Out of the Rough: The Open Championship (2025)

The 153rd edition of the World’s longest standing golf tournament, The Open Championship, is upon us.

This nomadic event, although always held at a links style course, will take to Royal Portrush for just the third time in the event’s history.

We last saw the venue in 2019, when Shane Lowry dominated the field, winning by six strokes over second place Tommy Fleetwood.

Royal Portrush first held The Open Championship in 1951 when Max Falkner claimed victory. We had to wait 68 years for the second playing of Royal Portrush as the host of The Open Championship.

Come this time next week, the Champion Golfer of the Year will be crowned.

The Field

Lowry won the last edition of The Open Championship to be held at Royal Portrush back in 2019. He’ll be back this week in hopes of breaking through, and claiming his second Champion Golfer of the Year title.

Xander Schauffele comes in as the defending champion, having wade the storm (both figuratively and literally) last year to win by two-strokes over both Justin Rose and Billy Horschel at Royal Troon Golf Club.

Rory McIlroy comes in with a bit of a home-town chip on his shoulder, having grown up nearly an hour south of Royal Portrush. He, of course, completed the career grand slam back in April, claiming the Masters Tournament to become just the sixth golfer in history to do so.

Scottie Scheffler looks to add to his already storied career as the World No. 1 is undoubtedly the favorite to win it all this week. A win this week would suddenly put Scheffler just the U.S. Open shy of the career grand slam.

Other notable golfers in this week's field from the PGA Tour include Fleetwood, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre, Collin Morikawa, Matt Fitzpatrick, Sepp Straka, Adam Scott and Rose.

LIV Golf will be represented by 17 golfers this week, including past champions Cameron Smith (2022,) Phil Mickelson (2013) and Louis Oosthuizen (2010.)

Other notable LIV golfers include Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann, Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed.

Other former champions teeing it up this week include Brian Harman (2023,) Morikawa (2021,) Francesco Molinari (2018,) Jordan Spieth (2017,) Henrik Stenson (2016,) Zach Johnson (2015,) McIlroy (2014,) Ernie Els (2012 & 2002,) Darren Clarke (2011,) Stewart Cink (2009,) Padraig Harrington (2008 & 2007) & Justin Leonard (1997.) 

The Course

Royal Portrush plays as a par-71 at 7,344 yards.

This historic venue was established in 1888 by Old Tom Morris. It was then recreated in 1932 by Harry Colt.

The Dunluce Course, which will be put on display this week, is described as a ‘masterpiece’ and of ‘genius design.’

In order to host the 2019 edition of The Open Championship, the old 17th and 18th holes were removed to make way for the spectator village.

The former 18th hole was known as a weak finishing hole and the easiest hole on the entire golf course. The course was known for having 17 world class holes and the 18th hole.

From there, room was found on the outskirts of the Valley Course for two brand new holes to be built.

The new 17th and 18th holes were designed by Martin Ebert and will be played as the seventh and eighth holes this week. 

The old 17th hole did feature a bunker known as ‘Big Nellie’ which inspired the addition of a newer version on the seventh hole.

Royal Portrush is not your typical links course that plays out-and-back. Every hole seems to play in a different direction.

The sand dunes make it very difficult on golfers to gauge and adjust for wind as well.

Off-the-tee, there is an emphasis this week on hitting it straight, more so than other links style courses. Bunkers are littered throughout as well as tall fescue grass.

Additionally, take a look at the first hole, which featured out-of-bounds stakes on both sides of the fairways. A nervy way to start your The Open Championship round, that is for sure. 

Approach play is much more important at Royal Portrush opposed to other links layouts as well.

Many of the greens and green complexes feature false fronts and runoffs, which will make getting up-and-down very challenging.

Around-the-green play of course will be important this week, but will come in a much more drastic nature than other links layouts.

At Portrush, you might be five feet below the green, trying to save par.

Scoring, of course depending on the weather, can go either way. Elite ball strikers who can stay in the fairway and place the ball correctly can go low in a hurry, but one errant tee-shot or leaving an approach-shot in below the green, a big number can be posted in a hurry.

The Weather

As should be the case for links golf and The Open Championship, we can expect some rain this week. As of the time of writing this, Thursday currently calls for a 45-percent chance of precipitation, Friday a 50-percent chance, Saturday a 45-percent chance and Sunday a 25-percent chance. Winds will be at the highest on Thursday at 13 miles-per-hour before dipping to seven miles-per-hour across Friday and Saturday and returning to 11 miles-per-hour on Sunday. Temperatures are currently set at 66-degrees across all four days.

