Power Rankings: The Open Championship

The fortnight of four competitions on the PGA TOUR is anchored by the fourth major of the season. The stage is set for the 151st edition of The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England.

It’s the 13th time that the tournament has been contested on the course. Anachronistic of a links test almost as old as the tournament, there’s actually a new hole and a new overall par. Details of that, what any in the field of 156 needs to do to contend and more can be found below.

Matt Fitzpatrick, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas will be among the notables reviewed in Golfbet Insider.

After hearing early comparisons to a links-style course, and then seeing the test and observing the decisions made, it’s easy to understand why the North Course at The Los Angeles Country Club tickled the sensibilities of what’s in store at Royal Liverpool this week. The host of the U.S. Open featured unkempt areas that challenged aggressive targets, blind shots, wicked undulations, etc. It’s all on purpose. And even with hidden hazards, there’s still nowhere to hide, quite literally as you’d expect from a version of golf that favors the ground game, or at least the sweet spot between the most menacing of winds and terra firma.

It’s guaranteed that the champion will cite exceptional preparation, sound course management, patience, experience and a great feel for his form upon arrival when explaining how he prevailed at Royal Liverpool some eight miles west of Liverpool proper. Weather will be similar to what the 82 in the field who made the trip south from the Genesis Scottish Open experienced a week ago; well, at times. The most challenging of it pushed hard on Sunday.

Forecasting weather already has its drawbacks, but that’s especially relevant in these climes. A trusted expert of such matters, if there is such a thing, could get away with, “Just grab a jacket and a brolly,” and enjoy a long, fruitful career. The thing is, it’s not wrong, either. Seasonable daytime highs of about 60 degrees or a touch warmer will be accompanied by primarily westerly winds (off the Irish Sea). The strongest threat of rain is for Saturday.

While acclimating to the time zone and the conditions never hurts, the 41 in the field who competed when Royal Liverpool last hosted in 2014 will be seeing the finish for the first time. Holes 15-18 used to serve as a par-3-5-4-5 sequence. Since, designers Martin Evert and Tom Mackenzie collaborated and created a 136-yard par 3 that now is No. 17, so the field will walk off in par-5-4-3-5.

Additionally, what always was a par 72 across 18 holes now is a par 71 with respective nines of 35 and 36. The change was made to the 10th hole, which now is a 507-yard par 4. When it played as a 532-yard par 5 in 2014, it was the easiest hole on the course. (Yes, there were three par 5s on the inward half.) Overall length is up 71 yards to 7,383 yards. The scoring average nine years ago was 72.767. The cut remains low 70 and ties after 36 holes.

A record purse of $16.5 million is reserved. The winner will bank $3 million and 600 FedExCup points. He’ll also be exempt into The Open Championship through age 60 and into the other three majors through 2028. A victory also yields the maximum five-year PGA TOUR membership.

ROB BOLTON’S SCHEDULE

PGATOUR.com’s Rob Bolton recaps and previews every tournament from numerous perspectives. Look for his following contributions as scheduled.

MONDAY: Power Rankings (Open)

TUESDAY*: Power Rankings (Barracuda), Sleepers (Open)

WEDNESDAY: Golfbet Insider

SUNDAY: Payouts and Points (Open), Payouts and Points (Barracuda), Medical Extensions, Qualifiers, Reshuffle

* - Rob is a member of the panel for PGATOUR.COM’s Expert Picks for PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf, which also publishes on Tuesday.