THOSE of us fortunate enough to have been at Royal Portrush were slightly giddy about the week. The pubs and bars of Portrush were as welcoming as we were told they would be, the course was the rugged test we had all hoped for, Rory McIlroy provided plenty of drama (if not necessarily in the manner we expected), the Irish fans were throatily magnificent, and Shane Lowry emerged gloriously triumphant on the final green. Little wonder many of us gushed it was the best Open we’d been to.

In a gloomy moment last winter I did find myself wondering if it might not only be the best Open, but also the last. Perhaps, I pondered, we went out with a bang, that the Claret Jug would be Lowry’s forever, that fate had played a cruel joke on our post-Portrush dizziness. Fortunately, such dark thoughts were, hopefully, premature and the R&A is back on track with the delayed visit to Royal St. George’s. So the camp site has been booked, a new tent has been purchased, and the sleeping bag has been lobbed in the washing machine. Seven days of rain at Sandwich in the middle week of July might dampen my spirits, but not for long: the Open’s back.

The importance of the next two weeks

In recent years the run-up to the Open has been a useful pointer to success in the quest for the Claret Jug. Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson are great examples of this. Mickelson has always played the Scottish Open in the week before the Open and when it was held at Loch Lomond he had an ordinary Open record. But, in the wake of it venturing to the linksland, he’s won the Open and also twice finished second. 2016 Open champion Stenson has even said: “Playing in Scotland, on links, is great preparation for me and it’s led to my best Open finishes.” Indeed, since the Scottish moved to linksland in 2011, six of the nine Champion Golfers of the Year played links golf in their last start before the Open – five of them in the Scottish Open while Lowry did so in the Irish Open (alas, that tournament heads to the parkland Mount Juliet this week).

Don’t overlook what happens in the PGA Tour’s John Deere Classic next week either. Of those three recent Open winners who didn’t prep themselves by the seaside, Zach Johnson finished third at Deere Run and Francesco Molinari was second in it. Jordan Spieth also arrived high on confidence – he’d won at River Highlands three weeks before.

And we’re off at Final Qualifying for @TheOpen pic.twitter.com/uRUsijL9rE

— Hollinwell (@Hollinwell) June 29, 2021

Qualifying Betting

Names to keep an eye on

Spieth has been in great form this year and is a past winner of the Open. He was last seen recording a US Open top 20, a result that may be better than it seems on first glance because he has a poor record at Torrey Pines and didn’t hide that he feels uncomfortable there. He also has a great record in the Deere Classic. There is currently no information about next week’s field, but if Spieth did play, and perform to type, there’s a strong chance his price will contract. If you like him for Royal St. George’s pay heed.

Branden Grace has already been popular in the ante-post markets. He won by the sea in Puerto Rico earlier this year, contended in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, was seventh in the US Open, and has a fine linksland record. He’s in the field for next week’s Scottish Open. Another good week will see his price lower again.

Another price which could move quickly is that of the Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama. He’s made four cuts since his Augusta glory, but not a lot else and has subsequently slipped to 40/1. However, he’s got three Open top 20 finishes and has finished 13th and 21st at this week’s PGA Tour venue Detroit GC. A decent week there and that will go.

The pick: Tyrrell Hatton at 33/1

Englishman Hatton isn’t playing this week in Ireland, but he is down to play the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club and he has an excellent record in the event. He was 14th at the same venue in 2019, has been ninth and 22nd at Gullane, second at Castle Stuart and fourth at Royal Aberdeen. His links form doesn’t end there: he’s a two-time winner (and one time runner-up) at the Dunhill Links, he’s been fourth at Royal County Down, plus, in the Open, fifth at Royal Troon and sixth at Royal Portrush.

His year began in fine style, with victory at the Abu Dhabi Championship (eight of the last ten Open winners were already winners that year), but then it all became a bit stop-start. However, when faced by the links-like test at Congaree earlier this month, he finished second. The superb links logbook, the good chance that he will play well in Scotland, and the possibility that he will be popular with punters in three weeks time: it won’t need much for him to go off lower.