2006 British Open Predictions

It’s time for the 2006 British Open at Royal Liverpool. Tiger Woods missed his first cut in a major championship as a professional at last month’s U.S. Open. You can bet Tiger will be on a mission this week across the pond. The World Number Two, Phil Mickelson, played great at Winged Foot until double bogeying the final hole to lose by one.

It’s no surprise Tiger and Phil are odds-on-favorites this week at Hoylake. However, there are many more golfers capable of winning the British Open. Geoff Ogilvy won the U.S. Open last month and hasn’t played competitively since. How will his time off affect his golf game, and is he capable of winning two majors in a row?

All the burning questions will be answered within the next week, and The Sand Trap staff is here to get all of you in the British Open spirit. We have made our picks, and now it’s showtime. Feel free to comment below or discuss your picks in the forum.

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Erik J. Barzeski

Thoughts on the Course
I think there are reasons Hoylake hasn’t had a British Open since 1967 or so, and some of those reasons will be revealed. The layout is quirky – it’s almost a bit like having a major at Colonial Country Club or something. Phil Mickelson has already stated he may be hitting hybrid off of some of the tees, so you know it’s going to be interesting. It could, however, be a landmark Open, however, and one that really spins the distance debate on its head. Hoylake’s doglegs, rough, and out of bounds are certain to entertain and befuddle.

Winner and Score
Tiger Woods will hit a lot of fairway woods and irons off the tee to safely navigate the course. Nobody’s better at controlling the trajectory and distance of his irons and has the short game imagination (i.e. not just “Phil Flops”) and control. He’ll shoot -18 to win it, but not by a significant margin. The U.S. Open was an embarrassment, so Tiger will look to atone and shut up those “he’ll only ever win at St. Andrews” naysayers.

Dark-Horse Winner
It’s about time for Lee Westwood to step up in a major. There are a lot of non-major winners inside the top 50 as well, but we’re supposed to keep it to someone outside of 50, so… Westwood is it.

Biggest Disappointment
Phil Mickelson will continue to disappoint in the British Open. He just can’t play the shots he needs to play over there, though this course may be his best opportunity to do so, particularly if the wind lays down.

Largest Surprise
Four people in their 20s will finish in the top ten, and one of them will give the winner a serious run for his money.

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Donald MacKenzie

Thoughts on the Course
Royal Liverpool is hardly the most beloved course in the British Open rotation. It hosts the Open nearly as often as the Chicago Cubs win the World Series. A lot of history happened at Royal Liverpool back in the Old/Young Tom Morris days, but in the present day the course is a spectator nightmare and nearly universally unloved among golfers who know their British Links. From what I’ve seen, it doesn’t look like the course will pose much of a challenge to the smash-and-scrape tour players.

Winner and Score
Vijay Singh has looked rather mortal this year, but I think he’s going to clean up at Royal Liverpool. He has all the shots you need to play well on a Links course, even one as marginal as Royal Liverpool. And with Tiger off his game, the Veej will grab the Claret Jug and go for a victory lap with his pal Sign Boy. I predict Vijay winning by at least three strokes.

Dark-Horse Winner
Ian Poulter is made to order for this year’s Open Championship. The course doesn’t have much color, but his pants probably will. Let’s face it, there are probably 50 guys with a realistic chance of winning if they have a hot putting week. I think the Pantsman has as good a chance of any of them.

Biggest Disappointment
No doubt in my mind it will be Colin Montgomerie. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s Monty stumbling in the Open Championship when it looks like he should be a favorite. I’d like to think he has a good chance at Royal Liverpool, but his track record is long and less-than-rosy in such situations.

Largest Surprise
Phil Mickelson is generally regarded as a poor pick for the British Open, since he likes to hit the ball high and play the game in the air, not along the ground as so many Open venues dictate. Won’t matter this week. I bet Phil is popular with the galleries, and in a stress-free frame of mind since so little is expected of him. As a result, I see him smashing and swashbuckling his way around the course to a top-5 finish.