Key Stats

• Strokes Gained: Approach (SG: APP)

• Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (SG: OTT)

• Total Driving (70-percent Driving Accuracy / 30-percent Average Driving Distance)

• Ball Striking

• Strokes Gained: Around the Green (SG: ATG)

• Strokes Gained: Putting on Bentgrass (SG: PUTT Bentgrass)

• Scrambling

• Sand Saves Percentage

• Proximity to the hole from 150-200 Yards

• Three Putt Avoidance

• Bounce Back

DFS Suggestions

$10,000+

With just four golfers in this price range, I’m opting for just one suggestion. Again, you can go with any of the four guys in this price range. Scottie Scheffler ($14,200) comes with a hefty price but you can construct a lineup around him. It will be tough, but not impossible. Instead, I’m going with Jon Rahm ($10,400.) He’s fresh off a second place finish at last week’s LIV Golf Andalucia. Prior to that he placed 11th in Dallas, eighth in Virginia, seventh in Korea, fourth in Mexico, ninth in Miami, fifth in Singapore, sixth in Hong Kong, sixth in Adelaide and second in Riyadh. Across the prior three majors this season, he placed seventh at the U.S. Open, eighth at the PGA Championship and 14th at the Masters Tournament. He placed seventh at The Open Championship last season, second in 2023, 34th in 2022, third in 2021 and 11th at this venue in 2019. He’s currently first on LIV in greens in regulation percentage, second in birdies, third in scrambling, seventh in driving accuracy, 19th in hit fairway percentage and 25th in putting average. He’s also on my betting card at +1400.

$9,000-$9,900

First up in this price range is Robert MacIntyre ($9,000.) MacIntyre is currently 16th on Tour in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 26th in SG: APP, 28th in proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards, 36th in SG: OTT, 37th in sand saves percentage, 50th in ball striking, 63rd in total driving, 71st in SG: ATG, 79th in scrambling, 90th in bounce back and 125th in three-putt avoidance. He most recently placed 65th last week at the Genesis Scottish Open. Prior to that he placed 17th at the Travelers Championship, second at the U.S. Open, 36th at the RBC Canadian Open, 20th at the Memorial Tournament and sixth at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He placed 50th at The Open Championship last season, 71st in 2023, 34th in 2022, eighth in 2021 and sixth at this venue in 2019. Also consider Shane Lowry ($9,300.) Lowry, of course, won The Open Championship last time it was at Royal Portrush in 2019. He also placed sixth at The Open Championship last season, missed the cut in 2023, 21st in 2022 and 12th in 2021. He last played the Travelers Championship where he placed 45th and missed the cut at the U.S. Open. He placed 13th at the RBC Canadian Open, 23rd at the Memorial Tournament, missed the cut at the PGA Championship and second at the Truist Championship. Lowry is currently third on Tour in SG: APP, 11th in proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards, 42nd in total driving, 47th in scrambling, 56th in ball striking, 60th in SG: OTT, 63rd in three-putt avoidance, 73rd in SG: ATG, 89th in sand saves percentage, 98th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass and 171st in bounce back. 

