2021 British Open Preview: Ranking Every Player in the Field, 1-156
Richard Sellers/PA Images via Getty Images. Pictured: Lee Westwood.
Two years since the last Open Championship, the 149th edition of the event is upon us, as the field at Royal St. George’s is finally set — or so we believe.
Issues with everything from COVID-19 protocols to travel restrictions to the impending Olympics have forced the R&A to go 16-deep into the alternate list, but that shouldn’t take much luster off what is expected to be a windblown week on a course where longshots have persevered in the past.
Let’s get right to the picks, from 1 to 156, starting with a player who isn’t exactly a Ben Curtis-type longshot, but probably isn’t a guy topping many similar lists, either.
1. Lee Westwood
With 87 career major starts without a victory, Westwood could set the all-time record this week — or he pull a little magic out of his hat and, like Phil Mickelson two months ago at the PGA Championship, produce one of the most popular victories in recent memory.
2. Jordan Spieth
There’s a sense that short-game creativity could be the prevailing asset that separates the contenders, and Spieth’s ability to get up and down from the proverbial car park should serve him very well this week.
3. Rory McIlroy
There remain questions about his form but not his history at this event, with four top-fives in his last five Open appearances and just a nervy opening-round front nine at Royal Portrush as the outlier.
4. Jon Rahm
His OWGR number shows a drop from No. 1 to No. 2 this week, but anyone paying even a small amount of attention over the last few months understands that Rahm is currently the best player in the game.
5. Louis Oosthuizen
The question is no longer whether Louis will contend at a major, but whether he can close another one out, as he’s finished runner-up in each of the last two to bring his career total up to a half-dozen.
6. Tyrrell Hatton
“When you’re feeling glum, pop your thumb.” There are sure to be frustrations for the fiery Hatton this week, but if he can ride ‘em out and remain patient, he should have an excellent chance to contend here.
7. Xander Schauffele
The good news: He excels at stepping up for the biggest events, producing top-10 finishes in more than half of his major starts. The bad news: It’s now been a whopping 2 1/2 years since his last victory.
8. Viktor Hovland
Armed with a world of talent but prone to making some big mistakes, Hovland owns a high-ceiling/low-floor combination this week. It wouldn’t be shocking if he leads the field in birdies and isn’t in serious contention.
9. Rickie Fowler
Slowly trending in the right direction, I’ve had Fowler earmarked for this one over the past few months, as his ability to hit lower trajectory shots and use the turf has often helped him on links courses.
10. Christiaan Bezuidenhout
He got into contention through three rounds at each of the previous two majors, only to fire a big number on Sunday, but those experiences should only steel him for better scores the next time he’s in that situation.
11. Marc Leishman
He’s been disappointing at the past two majors, but The Open has often suited the Aussie’s game.
12. Scottie Scheffler
Getting a taste of links golf at last week’s Scottish Open could prove to be a huge benefit this week.
13. Ian Poulter
If you’re betting based on recent form and momentum, nobody scored better this past Sunday.
14. Justin Thomas
Feels like a weird crossroads, where his game has hardly vanished but isn’t quite where it needs to be, either.
15. Corey Conners
Terrible on Thursday at the Scottish but terrific on Friday, which should offer some confidence here.
16. Jason Day
With finishes of 14th-10th in his last two starts, the former No. 1 could be primed for a little resurgence.
17. Brooks Koepka
Sure, it’s a major week, but Brooks professing his indifference toward this venue shouldn’t help our confidence.
18. Branden Grace
The only player with a 62 in major history (at Royal Birkdale in 2017), he’s been very steady this year
19. Sergio Garcia
Garcia finally showed up in a major last month, so there’s reason to believe he can do it again.
20. Tommy Fleetwood
Once a favorite for “next first-time major champion,” he’s looked too ordinary for too long.
21. Dustin Johnson
In 10 starts since February, the world No. 1 doesn’t have a single result better than a T-10.
22. Shane Lowry
The defending champion enjoyed the spoils for an extra year, but it’s tough to envision him going back to back.
23. Matt Fitzpatrick
Fresh off a playoff loss at the Scottish, he’s obviously coming into this one with some solid form.
24. Collin Morikawa
One of the world’s best iron players, but a links golf neophyte who might struggle trying to figure it out.
25. Matt Wallace
If you’re looking for a player with triple-digit odds and at least the potential to win, this could be your guy.
26. Victor Perez
27. Cameron Smith
28. Martin Kaymer
29. Daniel Berger
30. Justin Rose
Which Rose will show up: The one who was top-10 at the first two majors of the year or the one who badly MC’d at the most recent?
