Featuring what is clearly the toughest course in all of major golf, the 147th Open Championship will be contested at Carnoustie this week for the first time since 2007. We've seen everything at this tremendous course: triple bogeys to lose, double bogeys to win, over par, under par and even par. We've seen Sergio Garcia cry. In case you happened to forget.
And what is particularly interesting is that this year's tournament is going to be even different than all the rest. A dry, fast course has golfers questioning how they're going to play this track and what the proper strategy is for attacking it. It remains to be seen whether parking lot conditions help or hurt scores, but they will certainly affect the type of golfer who plays well here.
Let's take a look at a few who we think are going to have great (or terrible) weeks. Head over here if you are looking for a full list of odds for the entire 2018 British Open field.
2018 British Open picks, predictions
Kyle Porter, golf writer
Winner -- Jordan Spieth (18-1):Â I know, I know. He only has four top 10s on the season and is ranked No. 175 in putting. But he's an all-timer, and all-timers always figure it out. I'm encouraged by the fact that he recently took a good chunk of time away from golf to clear his mind. If this turns into a brawl, maybe nobody in the game is tougher or better suited imaginatively to win a second straight Claret Jug.
Top 10 lock -- Marc Leishman (40-1):Â I wanted to pick him as my winner given his three top sixes in the last four Opens (including a playoff loss at St. Andrews in 2015), but I just couldn't do it. Still, his ball flight with long irons and recent success at Opens has me feeling good about his chances to mix it up once again at this tournament.
Sleeper -- Zach Johnson (80-1):Â The toughest course in the rota that has been shortened because of fast fairways and will require an imaginative short game. Yeah, I'll take a two-time major winner who won at St. Andrews and has one of the great wedge games of all time at 100-1.
Top 5 in order:Â Jordan Spieth, Marc Leishman, Rickie Fowler, Eddie Pepperell, Rory McIlroy
Bold prediction:Â Phil Mickelson shoots 80. I think yleis how the Summer of Phil ends -- with a missed cut and an 80 at the hardest Open course. It hasn't necessarily been a pretty last month, though it has been entertaining. An 80 here would cap it beautifully (or not so beautifully).
Lowest round:Â 65 (-6)
Winning score:Â 279 (-5) |Â Winner's Sunday score:Â 69 (-2)
So who will win the 2018 Open Championship, and what massive long shots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to find out and see the full leaderboard from the model that nailed the Masters. Â
Chip Patterson, writer
Winner -- Tommy Fleetwood (20-1):Â He's got all of the shots and the course record at Carnoustie -- though it won't do him that much good considering the current baked out conditions don't match what he saw during a 63 at the Dunhill Links Championship last year -- and I think he's ready to have a breakthrough moment here to claim his first major championship win. If Fleetwood can keep it in the fairway off the tee, it shouldn't take long for him to get dialed in on approach shots and around the greens.
Top 10 lock -- Sergio Garcia (30-1):Â This is all based on history because Sergio has not been in top form this season. Since 2001, Garcia has 10 top-10 finishes in The Open including a runner-up playoff loss to Padraig Harrington here at Carnoustie in 2007. With the conditions mentioned above, there's limits to what we draw from that course experience but there's no doubting his tendency to finish near the top of the leaderboard at this event.Â
Sleeper -- Zach Johnson (80-1):Â I wanted to go deeper on the odds board, where I think there is some intriguing value with Webb Simpson at 100-1 or Eddie Pepperell at 200-1, but cannot bypass the 2015 Open champion here. His short game is outstanding and with the long hitters having their advantage somewhat negated by the firm fairways there's a chance to win this after a 67-64 showing on the weekend at the fifth major, the John Deere Classic.Â
Top 5 in order:Â Tommy Fleetwood, Rickie Fowler, Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, Marc Leishman
Bold prediction:Â Bryson DeChambeau's compass, or maybe a metric conversion tool, becomes an issue for the R&A as debates rage regarding how much information is too much for golfers on the course. The air density measurements in the Scottish winds will be worth it, however.Â
Lowest round:Â 65 (-6)
Winning score:Â 279 (-5) |Â Winner's Sunday score:Â 68 (-3)
Adam Silverstein, editor
Winner -- Rory McIlroy (16-1):Â Ever notice how no one really talks about McIlroy anymore? Try this on for size: Since 2014, McIlroy has finished inside the top 10 in every Masters and Open in which he's played. (Granted, he's also missed the cut three times at the U.S. Open, but that's besides the point.) Consistency is what I'm looking for here, and McIlroy has it. The one time he played Carnoustie in an Open, he finished as the low amateur. That was 11 years ago, but there's no reason McIlroy can't do this again. Look for McIlroy to add to his collection of slayed major courses.
Top 10 lock -- Tommy Fleetwood (20-1):Â I'll go with one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour right now, who has two top-20 major finishes this year and just so happens to hold the course record at Carnoustie (63). He posted that last year at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, shooting a 9-under 63 with six birdies on the back nine.
Sleeper -- Tyrell Hatton (50-1):Â The 26-year-old struggled through a rough 2017 but still managed to win the Dunhill at Carnoustie going 24 under par. It was his second-straight win in the event. He also just finished T6 at the U.S. Open in June and has a prior top-five finish at The Open.
Top 5 in order:Â Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Jordan Spieth, Marc Leishman, Tiger Woods
Bold prediction:Â Henrik Stenson misses the cut. Absolutely nothing against Stenson here, but he's entering The Open after being sidelined with an elbow injury. He has four straight top-15 finishes at majors but did miss consecutive cuts in 2017. The 2016 Open winner will almost assuredly prove me wrong and finish in the top 10, but this is a bold prediction after all, isn't it?
Lowest round:Â 66 (-5)
Winning score:Â 277 (-7) |Â Winner's Sunday score:Â 67 (-4)