The 2011 British Open gets under way on July 13th at the Royal St. George’s Golf Club. The last time the Open Championship was held at this venue, back in 2003, a virtually unknown Ben Curtis took home the Claret Jug by shooting a final round 69, and was also aided by a 4-shot collapse by Thomas Bjorn.
This will be the second major of the year that will more than likely not feature Tiger Woods, and I think many people are just becoming used to it. Besides, we have Rory McIlroy now right? Last year, another virtually unknown golfer (to us in the states at least), Louis Oosthuizen made it his coming out party with his own runaway win, with a 7-shot victory over closest competitor Lee Westwood. The previous four majors have now all been won by a player in their 20’s. Will this be the fifth?
The Picks
The British Open is a tricky tournament to make picks. The field is filled with many players that are unfamiliar to us in the States, and a good amount of players from the PGA Tour don’t have much experience playing on links style courses or their games just aren’t suited to that style of play. Phil Mickelson is a perfect example of this. He has a very poor record in British Opens and his game just isn’t suited to that style of play. However, now that we are being treated to the large variety of extremely talented international players that have come on to the scene, it should help with making your Fantasy picks. For the A group Lee Westwood is a lock to start. He just seems to play his best golf in majors. Need proof? How about six top-three finishes in his last 11 starts in majors, which includes a T3 in this year’s U.S. Open.
Within the B group there are a lot of tough choices. Charl Schwartzel is proving his Masters victory was no fluke by finishing with a solid T9 after firing a final round 66. At the moment, Steve Stricker is probably the best player to have not won a major. Trying to play on a reduced schedule this year, it seems to be working for him, as was evident at his win at The Memorial. His putter has been on fire, and there’s probably no better wedge player in the game right now. Both will certainly help his cause at Royal St. George’s.
Rory McIlroy obviously gets the start in the C group. The kid lapped the field at Congressional, led the Masters for 3 rounds, and finished T3 in last year’s British. He’s going to be a threat in majors for years to come and you shouldn’t think twice about starting him. To back him up, Jason Day is a great choice. Another youngster who has notched runner-up finishes in the last two majors.
Starting Foursome: Lee Westwood, Charl Schwartzel, Steve Stricker, Rory McIlroy. On the Bench: Luke Donald, Ben Curtis, Retief Goosen and Jason Day.
You can follow Jeff’s weekly Fantasy Golf picks online each week at www.mynegm.com. Jeff also writes on his blog at www.goodwalkgolf.com and can be reached at Jeff@goodwalkgolf.com
About Jeff Palopoli
Web marketer, father, husband, and golf blogger continually searching for the golf game I used to have.
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