The 147th Open Championship | 2018 Preview

The 2018 Open Championship gets underway at Carnoustie Golf Links in Carnoustie, Scotland, beginning with the first tee time on Thursday, July 19th at 1:35 am Eastern Time. The 147th Open Championship is the world’s oldest golf championship, and this is the eighth time it will be played at Carnoustie. Jordan Spieth is the defending champion, winning last year at Royal Birkdale with a score of 12-under par 268 with a furious rally after losing the lead.

Photo Courtesy of Carnoustie Golf Links

Top Contenders

World Ranking Top 15

Dustin Johnson – 2016 U.S. Open Champion: And still the number one player in the world, Johnson must recover from his loss at last month’s U.S. Open where he held at least a share of the lead over the first three rounds. His 70 on Sunday was a good round but the 77 that he shot on Saturday had brought him back to the field. 2016 U.S. Open Champion
Justin Thomas – 2017 PGA Champion: And Fedex Cup winner, Thomas is an explosive player capable of going low at any time. He is the youngest player to ever shoot a 59 on the PGA Tour and in 2017 he shot a 63 in the third round of the U.S. Open.
Brooks Koepka – 2017 and 2018 U.S. Open champion: Koepka has shown he can win championships under different conditions. His play on the weekend at Shinnecock Hills was stellar, with a 72 in the worst of the wind on Saturday that put him in a tie for lead, and then a 68 in the final round that clinched the victory.
Justin Rose – 2013 U.S. Open champion: And has played well in both majors this year with a T12 at the Masters and a T10 at the U.S. Open. His accuracy could serve him well here, as shown by his T12 finish here in 2007, the last time The Open was held at Carnoustie. Rose has multiple top tens in all the majors.
Jon Rahm: Will be playing in just his third Open Championship, making the cut in both attempts, including once as an amateur. His best finish in The Open is a T44.
Jordan Spieth – 2015 Masters, 2015 U.S. Open, and 2017 Open Champion: Spieth has not putted well this year. Usually a strength for Spieth, he must find his old form on the greens to have a chance.
Rickie Fowler: A solid overall player, Fowler plays well in the majors, with at least two top fives in all four. He has only missed the cut once in eight attempts at the Open Championship. Fowler is considered by many to be the current “best player without a major.”
Rory McIlroy – 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 PGA, 2014 Open, and 2014 PGA Champion: McIlroy can catch fire and blow a field away when he is on his game. He finished as Low Amateur in The Open at Carnoustie in 2007.
Jason Day – 2015 PGA Champion: Day is another player capable of winning at any time. A long hitter with a great short game and good putting, he must put his ball in play to have a chance.
Tommy Fleetwood: Has really come on since the beginning of 2017 with three wins on the European tour and playing the weekend in five straight majors after missing the cut in six of his first seven majors. His 63 in the final round of the 2018 U.S. Open last month at Shinnecock Hills could be one of the best rounds of all time, certainly one of the best I have seen in my forty-plus years of following golf. Oh, by the way, he just happens to hold the course record at Carnoustie, also with a 63, although, not during The Open.
Alex Noren: With ten wins on the European Tour and one on the PGA Tour, Noren is a solid player. Although he doesn’t have a great record in the majors, Noren does have two top tens in The Open Championship.
Patrick Reed – 2018 Masters Champion: Reed played well in last month’s U.S. Open at Shinnecock, with his 4th place finish there giving him three consecutive top four finishes in the majors. Reed is also noted for his strong performances in the 2014 and 2016 Ryder Cup, being one of the few bright spots in 2014 in his first appearance, and one of the key players in the U.S. team regaining the Cup in 2016.
Bubba Watson – 2012 and 2014 Masters Champion: Has played well this year, winning three times on the PGA Tour and moving up from 89th in the Official World Golf Ranking. If he can curve his way around and through Carnoustie’s many hazards, Watson could have a chance. He has made the cut in The Open Championship five times in nine attempts and his best finish is a tie for 23rd.
Paul Casey: Has been playing well lately and got a win on the PGA Tour back in March. With thirteen European Tour wins, two PGA Tour wins, and nine top tens in the majors, Casey could be Europe’s “best player without a major.” Unless it’s the next player on the list…
Francesco Molinari: Has also had a resurgence in his career after a fast start nearly a decade ago. After winning the BMW PGA Championship on the European Tour at the end of May, Molinari won the Quicken Loans National on the PGA Tour one month later.