31. Matt Kuchar
32. Guido Migliozzi
33. Ryan Palmer
34. Justin Harding
35. Patrick Reed
36. Danny Willett
37. Patrick Cantlay
38. Garrick Higgo
39. Adam Scott
40. Marcus Armitage
Very conceivable that this fun-loving Englishman could hang around this leaderboard for the first few days.
41. Alex Noren
42. Robert Macintyre
43. Gary Woodland
44. Abraham Ancer
45. Min Woo Lee
46. Webb Simpson
47. Talor Gooch
48. Lucas Herbert
49. Joaquin Niemann
50. Phil Mickelson
Can he do it again? He’ll need to have that 2-wood dialed in and his wedges close to perfect around these greens.
51. Bernd Wiesberger
52. Will Zalatoris
53. Tony Finau
54. Sam Burns
55. Stewart Cink
56. Sam Horsfield
57. Thomas Detry
58. Billy Horschel
59. Harris English
60. Padraig Harrington
He might be Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, but the two-time Open champ can still play, as evidenced by his T-4 at Kiawah.
61. Matt Jones
62. John Catlin
63. Russell Henley
64. Francesco Molinari
65. Bryson DeChambeau
66. Andy Sullivan
67. Rikuya Hoshino
68. Ryan Fox
69. Kevin Kisner
70. Lucas Glover
Fresh off his first victory in more than a decade, Glover should feel like he’s playing with house money this week.
71. Brendon Todd
72. Emiliano Grillo
73. Takumi Kanaya
74. Paul Casey
75. Jason Kokrak
76. Max Homa
77. Jack Senior
78. Henrik Stenson
79. Kevin Streelman
80. Richard Bland
A media darling for two days at Torrey Pines, the 48-year-old should be more in his element at this one.
81. Kurt Kitayama
82. C.T. Pan
83. Brian Harman
84. Adam Hadwin
85. Aaron Rai
86. Chez Reavie
87. Johannes Veerman
88. Keegan Bradley
89. Antoine Rozner
90. Sebastian Munoz
The 54-hole leader at last week’s John Deere should enter this event with at least some level of confidence.
91. Dean Burmester
92. Jorge Campillo
93. Brandt Snedeker
94. Erik Van Rooyen
95. Chris Kirk
96. Romain Langasque
97. Charley Hoffman
98. Dylan Frittelli
99. Matthias Schwab
100. Matthias Schmid
If you don’t know your Matthias Schwabs from your Matthias Schmids, then you’d better start doing some more research.
101. Cameron Tringale
102. Brendan Steele
103. Harold Varner III
104. Chan Kim
105. Carlos Ortiz
106. Michael Lorenzo-Vera
107. Joel Dahmen
108. Rafa Cabrera Bello
109. Lanto Griffin
110. Darren Clarke
Ten years ago, Clarke was a surprise winner at Royal St. Georges, cashing all 150/1 outright tickets.
111. Joost Luiten
112. Mackenzie Hughes
113. Marcel Siem
114. Paul Waring
115. Ryosuke Kinoshita
116. Benjamin Hebert
117. Shaun Norris
118. Brad Kennedy
119. Jason Scrivener
120. Jazz Janewattananond
New rule: If you walk up to the betting window and spell his name correctly without looking, you get a free bet.
121. Keith Mitchell
122. Troy Merritt
123. Byeong Hun An
124. Adam Long
125. Joe Long
126. Rikard Karlberg
127. Jimmy Walker
128. Cole Hammer
129. Daniel Van Tonder
130. Ernie Els
It doesn’t feel like so long ago that Els’ name would’ve been close to the top of one of these pre-tourney rankings.
131. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
132. Jaco Ahlers
133. Marcus Kinhult
134. Aaron Pike
135. Daniel Hillier
136. J.C. Ritchie
137. Haotong Li
138. Richard Mansell
139. Abel Gallegos
140. Jon Thomson
If you’ve never seen a 6-foot-9 professional golfer, well, keep an eye on this guy during the week.
141. Yuxin Lin
142. Richard T. Lee
143. Yuki Inamori
144. Laird Shepherd
145. Christoffer Bring
146. Marcel Schneider
147. Ryutaro Nagano
148. Daniel Croft
149. Sam Bairstow
150. Ricardo Celia
151. Poom Saksanin
152. Deyen Lawson
153. Ben Hutchinson
154. Nicholas Poppleton
155. Sam Forgan
156. Connor Wordsall
Depending on the book, you can either find Poppleton or Forgan or Wordsall, each of whom compete on the EuroPro Tour, with the highest odds for this week. If you think one of ‘em can be the next Ben Curtis, this could be a very profitable week for you.
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