$8,000-$8,900

Leading off this price range is Viktor Hovland ($8,300.) Hovland placed 11th last week at the Genesis Scottish Open and prior to that placed third at the U.S. Open, 25th at the Memorial Tournament, 28th at the PGA Championship, 54th at the Truist Championship, 13th at the RBC Heritage, 21st at the Masters Tournament and won the Valspar Championship. He missed the cut at The Open Championship last season but prior to that placed 13th in 2023, fourth in 2022 and 12th in 2021. He is currently first on Tour in proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards, second in SG: APP, 33rd in ball striking, 52nd in total driving, 77th in bounce back, 80th in SG: OTT, 81st in both SG: PUTT Bentgrass and sand saves, 134th in SG: ATG, 141st in scrambling and 151st in three-putt avoidance. He is also on my betting card at +3000. Also consider Patrick Cantlay ($8,100.) Cantlay last played the Rocket Classic where he placed 32nd. He also placed 12th at the Travelers championship, missed the cut at the U.S. Open, 12th at the Memorial Tournament, missed the cut at the PGA Championship, fourth at the Truist Championship and 13th at the RBC Heritage. He placed 25th at The Open Championship a season ago, 33rd in 2023, eighth in 2022, missed the cut in 2021 and 41st in 2019. He is currently 13th on Tour in SG: APP, 18th in proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards, 22nd in ball striking, 30th in SG: OTT, 44th in three-putt avoidance, 58th in SG: ATG, 63rd in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 67th in bounce back, 78th in total driving, 104th in sand saves percentage and 118th in scrambling. Also consider Collin Morikawa ($8,700.) Morikawa missed the cut last week at the Genesis Scottish Open. Prior to that he placed eighth at the Rocket Classic, 42nd at the Travelers Championship, 23rd at the U.S. Open, 20th at the Memorial Tournament, 50th at the PGA Championship and 17th at the Truist Championship. He placed 16th last season at The Open Championship, missed the cut in both 2023 and 2022 but won in 2021. He is currently sixth on Tour in SG: APP, eighth in total driving, 11th in SG: OTT, 17th in proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards, 24th in ball striking, 88th in SG: ATG, 89th in bounce back, 112th in scrambling, 117th in sand saves percentage, 123rd in SG: PUTT Bentgrass and 136th in three-putt avoidance. 

$7,000-$7,900

First up in this price range is Russell Henley ($7,900.) Henley placed fifth last season at The Open Championship. He missed the cut in 2023, placed 62nd in 2022 and missed the cut in 2021. He last played the Truist Championship where he finished second. He also placed tenth at the U.S. Open and fifth at the Memorial Tournament across his last three starts. He is currently sixth on Tour in SG: ATG, 16th in SG: APP, 39th in proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards, 40th in total driving, 48th in sand saves percentage, 54th in both ball striking and scrambling, 69th in bounce back, 82nd in three-putt avoidance, 114th in SG: OTT and 143rd in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. He is also on my betting card at +6500. Also consider Ben Griffin ($7,300.) Griffin has played The Open Championship twice previously, missing the cut in both 2024 and 2023 but is currently playing the best golf of his career by a large margin. He last played the John Deere Classic where he missed the cut but prior to that he placed 13th at the Rocket Classic, 14th at the Travelers Championship, tenth at the U.S. Open, second at the Memorial Tournament, won the Charles Schwab Challenge and placed eighth at the PGA Championship. He is currently 30th on Tour in both SG: APP and ball striking, 35th in sand saves percentage, 43rd in SG: ATG, 44th in SG: OTT, 48th in three-putt avoidance, 70th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 72nd in scrambling, 82nd in total driving, 84th in bounce back and 109th in proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards. Also consider Patrick Reed ($7,400.) Reed placed 23rd at the U.S. Open, missed the cut at the PGA Championship and placed third at the Masters Tournament across the first three majors of the season. He didn’t play in The Open Championship a season ago but placed 33rd in 2023, 47th in 2022, missed the cut in 2021 and was tenth here at Royal Portrush in 2019. He placed tenth last week at LIV Golf Andalucia. He also won in Dallas, placed 23rd in Virginia, fourth in Korea, 17th in Mexico, seventh in Miami, 25th in Singapore and tenth in Hong Kong. He is currently fourth on LIV in scrambling, 15th in greens in regulation percentage, 18th in putting average, 27th in average driving distance, 31st in birdies and 32nd in driving accuracy.

$6,000-$6,900

Keegan Bradley ($6,700) is my first play in this price range. He is currently eighth on Tour in SG: ATG, 25th in both total driving and bounce back, 26th in SG: OTT, 27th in all three of SG: PUTT Bentgrass, proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards and three-putt avoidance, 33rd in SG: APP, 36th in ball striking, 79th in scrambling and 85th in sand saves percentage. He last played the Rocket Classic where he placed 41st. Prior to that he won the Travelers Championship, placed 33rd at the U.S. Open, seventh at the Memorial Tournament and eighth at the PGA Championship. His history at The Open Championship is not great however, having missed the cut each of the past five seasons. He is also on my betting card at +12500. Also consider Tom McKibbin ($6,300.) Like McIlroy, this is a bit of a home-game for McKibbin as he grew up a little over an hour south of Royal Portrush. He most recently placed fourth last week’s LIV Golf Andalucia. Prior to that he placed fifth in Dallas. He also placed 50th at the PGA Championship thi season. He placed 66th at The Open Championship last season. He is currently sixth on LIV in average driving distance, eighth in greens in regulation percentage, tenth in scrambling, 20th in driving accuracy, 34th in birdies and 46th in putting average. Also consider Dean Burmester ($6,600.) Burmester has been rather good at The Open Championship as of late. He placed 19th a season ago, 11th in 2022 and 40th in 2021. He placed 51st last week at LIV Golf Andalucia but prior to that placed 18th in Dallas, 23rd in Virginia, 13th in Korea, 26th in Mexico and 14th in Miami. He did play the PGA Championship this season where he missed the cut. He is currently third on LIV in average driving distance, ninth in birdies, 13th in putting average, 20th in greens in regulation percentage, 43rd in scrambling and 46th in hit fairway percentage.