Other Favorites

20. Phil Mickelson – 5 major championships: And his last one came in The Open Championship in 2013 at Muirfield. Mickelson has played well at times this year, and is putting very well, but has shown moments where he seems to have his focus.

71. Tiger Woods – 14 major championships: Although his last one came in 2008 in the epic duel with Rocco Mediate. Woods has shown good form this year coming back from all his injuries, but he must control his tee shots to compete here.

There are also many players just outside the top 15 that are either solid veterans with major credentials like number 17 Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia at 19 and Webb Simpson at 21, or players moving up the list with great play like number 22 Bryson Dechambeau, Ian Poulter, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Tony Finau, who hold the spots at 29, 30 and 31.

It’s pretty hard to pick a favorite in this year’s Open Championship; Carnoustie will favor neither the long hitters nor the great putters. As it’s list of Open Champions will attest, Carnoustie has a way of picking the best player who is playing the best, with the exception of 1999, when it gave us one of the greatest stories instead. I doubt anyone who watched Jean Van de Velde play the 18th hole that year will ever forget it.

I like Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler to play well, with Tommy Fleetwood as a dark horse. I expect Dustin Johnson to recover well from his U.S. Open defeat, with Patrick Reed and Francesco Molinari likely in the mix. But do not be surprised to see someone from outside the top 50 to be giving the big names a run.

Carnoustie Course Overview

Video Coutesy of Golfing World

Carnoustie will play firm and fast this year, and players will need to watch out for balls rolling out further than intended. A shot that seems perfect could roll into the rough or even worse, a bunker or the Barry Burn which winds its way around and through the course. Shots approaching the green should be played short to allow for roll out and to the wider part of the green when the pin is guarded by a bunker.

Carnoustie History

According to records, golf has been played at Carnoustie since the early 16th century. A course of ten holes was designed and layed out by Allan Robertson, who was assisted by Old Tom Morris, in 1842. The course was completely restructured and extended to 18 holes by Old Tom Morris in 1867. James Braid made modifications in 1926 and some major modifications took place prior to the 1999 Open Championship, with all bunkers rebuilt, bunkers added or eliminated, and green complexes expanded and enhanced, though the routing remained the same.

Carnoustie’s Open Championship History

1931 Open Championship

Carnoustie first hosted The 66th Open Championship, when Tommy Armour, who was born in Scotland, came from 5 strokes behind to win his third major. Armour equaled the course record at Carnoustie with a 71 in the final round, leaving him at 296 for the championship.

1937 Open Championship

Henry Cotton won his second Open in The 72nd Open Championship at Carnoustie, over a field that included the entire American Ryder Cup team that had just won at Southport. Cotton’s 71 in the final round, under extreme conditions with a constant cold rain that nearly flooded the course, was considered one of the best rounds to win a major championship at the time.

1953 Open Championship

Ben Hogan won his third major of the year at Carnoustie in The 82nd Open Championship during his great year of 1953. Hogan played in six tournaments that year, winning five, including The Masters and the U.S. Open prior to his one and only attempt at The Open Championship. He shot 73-71-70-68 for 282 and a four stroke victory over the great Peter Thompson, who would win The Open five times, amateur Frank Stranahan and two others, and is one of only four Open Champions to better there score each round. Hogan birdied the 6th hole in both rounds on the final day, threading his tee shot between bunkers on the right and out of bounds on the left, givng rise to the name “Hogan’s Alley” for that area of the fairway and the hole itself.

