TROON, Scotland — This Open Championship has had it all. Wind and rain in every direction. Rory and Tiger missing the cut. Phil and Rickie making the cut. The No. 1 player in the world is lurking. So is No. 2. The longshot leader through 18 holes. The lovable leader through 36. Billy Horschel alone in the lead through 54?
It feels like something special is brewing at Royal Troon. Something chaotic even. “It’s front-foot mentality tomorrow,” Justin Rose said, predicting that of the five-man group tied for three under, one of those players is bound to play well. Which one? Well, we’ve got some ideas below.
We’ve decided that five under will get you into a playoff at this wacky Open, given there are 24 players within six shots of the lead. Six under wins the tournament outright. Here are the nine best ways the Open Championship could finish Sunday evening.
9. Sam Burns shoots 68, redefines how we think about tournament golf
Through 11 holes of this championship — you know, like three days ago — Sam Burns was seven over par. SEVEN over. He has, somewhat miraculously, made 13 birdies and just three bogeys since. He finished his third round shortly after 5 p.m. local time Saturday, while the leaders were making their way through the 6th hole. Three hours later, he’s one shot back. Were he to get it done, we’ll have to think about Thursday rounds a lot differently in the future.
8. Justin Rose shoots 68, books his Hall-of-Fame ticket
Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the early-40s boys. Adam Scott, nearly winning the Genesis Scottish Open last week. Sergio Garcia, winning LIV Valderrama last week. And now, Rose doing what Rose is doing at Royal Troon. He made just one bogey the first 36 holes, and gritted his teeth throughout the worst conditions Saturday evening.
The other thing you’d notice about those players above, besides their ages, is that each of them has won just one major. That puts each of them right on the cusp of Hall-of-Fame lock status. Rose would book his ticket to the right side of history with a win tomorrow.
7. Justin Thomas shoots 65, follows in his buddy’s footsteps
There was a time when a two-time major champion pulled himself out of a long lull and back into relevancy with an epic Sunday at the Open Championship. His name? Jordan Spieth. What if the same thing happens for his pal, Justin Thomas?
JT has been hinting at greatness lately, unable to make it happen over 72 holes. He shot the round of the morning Thursday and promised he was “close.” But then he shot 45 on the front nine Friday and we completely forgot about him. After a good-conditions 67 Saturday, Thomas is just four back. A Sunday charge is there for the taking. We’d have to reconsider everything we think about Thomas if he could do it.
6. Billy Horschel shoots 70 in a backwards cap
One way to get European golf fans riled up? Playing the Open Championship in a backwards cap. But the conditions have demanded it, out of Justin Rose a good bit Saturday and, notably, out of our leader, Billy Horschel. Horschel turned his cap around years ago in this event and was torched for it on social media.
But it’s 2024, and we’re gonna allow it to happen if you lift the Claret Jug. Horschel would find no shortage of U.K. love given his affection for cricket, West Ham United and the DP World Tour. If he keeps his hat on straight, even more.
5. Daniel Brown shoots 68, wins with a cigarette between his lips
You’ve heard of him by now, this mystery man with the generic name. Dan Brown, a 29-year-old DP World Tour pro, stood toe-to-toe with Shane Lowry all day Saturday and now is just one shot back. He also did it by stealing away for a cigarette or two.
Brown calls it a bad habit and tries to hide it from his parents, but when you do it in the final pairing of the Open Championship, they’re probably going to see it. Sunday’s round is bound to be equally as stressful, given the stakes, but if he gets it done, Mom and Dad are just gonna have to let this one slide.
4. Jon Rahm and Collin Morikawa shoot dueling 65s, playoff for immortality
Looking down the list of pros at two over, these two names stand out. Both are gunning for their third major. Rahm is going for an extra leg of the career slam. Morikawa would turn his season from really good to rather epic. Maybe better than anyone but Scottie Scheffler.
Rahm has shown flashes of fantastic play in the conditions this week. Morikawa has been a bit of a silent assassin, plugging away under the radar. If the wind strengthens as the day goes by — just as it did Saturday — we could easily see one of these gents grab the lead from the clubhouse. Why not both at the same time? Pick your winner.
3. Shane Lowry rises again, shoots 67, poses with cameraman he cussed out
Lowry has had a rollercoaster week. He’s the only player who has been invited inside the media center for multiple press conferences. But that’s what happens when you lead the tournament as long as he has. But his loose finish — and multiple F-bombs launched at others inside the ropes — has him on tilt. The best scenario he could cook up is four front-nine birdies, then a steely, par-laden finish with a cuss word or two at cameramen in the process. Lean in. All the way in.
2. Xander Schauffele shoots 68, schedules an awkward vote
Schauffele isn’t the sexiest champion. He isn’t the best player in the world. He definitely doesn’t talk like he is, either. Most of his golf is so good, so steady, so solid, that it’s borderline ho, hum. But that doesn’t mean he wouldn’t be a fantastic winner. Schauffele winning Sunday would make it our first two-major season in the men’s game since Brooks Koepka in 2018.
What would that do to the PGA Tour Player of the Year vote? It would ask pros to choose between two majors and an epic, dominant, single-major year. I’m here for that.
1. Scottie Scheffler shoots 67, wins in playoff
It would be his magnum opus. His chef d’oeuvre. His ultimate masterpiece. To win all over America and the PGA Tour is one thing. To come from behind in the elements at the Open Championship? It would be a crowning achievement unlike the others. If he even putts at an average level Sunday, where there isn’t any rain in the forecast, Scheffler will win this tournament and stamp this season as one of the best we’ve ever seen in PGA Tour history.
Admit it, you want to see that.
