British Open 2018, Predictions: Can Tiger Woods win at Carnoustie?

The Open Championship is the oldest major golf course and is often the most unpredictable. A link setup can bring all kinds of players and styles into conflict. Time can also hurry and quickly erase the chances of a favorite if it has anything to do with it or not. This year's British Open arrives at Carnoustie, the most challenging course of the rotation. The Scottish links are cooked after almost no rain for a month, which will lead to a variety of strategies with perhaps unpredictable results. Nevertheless, we continue with a set of fun predictions and themes to watch for this week.

Who is your choice of black horse to win or fight in the Sunday stretch? ( ideally rating of 60/1 or more )

Brendan : It is difficult to call Lee Westwood, perhaps the greatest player to n '# 39; have never won a major, a sleeper. But Westy is 80/1 and has not really turned regularly as a pro this season. He has six starts in Euro Tour and half of them have arrived in the last three weeks leading to the Open. This is his first big of the year. He is a darkhorse. He knows how to play golf and this place, in particular. He seemed proficient, even competitive, for a few days at a time the Irish and the Scottish opened the last two weeks. Of course, nostalgia influences that, but I would not do it here if I did not think it was possible

Kyle: Ah, yes, I'm hooking on the last vestiges of Westy . Certainly not sad at all, and sure to disappoint. It's time to take a new name from the islands

I'm going to ride with Roo Knox as a real possibility as a winner in the far right. He just won a very good win in Ireland and never had the merit of the quality of player that he is. I have it in the top-15 of my field rankings for a reason, so I'm not even sure that he qualifies as a black horse. It really should not

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Y does he have a first big winner this week? How about a super-random long shot (like Todd Hamilton)?

Kyle: The hell of never winning a major, why never win an event? Ryan Fox (100-1) and Jorge Campillo (250-1) are two names to watch for, even if they have accumulated a total of zero wins in PGA Tour or European Tour between them. Fox is on the rise in the last two weeks in Scotland and Ireland with finals in the top 6, and Campillo is as regular as anyone on the Euro Tour this year – seven of the top ten places in sixteen starts. He is a reliable competitor that you see week after week if you wake up for Sunday morning coffee. He is also a former player from Indiana and has played his training round with fellow Sergio, so very over-scored for me.

Brendan : Jordan Smith is No. 129 in the world so he's not a random player, but 500/1 is a longshot. The big English hitter could be a cop game at the bottom of the board. Most will go Rickie but I think another English guy is the best bet for the first winner prediction: Tommy Fleetwood. He is obviously a world class player who has shown his best things in the biggest events.

Who is a big name, or maybe a few if you feel naughty, you expect to bomb early and never challenge Carnoustie?

Brendan : I know that he has a player of the year, but I will never ride with Bubba at the British Open. I also think that Rory McIlroy could miss his second consecutive major championship cup. It's so hard to say with him and he can go so fast one way or another these times, depending on whether he starts to rock with the putter.

Kyle: I am online about both of these things. Bubba plays golf, but he is just wondering if he will seriously threaten any of them. Rory gives me a break if he can control things on the tee on this golf course. One more for good measure: Justin Thomas worries me this week. JT hits it loud and clear, and I think golf is developing a few years later for American players. It may be that there are only a few years left to find solutions here, even though a good performance on challenging terrain of The National Golf was positive, if not completely complicated.

Photo by Francois Nel / Getty Images

Is the British Open the best of men? Is it British Open, Open, Open Championship or who cares?

Kyle: It's really good, but it's not the best – like the United States resident here. I've also written this before, which is, well, something that I regret a little bit. All that is important to remember, is that the Masters are the worst, you have to go.

Brendan : I do not care what you call that. I am not offended by the insistence of R & A that you call this one thing and not the other. Call them all, be deferential if that's your thing, whatever. I also think it's the best male championship and I've written a lot of words over the years. Here are a few.

Rickie is the trendiest choice and he is back this week. Does this make sense?

Kyle: Here's where I remind you that Rickie Fowler has as many wins as Chris Kirk on the PGA Tour.

Well, well, it's a bit misleading. But I do not completely understand this one, I admit. Yes, Rickie ended well at the Scottish Open, but there were a lot of others! It's as if we were still in the glow of his victory there are literally three years.

I guess that makes sense, if you buy the idea that a better traj is the way to play this week – Rickie is not one to hit the ball six million miles in the stratosphere, the golf links do not seem well set up for him. But, man, Carnoustie is a different animal. It just seems like a random thing that we all locked because we want that to happen.