1968 Open Championship

Gary Player won The 97th Open Championship at Carnoustie for his second Open Championship and his fifth major championship. Player shot 74-71-71-73 for 288 and won by two strokes over Jack Nicklaus and Bob Charles, both Open Champions themselves. Eagles at the 14th hole in the last two rounds, including a three wood to two feet in the final round, propelled Player to victory.

1975 Open Championship

Tom Watson won the first of his five Open Championships at Carnoustie in the 104th Open Championship, which was his Open debut. Watson defeated Jack Newton in a 36 hole playoff, shooting a 71 to Newton’s 72 after the two men had tied at 11-under par after 72 holes. The course record was broken multiple times under the benign conditions of the first three days, settling on Newton’s 65 in the third round.

1999 Open Championship

The Open returned to Carnoustie for the 128th Open Championship and the course proved extremely difficult for the best golfers in the world and produced some of the most compelling moments in golf history. Jean Van de Velde took a five shot lead into the final round, and led by three going to the last hole. Over the next 30 minutes, golf fans were glued to their screen as the drama unfolded. Van de Velde used a driver and hit it way right, crossing the burn (creek) and onto a small peninsula that poked out into the curve of the burn.

His next shot carried the burn short of the green, but struck the spectator bleachers and caromed back short of the burn into the heavy rough. For his third, Van de Velde hit the shot that really hurt, the rough grabbing his club and the ball going into the burn. Part of the ball was above the water line, and Van de Velde contemplated playing from the burn, even to the point of removing his shoes and socks and climbing down into the burn and getting a look at the shot. And you just couldn’t take your eyes off the scene.

Eventually, Van de Velde chose to take a penalty shot and took a drop, still in the heavy rough short of the burn, now laying four. He hit his fifth and it came up short of the green into a bunker, his sixth made it up onto the green and then Van de Velde miracuously holed the putt for a triple bogey 7 that dropped him into a playoff with Paul Lawrie, a Scot, and Justin Leonard.

Lawrie, who came from ten shots off the lead with a 67, won the four hole playoff by three strokes, birdieing both the 17th and 18th holes. His 67 was two strokes better than the next best round of the day and one of only four under 70. Lawrie is the only player to have won The Open at Carnoustie as a one time major champion.

2007 Open Championship

Padraig Harrington came from six strokes behind to win the first of his two consecutive Open titles in The 136th Open Championship at Carnoustie, where he defeated Sergio Garcia in a playoff.

Carnoustie Scorecard

Hole   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   Out
Par    4   4   4   4   4   5   4   3   4   36
Yards 396 461 350 415 412 580 410 187 474 3685
Hole  10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18   In  Total
Par    4   4   4   3   5   4   3   4   4   35   71
Yards 465 382 503 175 513 472 248 460 499 3717 7402

Hole-by-Hole Description

1st Hole (Cup) Par 4 396 yards

The first hole at Carnoustie can lull you into a false sense of security as the drive is played to a wide fairway which slopes from left to right. But, the second shot is one of the few blind shots at Carnoustie and judging the distance can be difficult. Out of bounds runs up the left side of the hole off the tee but the fairway bends to the right.

2nd Hole (Gulley) Par 4 461 yards

Bunkers guard this fairway on both sides and the fairway also narrows considerably the further you go. Another series of bunkers control the approach and will be a danger to anyone missing the fairway. The green stretches almost 60 yards from front to back, and controlling the distance is critical, or a player could find themselves with putt of over 100 feet.

3rd Hole (Jockie’s Burn) Par 4 350 yards

The third hole is a short par 4 with trouble lurking everywhere. There are two bunkers strategically placed in the middle of the fairway that could catch a wayward layup. Another bunker further up in the right center of the fairway could catch a player trying to drive it up close to the burn which fronts the green. Under the fast conditions, the burn will be a hazard on both the tee shot and the approach.