At the High Line, a lovely public park on the west side of New York City built on an old elevated rail line, you see things. The remnants of the train tracks, for sure. Art. Buildings.
Yep. A few weeks ago, he was out among the masses. He’d just finished runner-up at the U.S. Open. Agonizingly. He bogeyed three of his final four holes at Pinehurst. He lost by a shot. He needed to get away. To recombobulate. To make sense of how the hell he’d fallen short — again — of major win No. 5.
McIlroy went to NYC. He visited the park, too.
“Went to Manhattan, which was nice,” he said last week. “It was nice to sort of blend in with the city a little bit. I walked around. I walked the High Line a couple of times. I made a few phone calls. Sort of was alone with my thoughts for a couple days, which was good. I had some good chats with people close to me, and as you start to think about not just Sunday at Pinehurst but the whole way throughout the week, there was a couple of things that I noticed that I wanted to try to work on over the last few weeks coming into here, and obviously next week at Troon.
“They were hard, but at the same time, as each day went by, it became easier to focus on the positives and then to think about the future instead of what had just happened.”
Anyone recognize him at the High Line?
A few folks, he said.
“But I had my AirPods in, sort of — you know, but it was nice.”
You like to hear it, no pun intended.
Consider McIlroy recharged as he heads into this week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon, and you go to your preferred betting window. Lessons have been learned, he said. There’s this, too:
“When I look back on that day, just like I look back on some of my toughest moments in my career, I’ll learn a lot from it and I’ll hopefully put that to good use,” McIlroy said. “It’s something that’s been a bit of a theme throughout my career. I’ve been able to take those tough moments and turn them into great things not very long after that.”
Looking for some other ideas for the Open? Friend, you’ve clicked on the right article, where members of our staff have each made a to-win bet. The hope is, of course, we help you with your own weekly picks, whether those are for a low-stakes office fantasy league, or (legal!) big-bucks bets with a sportsbook.
On to our picks.
2024 Open Championship picks to win
PGA Tour golfers aren't the only ones who can make some 💰 starting next Thursday. You can too! Here are a few tips. https://t.co/uldLYRZvRh
To-win: Rory McIlroy, +750. Beyond Rory’s obvious skill and his record at the Open Championship, I feel that with this pick I’m channeling my inner Ben Crenshaw by saying. “I’m a big believer in fate. I have a good feeling about this.” I can only begin to imagine the amount of motivation Rory will bring to Troon, so with that, he’s my guy.
James Colgan
To-win: Scottie Scheffler, +450. Sure, it’s lame to pick the favorite, but those are the best odds Scottie has gotten in three months. After the year he’s had, a win at Troon to get to three majors — and halfway to the grand slam — feels only fitting.
Dylan Dethier
To-win: Xander Schauffele, +1,400. Fleetwood and McIlroy finish T2 while Xander claims his second major championship just two starts after his first.
Nick Dimengo
To-win: Ludvig Aberg, +1,400. Is the 24-year-old Swede ready for the step into superstardom? If you ask most golf experts, Aberg is the future face of the sport, so what better time than now to prove that he’s worthy of the distinction — on European soil, no less. He’s performed well in two of the three majors this year (second and T12), so he shouldn’t be overwhelmed by the moment.
Connor Federico
To-win: Brian Harman, +5,000. Golf fans and oddsmakers alike seem to forget the Champion Golfer of the Year’s six-shot win at Royal Liverpool last July. The victory changed the narrative of Harman’s career, launching him on to a U.S. Ryder Cup team, but he has yet to win on Tour since. Do I think he will take the Claret Jug again in such dominating fashion? No — but we certainly didn’t pick him to win last year, either.
Jack Hirsh
To win: Scottie Scheffler, +450. My heart wants to pick Rory McIlroy, but I cannot in good faith pick against Scottie Scheffler right now.
To-win: Collin Morikawa, +2,000. T3, T4, T14. Those are Morikawa’s major finishes this season. He’s yet to win a tournament this year, but he’s showing up in the biggest events. He’s due for a breakthrough.
Nick Piastowski
To-win: Brooks Koepka, +3,300. I like that he’s a little down the board. I like Collin Morikawa here, too.
Josh Sens
To-win: Rory McIlroy, +750. You can keep a good man down for only so long. I’m thinking 10 years and 38 majors are enough. The 39th time will be the charm.
Jonathan Wall
To-win: Viktor Hovland, +2,200. Hovland’s worst finish at the Open Championship is a T13. I don’t know about your standards, but that’s pretty good in my book. Recent run of good form only reinforces the choice. Three of the past seven major winners have been first-timers. I think Hovi makes it four at Troon.
Nick Piastowski is a Senior Editor at Golf.com and Golf Magazine. In his role, he is responsible for editing, writing and developing stories across the golf space. And when he’s not writing about ways to hit the golf ball farther and straighter, the Milwaukee native is probably playing the game, hitting the ball left, right and short, and drinking a cold beer to wash away his score. You can reach out to him about any of these topics — his stories, his game or his beers — at nick.piastowski@golf.com.