$5,900-

During majors, we get this unique price range and I love it. First up we have Jordan Smith ($5,900.) He placed 22nd last week at the Genesis Scottish Open. Prior to that he placed second at the BMW International Open, 28th at the Italian Open, missed the cut at the Alpine Austrian Open, fourth at the Soudal Open, seventh at the Turkish Airlines Open and second at the Volvo China Open. He made the cut at the U.S. Open as well. He’s played The Open Championship each of the past three seasons where he missed the cut in 2024, placed 41st in 2023 and 47th in 2022. On the DP World Tour he is currently first in both total driving and ball striking, tenth in SG: OTT, 16th in sand saves percentage, 17th in three-putt avoidance, 26th in scrambling, 44th in SG: APP, 52nd in SG: ATG and 53rd in SG: PUTT. Also consider Kevin Yu ($5,800.) He placed 34th at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open and prior to that placed 21st at the John Deere Classic, 25th at the Travelers Championship and third at the RBC Canadian Open. He’ll be making his The Open Championship debut this week. He is currently fifth on Tour in ball striking, seventh in SG: OTT, 19th in proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards, 22nd in total driving, 32nd in SG: APP, 49th in bounce back, 63rd in three-putt avoidance, 109th in sand saves percentage, 139th in SG: ATG, 147th in scrambling and 149th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass. Also consider Adrien Saddier ($5,200.) Saddier missed the cut last week at the Genesis Scottish Open but placed 46th at the BMW International Open, won the Italian Open, missed the cut at the Alpine Austrian Open, 56th at the Turkish Airlines Open, fifth at the Hero Indian Open, third at the Porsche Singapore Classic, 19th at the Joburg Open and seventh at the Magical Kenya Open. He too will be making his The Open Championship debut this week. On the DP World Tour he is currently tenth in sand saves percentage, 14th in total driving, 17th in three-putt avoidance, 24th in ball striking, 39th in both SG: APP and SG: OTT, 44th in SG: ATG, 45th in SG: PUTT and 75th in scrambling. 

Betting Card

• Jon Rahm (+1400)

• Viktor Hovland (+3000)

• Russell Henley (+6500)

• Corey Conners (+8000)

• Keegan Bradley (+12500)

• Davis Thompson (+25000)

Corey Conners (+8000)

Conners is currently 16th on Tour in SG: OTT, 19th in total driving, 24th in proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards, 28th in ball striking, 52nd in SG: APP, 54th in bounce back, 68th in scrambling, 99th in sand saves percentage, 103rd in SG: PUTT Bentgrass, 119th in SG: ATG and 139th in three-putt avoidance. He placed 47th at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open. Prior to that he placed 27th at the RBC Canadian Open, 25th at the Memorial Tournament, 19th at the PGA Championship and 11th at the Truist Championship. He placed 25th at The Open Championship last season, 52nd in 2023, 28th in 2022 and 15th in 2021. He missed the cut in 2019. 

Davis Thompson (+25000)

Thompson is currently ninth on Tour in both total driving and proximity to the hole from 150-200 yards, 14th in ball striking, 15th in bounce back, 21st in SG: OTT, 37th in SG: ATG, 79th in SG: APP, 115th in sand saves percentage, 137th in scrambling, 146th in SG: PUTT Bentgrass and 153rd in three-putt avoidance. He placed 18th in his last outing at the John Deere Classic, 34th at the Rocket Classic and 25th at the Travelers Championship. He made the cut at The Open Championship last season.