The final major championship of 2022 is upon us as the field for The Open Championship makes their way to The Old Course at St. Andrews.
What makes St. Andrews so special? It is considered the home of golf. The history is incredible and it provides the viewer with some of the most incredibly memorable holes and shot opportunities of any golf course in the world. Established in 1843, this is the 30th time that golf’s oldest major championship is being held here. When people ask me what golf course I would like to play out of any of the courses in the world, I say The Old Course. This is my number one bucket list golf course – even higher on the list than Augusta National, Pebble Beach, or Pine Valley.
The field does include members of the LIV Golf Tour so this is as strong as it could get. But my attention is on Tiger Woods, who is slated to make his return to St. Andrews this week. I am not going to bet on Tiger because given his recovery and his performances this year thus far, that wouldn’t be a smart decision. One thing I will be doing is rooting hard for him, and I truly think that this is a good chance for him to play well. Tiger loves St. Andrews and he has won here twice before, and it is supposed to be hot – which isn’t always a given in Scotland in the summer and it benefits him a lot with his body.
As far as other players to keep an eye on, I LOVE Jordan Spieth every time putting is important like it will be this week. Spieth is a former champion in 2017 and always seems to be in the mix. I also like Zach Johnson this week, he won The Open last time it was at St. Andrews and he sneaks his way into contention often. Justin Rose is on my radar as well, his name comes up on the leaderboard more than I would like it to in these major championships. My main longshot is Scott Vincent, mainly because I have grown into a huge fan of his game through two LIV Tour events. Lastly, I am throwing Sahith Theegala into my picks. The rookie has had a stellar year and I think this would be a great time for him to work on that rookie resume.
Here are my official picks for The 2022 Open Championship:
Top 20:
-Jordan Spieth -120 for 3 Units
-Justin Rose +230 for 1 Unit
-Sahith Theegala +475 for 0.5 Unit
-Zach Johnson +1000 for 0.5 Unit
-Scott Vincent +1000 for 0.5 Unit
Top 10:
-Jordan Spieth +190 for 0.5 Unit
-Justin Rose +500 for 0.5 Unit
To win:
-Jordan Spieth +1600 for 0.25 Unit
Some other guys to keep an eye on that I won’t be betting:
Xander Schauffele is playing incredible golf as of late and is coming off a win last week at the Scottish Open. He is as steady as they come and seems to be pushing all of the right buttons right now. Dustin Johnson as a part of his revenge tour against the entire golf world after switching to LIV Golf. DJ is always a good pick in any event anywhere in the world and I think we are still getting him at a discount. Finally, Kevin Kisner for the same reason as Jordan Spieth, if he can get the putter going he could do some damage this week.
Enjoy viewing this amazing golf course this weekend and take advantage of the unique opportunity to view golf in the morning as the time difference causes the coverage to begin very early on Thursday in our time zone. Links golf is a treat to watch so relax and take it all in.