Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler lead The Open Championship top picks as the world's best head to Hoylake

There are so many storylines at Royal Liverpool this week

By Zachary Pereles

Jul 19, 2023 at 9:14 am ET • 6 min read

2023 Open Getty British Open Championship

Getty Images

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Hope you're well.

Let's get right to it.

Good morning to everyone but especially to...

THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

By the time you wake up tomorrow, The Open Championship will be well underway (unless you really, really don't mind skipping sleep), so we're putting together our big preview day right here, right now.

Speaking of sleep, let's start with Patrick McDonald's list of sleepers who could raise the Claret Jug come Sunday. One of my favorites?

McDonald: "Min Woo Lee -- Let's buy a ticket on the rollercoaster. ... Lee should be able to thrive at Royal Liverpool given its flat nature and need to flight shots into different windows. Since the PGA Championship, Lee has made six straight cuts with a top-five finish at the U.S. Open and a top-10 finish at the Travelers Championship. If his iron play cooperates, Lee has the game and gumption to raise the Claret Jug. Odds: 80-1"

As for the favorites, Kyle Porter ranked the field 1-23, and while Rory McIlroy is an easy pick at 1, the top five has some fun names:

1. Rory McIlroy (Won in 2014): "Everything is coming up Rory. In golf, that usually doesn't end well, but the reality of the situation is that he has everything ... working in his favor."
2. Scottie Scheffler (T8 in 2021): "With a T10 at the Masters, T2 at the PGA Championship and 3rd at the U.S. Open, he's been lights out at the majors this year."
3. Brooks Koepka (T4 in 2019): "He's finished T2, won and finished T17 at the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open, respectively."
4. Jon Rahm (T3 in 2021): "It's hard to believe that somebody with four wins this year would check in at No. 4 on this list, but Rahm has only been OK since winning the Masters."
5. Cameron Smith (Won in 2022): "It's still a bit surprising to not see more hype around last year's winner, who has also made the cut at all three majors and finished in the top nine at the PGA and U.S. Open."

Only one man can actually win, though, and our expert picks and predictions are in. Here's Kyle's winner:

Porter: "Rory McIlroy: There are a number of factors you could point to if you wanted to reason why McIlroy will get his fifth major this week, but I keep coming back to this one: At Los Angeles Country Club, he spoke confidently and almost defiantly about winning a major in the future. ... Finally, after nine long, tiring years, the drought will end with Rory once again drinking from the Claret Jug to end a crazy golf summer."

Honorable mentions

Patrick Mahomes says his ankle is in a good spot.
No. 1 pick Paul Skenes signed a record deal with the Pirates.
The Braves extended Travis D'Arnaud.
Bayern Munich beat ninth-tier FC Rottach-Egern 27-0 in a preseason friendly. No, that's not a typo.

And not such a good morning for...

Ugonna Onyenso Getty Kentucky Wildcats — Getty Images

THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS

Kentucky men's basketball just finished a gold medal-winning romp through the GLOBL JAM, but for all the good that came out of it, the Wildcats were dealt some brutal news on the injury front: Big man Ugonna Onyenso will miss multiple months after undergoing foot surgery.

The news comes about a month after fellow big man Aaron Bradshaw had surgery for a fractured foot, putting his availability for the start of the season in jeopardy.
Onyenso and Bradshaw were expected to try to fill the large shoes of former national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe, who turned pro.

Where does John Calipari turn now? Kyle Boone explored the options:

Boone: "The most likely Band-Aid fix is simply slotting West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell -- who played some center during UK's trip in Canada -- in that spot. Calipari said he liked what Mitchell brought to the table as a floor-spacing big, and seemed to hint that exploring doing that in a more expanded role could be beneficial. ... 2024 recruit Somto Cyril, a four-star center, could also potentially reclassify to 2023, an option that had previously been explored."

Regardless, Kentucky's frontcourt -- already a big question mark -- just became even more worrisome.

Not so honorable mentions

Josh Donaldson (calf) might be done for the season.
Running backs are still unhappy about their contracts: Several created a group chat to create a unified front, per reports, and Austin Ekeler wants to hear from owners.
The wait for a Pac-12 media rights deal continues.

⚽ Women's World Cup preview: Top players to know, schedule

Alex Morgan Getty USWNT Soccer — Getty Images

Just like The Open Championship, the Women's World Cup begins very early Thursday morning, so we're going to give you everything you need to know today. Oh, and don't worry, United States fans, the USWNT doesn't open play until Friday night against Vietnam, so we'll be sure to have you covered then as well.

In case you're forgoing sleep tomorrow morning for soccer, don't worry about coffee: Sam Kerr will provide all the energy you need when co-host Australia takes on Ireland. Kerr is among Pardeep Cattry's 10 players to watch down under.

The USWNT is considered the favorite to win it all, but it won't be a walk in the park for the four-time (and two-time defending) champions. There are plenty of teams that will take aim at the target on the USWNT's back, and they'll start early. Sandra Herrera lists potential group-stage surprises for every group, including in the USWNT's Group E...

Herrera: "Portugal: They have a good mix of experienced players and up-and-comers and could get results over Vietnam and the Netherlands before setting up a win-or-go-home scenario against the USWNT. Jessica Silva will be tasked with attacking responsibilities ... Silva's Benfica teammate Kika Nazareth scored 26 goals in 36 appearances and is a young player to keep an eye on as the 20-year-old attacking midfielder can cause headaches for defenders."

If you're waking up early, here's the schedule tomorrow...

New Zealand vs. Norway, 3 a.m.
Australia vs. Ireland, 6 a.m.
Nigeria vs. Canada, 10:30 p.m

... and here's the entire schedule. Here are rosters for every team as well.

⚾ Shohei Ohtani destinations if Angels trade superstar

Shohei Ohtani Getty Los Angeles Angels — Getty Images

In yesterday's newsletter, we examined the reasons for and against trading Shohei Ohtani, something the Angels will surely be weighing between now and the Aug. 1 trade deadline.

Today, we're looking at potential destinations for the 29-year-old superstar should the Angels make him available. Ohtani is in the middle of his prime and on his way to his second MVP and potentially second top-five Cy Young finish. In the best-case scenario, he's a two-way superstar for years to come, and what we've seen so far -- which is already unprecedented -- is just the start. Even a mediocre outcome says he'll likely be a middle-of-the-order hitter among the league leaders in home runs and a solid pitcher. Yes, he's that good. Every team should put their hat in the ring, even if only to gauge the market.

So that's what we've done. Mike Axisa ranked all 29 potential landing spots, and atop the list are...

Axisa: "1. Rangers -- Jacob deGrom will miss the rest of the season following his second career Tommy John surgery, and while replacing deGrom is basically impossible (he's so good), Ohtani's one of the guys who can do it. Ezequiel Duran has been very good as the most-of-the-time DH, but he's no Ohtani, and frankly Duran is exactly the kind of player the Angels should seek in an Ohtani trade (young, impactful, under control for a long time). ... It makes sense for Ohtani (a chance to win before free agency), the Angels (the Rangers can offer a significant package), and the Rangers (they get the best player in the world as they push for a division title)."

This was a really fun piece, and should Ohtani become available, you'll know where to go to assess who's in the running.