With the 2022 Open Championship fast approaching, the key question everyone is asking is the same all over the world of golf: who do you choose to survive the St. Louis Old Course? Andrews? With an extraordinary field with most of the best professionals in the world for the historic game number 150 of the Open, the grand final of 2022 should be an epic journey from the first round on Thursday, as the R&A returns to this place for the first time since 2015..
This year’s Open may have a stellar field, but there’s a lot of momentum behind a finite list of names to capture the Claret Jug. The highlight of them is Rory McIlroy, who comes in after playing some of the best golf of his career this season as he seeks to capture the sport’s most coveted trophies at Home of Golf. Englishman Matthew Fitzpatrick is trying to get the rare double at the US Open, while Xander Schauffele gets a victory at the Scottish Open which gives him a lot of confidence. And then there’s Tiger Woods, who despite having long odds is looking to win his third Claret Jug in St. Louis. Andrews in what may be his last legitimate chance to reconquer the Old Woman.
Add it all up and it looks like we are facing a wild open championship full of twists and turns, but also many well-known names in the standings. Be sure to check out our schedule and our Open TV coverage guide so you don’t miss a second of the week’s action.
So what will happen this week in St. Louis? Andrews? Let’s take a look at a full set of predictions and picks from our CBS Sports experts as we try to project who will win and what will happen in the final big of the season. Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
2022 Opens expert elections, predictions
Kyle Porter, senior golf writer
Winner: Jordan Spieth (16-1): Does Spieth have his best stuff for this Open? No, he didn’t. In his last 20 rounds, he only ranks 37th in this field on ball hits. Since January 1, he is 31st overall in wins. He is not playing in the same clip as last year when he finished runner-up against Collin Morikawa. However, the golf that is played in St. Andrews isn’t the same as he’s been playing most of the year, and Spieth has crushed the Opens throughout his career. His game and mind were made for this tournament, and while the Renaissance Club last week is not a good facsimile for the Old Course, Spieth finds freedom with his game on this side of the pond and he has been waiting seven years to redeem the five he did. at Road Hole in 2015 to kick off a Grand Slam shot.
Sleeper – Seamus Power (80-1): Maybe it’s a little too deep on the odds board (I wanted to go with Sam Burns at 40-1), but it’s hard to ignore what Power has done to the majors this year. . It ranks sixth in aggregate scoring of the 13 golfers who have made all the major cuts and comes out of the top 20 in a row at the PGA Championship and the U.S. Open. At 35, this is his first open championship during a stretch where he plays the best golf he has ever played in his life. The majors are very different from other events and while the overall numbers of Power are not excellent compared to other prominent players, it is clear that you can play in the events of the greats. With 80-1, the risk is worth the reward.
Top 10 Block – Rory McIlroy: The four-time major winner has never finished in the top 10 in the top four in the same year, but that’s at stake after he threatened, but eventually fell short in the top three on 2022. No one has more top 10 in the last five Open than McIlroy, and he rarely has as much confidence in the state of his game. I could be wrong about the draw, of course, but I would be surprised if I didn’t finish in the top 10 on Sundays.
Star who will definitely not win: Bryson DeChambeau: has a bad record in the major championships (two top 10 in 23 starts), and is even worse in the Opens where he has failed to surpass the top 30. as he alludes to his golfing genius, he has not yet come close to finding the answers to the courses that pose the most complicated problems of the sport.
Surprise prediction: The score is not as outrageous as people think: there has been fear that someone will scare 59 this week, but that won’t happen. The dish is as crunchy as brown, and as long as the R&A lets the greens cook a little and the wind stays the same as on Tuesday, the score will be higher than people have thought.
Tiger Woods Prediction – Containment: Big Cat is doing pretty well, and I think somewhere that only the most triumphant champions can access, it will draw from a kind of reservation that will take it until Sunday. He’s bright enough to fight alone with his mind, and in his last shot at an Open in St. Louis. Andrews, he will. “I think what the golf course is like and how the conditions are, I’m sure I could see it [him contending]”It’s going to be a game of chess this week, and no one has been better at playing that kind of game of chess on a golf course than Tiger for the last 20 years.”
