Open Championship Preview

Written by Square in the Air

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Strangely all the talk ahead of the 145 edition of the Open Championship at St Andrews has been centred on a football match.

World number one Rory McIlroy ruptured an ankle ligament playing a five-a-side game to rob golf fans around the globe of another mouth-watering clash with Jordan Spieth. Between the pair they hold all four Majors, and the American Spieth has won the US Masters and US Open in 2015. Despite McIlroy’s omission, the oldest professional golf tournament promises to be another fascinating battle for the Claret Jug – first presented in 1873. Spieth heads Sporting Index’s Finishing Positions market with a spread of 23-26. He arrives at St Andrews with a Grand Slam of Majors firmly in his sights and having won the John Deere tournament last weekend. That was his fourth win this year and anyone that finishes ahead of him will likely be lifting the trophy on Sunday evening. However, the decision to play in the John Deere classic, rather than head to Scotland early for extra rounds on the famous course, has been a controversial one. It is worth noting that Speith has struggled in his two Open appearances with a T44 and T36 finish.

One to keep a close eye on is South African Louis Oosthuizen, who finished at Chambers Bay with a phenomenal run. Oosthuizen came T2 at the US Open and won the Open when St Andrew’s last hosted this prestigious tournament. Australia’s Adam Scott is also in the reckoning for the tournament after posting a fantastic final day 64 at the US Open. He has form at the Open too, with a second placed finish at Royal Lytham in 2012. The Ashes have started superbly for England and Paul Casey and Justin Rose will be doing their best to replicate that form north of the border.

Sporting Index have set Casey’s Finishing Position at 37-40. Casey was in the final group when Oosthuizen won here in 2010 and he will have been planning his whole season around this tournament. Rose already has a Major in the bag after securing the US Open two years ago. However, he has struggled in the Open and his best finish over the past five years was T23 in 2014, and he’s missed the cut on three occasions during that run.

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