Form Guide: 2010 British Open
BY Bruce Young | European PGA Tour | 2010 British Open | Preview | 13 Jul 2010
This week’s Open Championship at St Andrews appears very open in terms of winning chances. Here I analyse the prospects of several of those who could be considered leading contenders.
Tiger Woods
Woods has already been installed as the hot favourite to win this event for the 4th occasion and for the third time at St Andrews.
This venue is Woods self declared favourite major championship venue, his eight shot victory in 2000 and his five shot win in 2005 providing further evidence of that. 4th place finishes at the first two major championships of the year suggest that despite his troubles he could still win again.
There is still an element of doubt however and he might need to be longer than the current 4 to 1 to get my money.
Phil Mickelson
Mickelson is playing well enough in 2010 although a missed cut last week in Scotland put a spanner in the works. His record at the Open Championship however offers little hope for anything too special this week. In 16 Open Championship career starts Mickelson has only recorded one top ten. On those statistics alone it is a little hard to be convinced of his chances.
Lee Westwood
Westwood was perhaps disappointing at the US Open but he is now amongst the game’s elite. He has yet to win a coveted major championship but he continues to put himself in a position to do so.
For a player of his class there had not been a lot to get excited about in Open Championships until his near miss last year and of course since that time he has gone on to finish 3rd at the PGA Championship and runner up at the Masters.
His record at St Andrews in Open Championships has not been good but he should improve considerably on that this week. An injury cloud is his biggest concern in the lead up.
Ernie Els
Els already has an Open Championship to his name and his overall record in the event is stunning. He has been inside the top five on eight occasions which is a remarkable record and given his great form this season he deserves to be considered as one of the leading chances and many might think him the leading chance.
He missed the cut at the Scottish Open but interestingly he did not play well in that event before winning at Muirfield in 2002.
Jim Furyk
Furyk has occasionally contended in this championship although 4th has been his best in 14 starts. He has not played this venue well and therefore it is a bit much to expect things to get a lot better this week.
Steve Stricker
In recent years the best years Stricker has played the Open Championship well. Stricker has put together several good tournaments in 2010, more especially early in the season, and again since his recent return from shoulder injury he has been getting better and better. He has just completed a superb week at the John Deere Classic. If he improved on his previous best of 7th recorded at Carnoustie in 2007 it would be of little surprise.
Graeme McDowell
McDowell has elevated his status in the game as a result of his convincing victory at Pebble Beach and although his record in the Open Championship is not great it had not been a lot better at the US Open prior to this year. He comes to St Andrews off the back of wins in Wales and at the US Open and a reasonable return last week in Scotland after what had been a short break.
Martin Kaymer
Kaymer is a player who is likely to win majors before his career is done and he is in the sort of form right now to indicate that this week might provide a further stepping stone in that regard. Admittedly Kaymer missed the cut last week in Scotland but that might yet prove a blessing in disguise as he can now focus his attention on St Andrews.
Padraig Harrington
Harrington has won this event on two occasions in the past three years and his game has thrown out signals of late that suggest he is not far from where he needs to be to win a third Claret Jug. Harrington has twice won the Alfred Dunhill at St Andrews and the planets are aligning for another good week.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy has been both erratic and brilliant in recent months. His win at Quail Hollow stamped him as world class but missed cuts at the Players Championship and the US Open left a question unanswered as to his readiness to win a major at this stage. He will win majors of that there is little doubt but I’m not sure he is yet ready to do so.
Justin Rose
Rose finished 4th in this great championship as a 17 year old and has played the event well in recent years. His breakthrough win in the US at the Memorial and follow up win at the AT&T provide him with the confidence to do even better this year. This week provides what could be considered his best chance to date – in the lead-in to an event – of winning a major.
Retief Goosen
Goosen’s last nine holes when missing the cut at the Scottish Open on Friday were almost too bad to be true. He had been playing well prior and with seven top tens in this event in earlier years and even despite his Scottish Open effort he must be considered amongst the chances.
Luke Donald
Donald has a poor record in the Open Championship especially for a player of his standing in the game. His 5th place finish last year at Turnberry was his only finish inside the top 30 in nine appearances in the event. Donald has however found a rich vein of form of late with four top three finishes in his last seven events worldwide and could conceivably contend.
Ian Poulter
Two years ago Poulter went very close to winning his first major championship when he finished runner up to Padraig Harrington at Royal Birkdale. Earlier this year he won his first PGA Tour event at the Accenture Match Play and while his form since has been indifferent he has developed into a big event player. I can’t get excited about his winning chances but he might just have a good week.
Francesco Molinari
Molinari has developed into one of the most consistent players on the European Tour and although he has won only one tournament in his career he keeps putting himself in contention on numerous occasions. He has played only two Open Championships missing the cut in one and finishing 13th at Turnberry last year. He finished 4th last week in Scotland and was runner up at the French Open.
Edoardo Molinari
As is the case with his brother, Francesco, Edoardo Molinari has developed into a world class player in the past twelve months culminating in his three shot victory at Loch Lomond last week. He has played only two Open Championships, both of them as an amateur and has made the cut in both. He is rapidly developing into a world class player and although it will be difficult to back up a victory as significant as last week’s, he should play well.
Charl Schwartzel
Schwartzel has taken his game and his career to new heights in 2010 and if they improved even further this week it would be of little surprise. He has played well on both the US and European Tours this year and is not out of his depth this week. He has a poor record at the Open but is a much improved player since missing the cut last year.
Robert Allenby
Allenby has a poor record in this event with just two top tens in 17 starts. Allenby has progressed to 14th in the world rankings however and if he has fully recovered from the illness and injury issues he had around US Open time he could improve his Open Championship record this week. Prior to the US Open he had been playing very well including when runner up at the Players Championship.
Ben Curtis
Curtis has played quite well in recent weeks and he is of course a previous winner of this event. If the conditions get tough then he has the type of game to do well. He finished 14th at the recent US Open following what was the equal best last round of the day at Pebble Beach and followed that up with a 13th place finish at the Travelers Championship.
Vijay Singh
Singh appears to be getting back into form after injury and game issues and he has generally played the Open Championship well at St Andrews. His last two starts in the US have shown a much improved game and while winning may be a bit much to expect, a top ten or better is not out of the question.
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