The 2018 British Open is coming our way this week, so it’s high time to check on which players industry experts are backing so that you can make a more educated choice about your own picks. Let’s get to it!
Expert Picks and Predictions for the British Open Championship Golf Tournament Running from July 19-22, 2018
Sports Illustrated
Expert
Pick
Daniel Rapaport
John Rahm
John Rahm has yet to win a major, but don’t tell that to Daniel Rapaport of Sports Illustrated who is picking the 23-year-old Spaniard to take home the Claret Jug this year. For Rapaport, Rahm has the technical capabilities to conquer the Carnoustie Golf Links. Here’s what Rapaport has to say about Rahm:
“He simply checks off all the boxes. Lower ball flight? Check. Left-to-right stock shot? Check. Accurate driver of the ball? Check. Big-time putter? Check. Shown the ability to close out tournaments? Big, fat check.”
Rahm, however, has been cut twice in his last five starts. Then again, he has a pair of top five finishes over the same stretch, including a T5 at the Fort Worth Invitational late last May.
CBS Sports
Expert
Pick
Kyle Porter
Jordan Spieth
Chip Patterson
Tommy Fleetwood
Adam Silverstein
Rory McIlroy
Three experts over at CBS are divided. Kyle Porter, Chip Patterson, and Adam Silverstein have different selections. For Porter, it’s going to be Jordan Spieth, who’ll be the last man standing in the tournament. That despite the fact that Spieth has not won a single event so far in the PGA season. Spieth has also missed the cut twice in his last three starts with other being a T42 at the Travelers Championship last month.
Patterson, meanwhile, is backing Fleetwood. It’s a solid pick, considering that Fleetwood is the owner of the course record in Carnoustie with a 9-under-93. As for Silverstein, he is going with McIlroy, who has won the event before win 2014. McIlroy has finished inside the top five in each of his last three starts British Open.
NESN
Expert
Pick
Joshua Schrock
Tiger Woods
Joshua Schrock of NESN likes to keep it simple. He’s picking Tiger Woods to win his fourth British Open this year. Woods, however, has not won a Claret Jug since 2006 and hasn’t won a PGA title so far this season. Woods is fresh off netting a solid T4 at the Quicken Loans National earlier this month. Woods wasn’t too shabby either in his last two visits in Carnoustie with a T7 back in 1999 and a T12 in 2007.
Ryan Simpson – TopBet Writer
Expert
Pick
Ryan Simpson
Rory McIlroy
TopBet’s resident writer Ryan Simpson made his pick earlier in the week, giving Rory McIlroy (+1400) the nod to take the British Open Championship, citing that while he missed the cut at both THE PLAYERS Championship and at the U.S. Open, he has gotten his bearings back after strong performances at The Travelers and The CVS Health Charity Classic, the last two “events” leading to the British Open.