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Dave Koster

Thoughts on the Course
It’s the first time since ’67 that we get to see Royal Liverpool at Hoylake. I like the fact that they are now finishing on what was the 16th green. Now there are two par fives in the last three holes and should make for some exciting golf. The first part of the back nine could be brutal along the water if the typical British wind is howling.

Winner and Score
Luke Donald, -12 (276). I think he’s been playing better and better the previous few weeks and has a chance to put it all together in his home country. Perhaps I’m picking him because I want him to win, but he’s got the game and experience to do well in the Open.

Dark-Horse Winner
David Duval. I’m going to keep picking him until he wins… and he will win. Duval is getting better every week and can put a stamp on his return with a win overseas.

Biggest Disappointment
Phil Mickelson. The Open is the one championship that not only has eluded him but also in which he hasn’t really contended. After what happened at Winged Foot, I think he’ll play it a bit more safe, but even that isn’t safe enough in the tall rough of the British Open.

Largest Surprise
Large numbers of golfers get lost trying to find Hoylake. Having never heard of it before, John Daly leads a pack of them back to St. Andrews because “The Scotch is much better there anyway.” The first inaugural “Scotch Open” is thus begun.

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Jeff Smith

Thoughts on the Course
Hoylake will be a wonderful venue for The Open Championship, both for its history and the interest it will add to the Open rotation. Bobby Jones’ last British Open win came at Royal Liverpool. I like the fact that most players haven’t played Hoylake in a long time or don’t know anything about it. The exception is Phil Mickelson who has already made a visit in preparation for the tournament.

Winner and Score
Tiger Woods, 275 (-13).

Dark-Horse Winner
Should the winds blow, Justin Leonard, an excellent wind player, could recapture some of his major champion mojo with a win at Hoylake.

Biggest Disappointment
Part of me wants to say Phil, but he’s playing too well for that now. Vijay Singh will be the biggest disappointment. He’ll finish outside the top-25.

Largest Surprise
Ben Curtis, at one time known as a one-hit wonder, will play his way into the top ten. His previous Open win wasn’t a fluke; he just followed the path of other early winners by trying too hard after a big win.

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Cody Thrasher

Thoughts on the Course
I’m excited to see how Hoylake matches up against the world’s best. From what I’ve seen so far, there are a lot of out of bounds spots on the course which makes me even happier. I love to see golfers punished for hitting wayward tee shots, and this week should be no different. If the wind blows 20-30, things are going to get wild!

Winner and Score
Stuart Appleby has finished runner-up in a British Open before (2002 to Ernie Els), and he is long overdue to win a major championship. Appleby will continue the Aussie success on the PGA Tour in 2006 by picking up his first-career major championship. The winning score will be 282 (-6).

Dark-Horse Winner
Look no further than Ian Poulter. I’m surprised he is ranked as low as he is because he is a very talented golfer. Poulter contended at last month’s U.S. Open and finished in a tie for 11th last year at St. Andrews. Keep an eye on the colorful Englishman.

Biggest Disappointment
Phil Mickelson’s British Open history isn’t very good, with the exception of a third-place finish in 2004. Lefty doesn’t make great decisions at times, and he will pay excessively for those bad decisions at Hoylake. Mickelson will make the cut, but he won’t finish in the top 30.

Largest Surprise
The Americans have played well in the British Open recently, but they will struggle this week. Tiger Woods and Jim Furyk might play well enough to finish in the top 10, but everyone else at the top of the leaderboard will be from South Africa, Australia, or Europe. That’s right, only two golfers from the United States will finish in the top 10.

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Alan Olson

Thoughts on the Course
Royal Liverpool hasn’t hosted an Open since 1967 so it will be new to not only the players but also to viewers. Depending on the golf magazine you are reading, it either gets a great review or is savaged for being a relic of the past. There is a lot of OB so with a little wind, it could make for an exciting Open.

