot. So where does that leave us?
He still leads the TOUR in strokes gains: tee-to-green and is sixth in proximity – great stats ahead of this for this track.
Scott finished 42nd the last time this event was held at Royal Troon however but is a lock to better that this week.
Branden Grace +2200
Grace has become a weekly threat and is the latest in a long line of South Africans that could do well at the Open.
He has four Top-10’s and a win in his last five events overall and has three Top-5’s and four Top-20’s in his last five Majors – he tends to rise up in the bigger tournaments!
He has made the cut in all five Open appearances with the best finish being a T20 last year.
Expect him to better that result and to be seriously present on the leaderboard this week.
Sergio Garcia +2800
Has the unfortunate title of “the best player on TOUR without a major victory” and he gets another crack in an event he’s historically done very well at – nine top 10 finishes in this event in his career!
His current form is good – four top fives in his last five worldwide starts, including a win at the AT&T Byron Nelson and fifth at the U.S. Open.
He did miss the cut when the Open was played here in 2004 but that’s a thing of the past – the sentimental pick arrives at this year’s event playing some of his best golf.
2016 British Open Sleepers (+5000 or higher):
Zach Johnson +5500
The defending champ seems to be getting no respect! He arrives on a streak of three top 20 finishes in as many starts, including top 10s at Oakmont and Firestone and he has been inside the top 10 in three of the last four British Opens.
Johnson was T8 at the US Open and gets a crack in arguably his favorite event on the calendar.
So what’s not to like at +5500?
Matt Kuchar+5500
Kuchar is another serious value pick. He hasn’t been great in this event – a T9 in 2012 was his best finish but Matt has the game and the temperament to do some damage here.
He has five Top-10 finishes in his last six events, including a T3 at Firestone – terrific form heading into this week.
Andy Sullivan +8000
European TOUR guy deserves a mention. He has finished inside the top 25 in his last five starts overall and has finished T5 in the Open de France and T6 in last week’s Scottish Open in his last two.
He knows how to play in these elements and arrives full of confidence this week.
2016 British Open Picks:
It’s pretty hard to bet against Dustin Johnson and it is equally tough to go against one of the obvious favorites – the British Open always seems to reward one of the top dogs!
But I am – Branden Grace at +2200 is my pick – he has three top 5 finishes in the last five Majors.
He should have won at Chambers Bay on a similar track to the one the pros face this week. His patience and terrific all-around game is paid off!
My sleeper is Matt Kuchar at +5500 – he has been playing with a ton of confidence lately.
One of the more consistently good ball strikers in the game could reward his backers with a nice payday this week.
Golf handicapper DAVE B weighs in each week with his top selections. Including top picks and sleepers!
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