Longshots are all the rage in golf, especially after J.J. Spaun won the U.S. Open as a 125-1 underdog. The Open Championship is normally the friendliest major for longshots, so let’s take a look at three players who could pull a Spaun at Royal Portrush Golf Club.
Nick Taylor
Taylor is one of the hottest players on the PGA Tour right now, yet no one is talking about him. The Canadian has been incredibly consistent with seven top-25 finishes in his last eight starts. During that span, he ranks 16th in the Open Championship field in distance from edge of fairway and greens in regulation percentage, 20th in good drive percentage and 24th in strokes gained from putting. That all-around game is exactly what you’ll need this week at Royal Portrush.
Taylor has picked off impressive wins at the WM Phoenix Open, RBC Canadian Open and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in his career, proving he can step up in class and take down the best players in the world.
Harry Hall
Speaking of under-the-radar players in great form, Hall has finished T24 or better in seven straight starts. The biggest reason for this hot streak has been his short game, as the Englishman ranks first in the Open Championship field in strokes gained from putting and sixth in scrambling percentage over the last 24 rounds.
With wind and rain in the forecast this week, players will miss a ton of greens and need to scramble to stay afloat. There’s no one we trust to get up and down more than Hall right now, so his game could be perfectly suited for what we’re going to see at Royal Portrush.
Thriston Lawrence
