Royal Liverpool will play at over 7300 yards on a Par 71 layout for the 2023 Open Championship this weekend. But as with most courses in the Open Rota, expect the ball to roll and roll and roll on the cement-like fairways. It means keeping it in the short stuff is the priority, and less drivers should be hit here than at any other major this year.
It also gives the shorter players on tour a chance to compete while placing an emphasis on accuracy, as finding the right bounce or ridge to get the extra roll means you could be using the same wedge to get home as a longer bomber.
The greens should play rather receptive to approaches, so players might do most of their scoring from the fairway by leaving their putts be on the correct level of a tiered green. And we found three players at three different levels of the odds board we think can be in the mix for the title of Champion Golfer of the Year this week at Hoylake.
All odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook.
Chalk
Rory McIlroy +800
The only thing that can stop him is ghosts and plenty of out of bounds areas. After shooting -6 to have the 54 hole lead on Saturday, Rory lost 1.41 strokes with his putter during the final round at St. Andrews last year. Cameron Smith gained 2.91, and it was the difference on that fateful day. But it won’t happen again.
The Northern Irishman gained 2.64 strokes with the flatstick in the final round of his Scottish Open win last week, and showed once again he can do it under the bright lights. It’s his time, and expect him to downshift to plenty of long-iron stingers to keep it in the fairway while letting his wedges and putting do the work.
If we trusted Scottie Scheffler’s putter in the slightest, we’d put him here of course. But until he gets it fixed, we could be looking at a redux of the 2022 TOUR Championship.
Midfield
Collin Morikawa +3500
This would feel a bit better at a longer price, but his T2 in his last outing at the Rocket Mortgage Classic showed he’s back and healthy. The 2021 Claret Jug winner is tailor-made for links golf, as the firmness of the track favors his laser accuracy off the tee (+2.0 strokes gained per round) and normie length compared to most of the bombers on tour.
It’s likely Morikawa will leave himself plenty of makeable putts this week, which has been his weakness of late. But he’s gained strokes on the field putting in his last four outings, and seems like a terrific candidate to put it all together at Hoylake.
Longshot
Keegan Bradley +10000
The Travelers Championship win a month ago showed he can get it home, and he’s won a major before (2011 PGA Championship). But what makes Bradley appealing here is he’ll likely be hitting more irons off tees than driver, which is a great club for him. And the fact he’s re-created his game into becoming one of the best putters in the world bodes well for him here.