Brendan : I think Rickie would win a major, and this specific major, would be the best non-Tiger story at this point. He has clearly embraced Scottish golf and this major championship and I think it's often the reason he's such a trendy choice – that and the belief that he just has to come at some point if you keep knocking on the door.

Amid ads for mortgages, cars and insurance, I often forget the fact that Rickie is just a very nice guy who comes from a fascinating atypical background. He did it alone without all the luxuries he now enjoys. It is worth being rooted and I hope he will have it this week.

Photo of Stuart Franklin / Getty Images

What strange penalty did Phil Mickelson take this week? Where does it end?

Brendan : It does not appear that there is a "bad" side of the draw this week. I think it's often where Phil is eliminated from this championship at this stage of his career. He understood this style of golf and I would be surprised if he missed the cut. That said, I think it was way too erratic this summer to fight. We will avoid a third strange rule violation in his last four events en route to an arrival around 25.

Kyle: We've never talked about it before, I swear, I'm just I'll quote myself from rank:

Phil will probably do something stupid, and finish T-26.

I'm going to take "hit a ball in a dark object and argue about it for hours" this week. A mere 4/10 on Phil's scale. I'm glad we're lined up here at Dot Com Nation Sports Blog.

Who finishes highest among Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas?

Brendan : I think Justin Thomas is there late Sunday pushing for a second major victory. This is only his third Open and his record is disappointing, but I think I trust him the most out of this group right now. Hearing him discuss strategy and learn the shots for golf links over the years was inspiring and fascinating on Tuesday. He also has another monster year and is # 2 in the world. People really forget it!

Kyle: There is something about Jordan Spieth that I like about Carnoustie. I think it's a mental golf course and you have to be ready to really hit a few shots to get around. That's the type of setup where I could easily see it go to a T-3 finish or something. We will see. I'm not super big on the lot this week, but DJ and Spieth I like more than Rory and JT – which is rare for me.

There are a lot of whispers about this setting up pretty well for Tiger. What is the Big Cat going to do this week?

Brendan : I tweeted this earlier in the week but Tiger at 25/1 is one of the best values ​​I can remember for him. Even when his back was messy and he had no chance to compete, his odds were well below that. He comes to this Open playing the season as one of the 25 best players in the world. It's still a real competitive golfer.

It's not surprising, given his history and his creative spirit for golf links, that there's a serious wave of non-fanboy thinking that he's going to win this week. He admitted that it is the major that would suit him best for a win in the final stages of his career. We have seen this play over the last decade at the Open. Tiger is a very serious threat to win this week. I do not think he'll be doing well enough to beat a small handful of 156 field players who will finish in front of him.

Photo by Francois Nel / Getty Images

Kyle: I am in the man. I am all in it. I think Tiger can win this week. And I've been rather careful in saying that, especially among other majors.

Maybe that's the darts, I guess. I love the idea that he puts the pilot away and that he is able to carve this place and place the ball over the tee. I think it's the best major setup for him of the three since his return. I'm still not sure if I did, but I really think we'll have four days of real fighting with Tiger Woods. I think blood is really flowing for the first time in a few years on an important Sunday. I am about it

Who is your winner of the 147th Open

Brendan : Ben Hogan won at Carnoustie on his only trip to the British Open. The calendar was very different at the time and the trips were expensive, but they still stand out as a really badass movement.

Well, I'm going with another surly Texan who can not have a flock of friends in the press or on the tour: Patrick Reed (c & # It is probably here that Hogan comps begin and end). Reed said that he was a totally different player under pressure since winning the Masters. We saw it in Shinnecock. He took some tricks to connect golf over the years, embraced the Scottish Open, and became much more flexible and creative with his game. Reed could be a major championship killer now and I think, given his short game, things are queuing for him to fight and win his second major of the year.

Kyle: I'm just going to ignore that and go on, as I may be ignoring some of the warning signs in making that choice. I beat the drum for Sergio to win at Carnoustie since we put the last green jacket. A few days later, I am less sure of this choice.

Still, man, it's hard to deny his performance here and how much he dominated through about 60 holes compared to the rest of the pack. He seemed to take a turn at the French Open with a T-8, but he returned Zero Dark Thirty for a few weeks here. If you can fear the recession of the Masters at the US Open, you know, being a newborn father and all the lack of sleep that accompanies it – maybe that makes a little more sense.

My brain says Frank Molinari, after his crazy run in this event – and he really has most of the skills that made Sergio here in 2007.

But a man must have confidence in his heart. Let's get number two.