The Open 2021: Preview and Golf Tips

The highlight of the summer, the historic Open Championship, better known as The Open, is being played this weekend for the 149th time.

The only major golf tournament in Europe is finally being held at St George’s Golf Club in the idyllic Kent county of southern England after a year off. The stunning traditional links course built on the coast offers challenges with its numerous shapes and incredibly thick rough, should the ball stray off the fairway.

The course appears to be set up for a challenging experience, and when combined with the variable sea breeze, the steady and precise hitters are expected to outshine the wild bombers in the pre-tournament discussions.

The Open tips: Bryson misses the cut, we miss it too!

Especially for those who follow golf a little less or have just started following the sport, Bryson DeChambeau's name may have become the most familiar. The professor, who has garnered a lot of media attention, underwent a massive transformation in a short time two years ago, gaining several pounds of pure muscle mass and doubling his shoulder width during the off-season. The ball also started to travel incredibly fast, and he has become quite the specialist in impressive long drives.

Unfortunately, T-bone steaks or gallons of protein shakes have not correlated with anything other than clubhead speed. DeChambeau's problem has become accuracy, which does not forgive even slightly tighter and more difficult roughs, such as the one at this year's The Open at St George’s. It is expected that the hefty muscle will run into significant problems with his driver, as the fairway is quite narrow in places and misses will be heavily penalized by nearly knee-high grass.

Surrounding the entire Bryson phenomenon, it has been noticeable that he has started to accumulate scores significantly more than probabilities would suggest. Ultimately, results are made and championships are decided around the greens, which is not a bad thing for the wonder man, as he is actually quite a good short game player. The problem may once again arise in approaching the greens, especially if the ball needs to be retrieved from anywhere other than cut grass.

Consistency, accuracy, and edge – that’s the champion’s secret

To succeed on the challenging links of St George’s, players must always aim to keep their tee shots low on the mowed grass or ideally on the par-3s on the green. Accuracy and short game skills will determine the next owner of the legendary Claret Jug, as even Bull Mentula's wrists are not enough to clear the ball to reasonable playing spots from extremely thick roughs.

On the other hand, the greens and their surroundings are very undulating and shaped with various slopes and levels. At worst, players may face double or triple breaks on greens at different levels, so considerable awareness is required in finding lines and speed in putting.

If we consider consistent and versatile players without major weaknesses, South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen comes to the forefront.

This guy has already been fitted with the chronic runner-up mantle, as he has finished second in two previous major tournaments this season, the US Open and the PGA Championship. Additionally, he has several runner-up finishes on the tour itself.

So there is consistency, and in fact, The Open is the only major tournament he has managed to win, back in 2010. Therefore, he does not carry the same burden of a ghost in terms of winning this event, so perhaps Louie, playing in a slightly less pressured environment, can get the most out of himself. The course and conditions also favour this player who thrives on links.

One interesting dark horse in this tournament is the American Stewart Cink, making a comeback at the ripe age of 48, who also secured his only major victory at The Open in 2009. After more than 11 years, he won again on the PGA Tour and claimed his second victory within six months in April.

He has always performed best on Open-style links courses, and this time the course and its layout favour Cink, who, while not the longest hitter in the group at nearly fifty, is much more accurate and effective around the greens. The old master can handle pressure, and his hand certainly won’t shake on the final day in tough situations.

Let’s make a third mention, this time based purely on statistics and mathematics. Mexico's Abraham Ancer's stats support good success this weekend as well. He is not among the longest hitters, but he is at the sharp end of accuracy.

His drives hit the fairway at a high percentage, his approaches more often than not find their way directly to the putting surface, and with a putter in hand, the Mexican is a top-class player. The 30-year-old has significantly raised his level in recent years and has the potential to compete at the top in this tournament.

The Open 2021 betting tips:

• Bryson DeChambeau – does not make the cut: 2.25 Burningbet
• Louis Oosthuizen outright winner: 30.00 Sportaza
• Stewart Cink – outright winner: 125.00 Burningbet
• Abraham Ancer outright winner: 80.00 Sportaza