Winner and Score
Tiger Woods (-12, 276). He defends his title by using more 3-woods off the tee and his “stinger.”

Dark-Horse Winner
David Duval. He seems to be getting better every week and may get good vibes playing on the other side of the pond.

Biggest Disappointment
Sergo Garcia will not make the cut. Garcia is one of my favorite golfers but has virtually disappeared. We have seen his putting get worse (160th in putting), but now his driving is following suit (92nd in driving distance and 133rd in driving accuracy percentage). Bad combination.

Largest Surprise
In a stunning move, the day before the Open, Phil Mickelson bolts Callaway for Nike and then proclaims; “I want to be just like Tiger when I grow up.”

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Jeff Gladchun

Thoughts on the Course
I know absolutely nothing about Hoylake except what I’ve read in the magazines. From the looks of it, if the wind is up, all the out-of-bounds barriers will really come into play. I’m sure it will be a blast to watch!

Winner and Score
I’m gonna go with none other than Tiger Woods. He’ll be hungry to put away all the speculation on his game and will be poised to make quite a statement. As for winning score, if the wind is up I think even par (288) will take it. However, if conditions are benign, something along the lines of seven under par (281) sounds good.

Dark-Horse Winner
Thomas Levet. The charismatic European knows how to work the ball and play in the wind. Despite a somewhat lackluster year this year, The Open Championship would be a perfect time to find his game.

Biggest Disappointment
Colin Montgomerie once again climbs the leaderboard to find himself at the top by Saturday, only to let his hopes of finally capturing a major championship slip through his grasp once again. Sorry, Monty.

Largest Surprise
Trevor Immelman outpaces Sergio Garcia and finishes a clear eighteen strokes ahead of the Spaniard. Searching for something that will help his putting stroke, Sergio starts using the Heavy Putter.

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Jack Waddell

Thoughts on the Course
I’m not sure anybody knows that much about Royal Liverpool, players included. But from what I’ve read, it seems it’s much more an American-style target course than a British links layout. The last Open was played there in 1967 when Robert de Vicenzo won. At the time, it played to 6,995 yards. Since then it’s been lengthened to 7,258. But 263 more yards is actually minus yards given the increase in driving distance since 1967. It really seems the only protection is wind and the several internal out of bounds that could wreak havoc upon such accurate drivers as Phil Mickelson.

Winner and Score
I picked Tiger to win the U.S. Open and, of course, was dead wrong. His play in the Western Open certainly shows his game is coming back. But just to keep my string alive, I’m going with Jim Furyk. I’m a fool not to pick Tiger to defend his title, but so be it. I think Furyk’s game is very strong this year, and I think his accuracy off the tee and shot-making ability will stand him in good stead. He’s tough and has proven he can stand the pressure in majors, albeit his finish in this year’s Open. Still, I think he has a much better chance of bouncing back in this event than does Mickelson, who I think will just try too hard. So there it is, Furyk at -8 (280).

Dark-Horse Winner
I’m going with the pony tail. Miguel Angel Jimenez, currently ranked around 44th in the world, is another tough player who seems to relish in tough conditions. He hasn’t played up to his game yet this year, but “The Mechanic” is just the kind of player to give the engraver fits as he tries to carve a name that long onto the Claret Jug.

Biggest Disappointment
I know, I know… there are a lot of Mickelson haters out there. But I like him and he’d be among the players I’d be happy to see win. But I don’t think it’s going to happen. So again I’m disappointed. He just seems destined to wear a monkey on his back throughout his career, and I don’t see the one that climbed onto his shoulders at the U.S. Open jumping off this soon.

Largest Surprise
Tiger not winning. I see him fanning a drive right and out of bounds on Royal Liverpool’s newly resequenced par-five 18th hole in the final round. Although he recovers to make a miraculous par, he finishes a shot behind Furyk. Tied now with Annika Sorenstam at 10 majors each, her catty text message after the loss sends him into paroxysms of sobs. Very sad indeed.