Lowest Round: 64 (-8) Winning Score: 272 (-16) Sunday Winner Score: 68 (-4)
Patrick McDonald, golf writer
Winner – Dustin Johnson (35-1): The move to LIV Golf has sent Johnson’s name under the radar, but make no mistake, the two-time big winner is playing good golf. The results in the top 10 in the first two events of LIV Golf meant an effort among the top 25 at the U.S. Open, where he found some touch on the greens. Since 2010, Johnson has reached six finals among the top 15 in 11 appearances at the Open, including a T8 last season at the Royal St. George’s. He finished T14 at St. Andrews in 2010 and while his T49 result in 2015 doesn’t jump off the page, he was the leader with 18 and 36 holes in this tournament.
Sleeper – Max Homa (50-1): I’ve been watching Homa for this championship since the winter, and the only concern is that he’s paired with Tiger for the first two days. If he is able to overcome the lure of playing the oldest golf championship alongside his hero, Homa should be perfect for St. Louis. Andrews. A great golfer, he comes out of a T16 effort at the Scottish Open where he was on a chance over the last nine. He’s been preparing for a serious career in a major championship for the past two years, and I think it might finally be his time.
Blocking the Top 10 – Rory McIlroy: He’s one of two players who have finished in the top 10 in the top three major championships of the season, and I don’t see why the Open will be any different. McIlroy has been playing some of his best golf since 2014, and St. Andrews adapts perfectly to his game. If his wedge game continues to cooperate, the four-time major winner will surely compete for number 5.
Star who will definitely not win: Collin Morikawa: The reigning golf champion of the year is simply not the player he was at that time last season. Morikawa has just lost every tee on the green metric at the Scottish Open, which marked the first time in his career on the PGA Tour that he did. He has continued to struggle to find fairways and later with his irons, which will cause him problems in St. Andrews.
Surprise prediction: Brooks Koepka says: I’m giving Benedict Arnold serious vibes, but I really think a trio of LIV Golf players will work well this week: Louis Oosthuizen is third. Koepka’s record at the US Open and the PGA Championship is usually very popular, but his experience at the Open is among the best in the game with finishes of T10, T6, T39, T4 and T6 since 2015. Firm, fast, windy conditions should suit the four-time senior champion.
Tiger Woods Prediction – Backdoor top 20: A shorter place where a strategy is required is located exactly at the current Tiger helm. The key to his chances will not be his driver but whether he is able to put himself in effectively, as we saw him lose iron races in hand with some regularity in Southern Hills. If he does that and avoids awkward lies, Woods should arrive over the weekend and find his name on the second or third page of the rankings.
Lowest round: 64 (-8) Winning score: 260 (-18) Sunday winner’s score: 68 (-4)
Who will win the Open Championship and what long shots will surprise the golf world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected standings and optimal choices, all from the model that eight golf majors have achieved, including this year’s Masters.
Chip Patterson, writer
Winner: Cameron Smith (22-1): After a brilliant start to 2022, we’ve seen Smith cool off a bit (including a lost cut at the U.S. Open), but he still scores too many squares to this event ignores his ability to fight. You have to be creative and sharp with your wedges and putter in this championship, especially in the Old Course. Smith has excellent short play and is a more valuable player in windy conditions; he won’t try to keep up with the big tee hitters. Smith had a bad round at the Scottish Open, but still finished T10 thanks to three rounds of 68 or better. That tells me he’s ready and willing to win his first big championship.
Sleeper – Robert MacIntyre (80-1): The recent form isn’t inspiring, I’ll admit, but I’m not as focused on the three cuts lost in the last four starts as MacIntyre’s Open Championship experience and performance to seniors in general. He’s only 25, but MacIntyre has finished two in the top 10 in so many starts in the Open Championship and hasn’t missed a cut in nine major appearances in his career. Out of these two top-10s at the Open, MacIntyre’s next best results have been at the Masters (T12 in 2021, T23 in 2022). The good results in these championships bode well for a rising star, and I think the native of Scotland will have something special for this week at St. Andrews.
Top 10 Lock – Rory McIlroy: When a …