Official Open Championship Prediction

[mcfc_nick]

Right once again you have one pick (not it will either be this guy or this guy) for who will win this week so who's it gonna be?

im going for AK, dude is in real form and finished in 7th at royal birkdale in last years open so has a real chance! i cant wait for it to start!

[CG031]

Paul Casey is due. I'll take him.

[mdvaldosta]

Dibs on Tiger. Yea, I went there.

[hawkeye]

Can't rule out Harrington. Won the Irish PGA third time in a row last yesterday. Perfect warm up for the Open, playing the European Club. Some course.

[alf174]

Kenny Perry (hope he doesn't better than at Deere)

[mcfc_nick]

Can't rule out Harrington. Won the Irish PGA third time in a row last yesterday. Perfect warm up for the Open, playing the European Club. Some course.

haha, ok he won it but he won it with a score of 1 under par by 7 from Brian McElhinney, ever heard of him? me neither so yes he won but he was expected to win big time as he was playing against nobody really!

[alf174]

haha, ok he won it but he won it with a score of 1 under par by 7 from Brian McElhinney, ever heard of him? me neither so yes he won but he was expected to win big time as he was playing against nobody really!

But its definitely a confidence boost.

[uttexas]

1st place Lee Westwood
2nd place Ian Poulter
3rd place Tiger Woods
4th Paul Casey
5th Sean O'Hair
6th Henrick Stenson
7th Robert Karlsson

[Amused]

Serious Jim Furyk

[dalirahma]

I'm liking Stenson.

[Cooker]

Lucas Glover

[Chilli Dipper]

If Weather Conditions Are Benign...
Finding the firm fairways and calm winds much to his liking, Tiger Woods shoots 66-64 to give himself a three-shot cushion going into the weekend. As the winds pick up on Saturday, Tiger shoots a pedestrian 70, while Graeme McDowell's low round of 65 puts him one shot behind and paired with Woods for the final round. While the gusts fade away on Sunday, so does McDowell, and Tiger's closing 66 gives him a five-stroke victory over Henrik Stenson and Stewart Cink, as well as the all-time Open total scoring record of 266.

If Weather Conditions are Tough...
Rain the first two days softens Turnberry's hallowed turf, but high winds keep the links from being too friendly for scoring. Woods' 75 in the second round takes him out of contention, but the story going into the final round is that of youth being served: Eight players begin play on Sunday within two shots of the lead, and six of them are under 30. Camilo Villegas, Adam Scott, and Rory McIlroy are all tied at 6-under, Villegas getting there with record-tying 63 in the calmer early weather on Saturday; Anthony Kim and Retief Goosen are one shot behind; and Sergio Garcia, Hunter Mahan, and Davis Love III are two back.
Sunday sees the strongest winds of the weekend, and one by one, the contenders fall by the wayside. Love and Goosen stumble out of the gate, and neither play a role in the final outcome. After starting his round birdie-birdie, Garcia's putter fails him, and a series of three-putts end his hopes of a major. McIlroy bogeys the first three seaside holes, and a double on the inland 12th seals his fate. Mahan goes out in 32, and looks to be the man to beat, but he pulls his drive at the 10th into the rocks, and the eventual triple-bogey on the hole marks the beginning of the end for him.
As the frontrunners find ways to play themselves out of the running, Lee Westwood, who began the day five shots behind, shoots a 67 to become leader in the clubhouse at 4-under. Kim, who had dropped four shots during his first 16 holes, manages to reach the green in two at the par-5 17th, and thereafter makes the 20-foot eagle putt to go to 3-under, one behind Westwood and two behind the final pairing of Villegas and Scott, who are playing the 16th.
Disaster strikes as Villegas' approach finds the burn in front of the 16th green. He fails to get up and down from where he finds relief, and the double-bogey combined with Scott's par puts the Aussie in the lead by himself. Scott's drive at 17, however, finds the heavy rough, and it takes four strokes to reach the putting surface. The par putt misses, and he is now tied with Westwood and Kim, who birdies the 18th after he knocks his approach to within six feet. Both players in final group have long birdie putts at the last green: Villegas' to tie the three leaders in front of him, Scott's for the Claret Jug. Villegas leaves his try short; he will not win the Open. That leaves Scott with 25 feet to his first major. His putt has the right speed...and it just rolls past the edge of the cup. Scott taps in his par, and he, Kim, and Westwood go to the 15th tee for the playoff.
Westwood strikes first blood at the par-3, making birdie. Scott two-putts for his par, but Kim's tee shot finds one of the greenside bunkers, and he fails to get up and down for par. Westwood's tee shot on the 16th fails to find the fairway, and he is forced to lay up behind the burn on his second shot. Scott finds the green with his second, while Kim's approach strays long. Both Westwood and Kim place their third shots close to the hole and save par, while Scott again two-putts. On the par-5 17th, Westwood lays up on his second shot, while Kim finds the green in two and Scott finds a greenside bunker. Everybody two-putts, but Kim's birdie reduces his deficit to one behind Westwood, with Scott chasing right beside him. Scott's tee shot at 18 finds one of the fairway bunkers, ending his chances. Westwood's approach misses, but Kim's stays on the green. Westwood's chip rolls 12 feet past the hole, with Kim looking at a birdie put to tie. It misses, but Westwood must make his par to avoid another playoff hole. He makes it, and Lee Westwood is the Champion Golfer of 2009 with a score of 276, 15 in the playoff.

Obviously, I'm hoping for rain and wind.

[CarlSpackler]

I'm going with Tiger.

[mcfc_nick]

If Weather Conditions Are Benign...

wow! ive gotta say i enjoyed reading that haha!

[Garbag3 Man]

Going with my boy AK

[BallStriker]

The amateur meteorologist in me says that this will be the opposite side of the U.S. Open coin -- meaning that players with "early-late" tee times on Thurs/Friday will be getting an advantage (especially if Friday rain pushes the second round to a Saturday morning finish).

So....Tiger has a good tee time here....but that is too easy...going with an all-world ballstriker..



ROBERT ALLENBY

[Greg]

Just cant pick against Tiger

[Iowa Hawkeye]

I think JD will make some noise.