Summer is winding down…

It’s not like I have to go back to school soon, or that I don’t like the fall. Hell, it’s probably my favorite season! Something way down in my programming still gives me that Sunday Scaries feeling, knowing that summer isn’t long for the world, though.

Still, it’s been a great season of majors. We had Rory getting the world’s biggest monkey off his back, Scottie lapping the field at Quail, and (as I requested the week of) a bit of an outsider winning the battle over an unforgiving Oakmont. If not for the fact that we’ve only seen six career grand slams ever, J.J. Spaun’s winning putt would surely have been the moment of the year.

But, time waits for no man, and we’re on to the final major of the year here in Northern Ireland. I like the tradition and feel of UK golf much more than actual links courses (which seem to really depend on Mother Nature to help them out), but this, like most stops in the Open rota, is a gorgeous golf course that should give us some great action over the next four days.

A look at the home of the 153rd Open, from Ron’s course preview:

Royal Portrush

Royal Portrush is a par-71 course that measures 7,381 yards. It is very comparable in length to other recent Open courses, including Royal Liverpool, Royal St. George’s, and Royal Troon. Though the ball can run out significantly on the fairways, the course’s length still favors players who can carry the ball long distances and generate lofted, controlled approach shots into elevated greens.

While Royal Portrush is a true major championship test, it offers scoring opportunities for those in control of their game. Solid ball-striking can lead to low numbers, especially with firm fairways and accessible pins. But for players who are even slightly off with their ball-striking, the course can be brutally unforgiving—bogeys, or worse, can stack up quickly thanks to penal rough, tricky runoffs, and the ever-present wind off the Atlantic.

In 2019, the course played to an average of +1.17 per round. While the unpredictable weather will ultimately determine scoring conditions, the warm summer temperatures and clear skies over the last six weeks have helped to dry out the venue, with strong winds also playing their part in leaving fairways and greens in immaculate – albeit fast – condition. Though rain is in the forecast for the first part of the week, the course should play firmer and faster than it did in 2019.

Although the Open in 2019 was only one tournament, Royal Portrush produced a wider scoring gap than most Open rota venues, separating contenders from pretenders by rewarding quality shots and punishing mistakes. Shane Lowry won by six strokes over Tommy Fleetwood, and was the only player to finish double-digits under par.

The fairways nestle in natural valleys between the towering dunes. They pitch and zag through towering, lush sandhills, twisting and turning along the bluffs of the North Atlantic. The small greens blend perfectly into the landscape, one of Colt’s masterstrokes.

One of the most striking features of Royal Portrush is the relative lack of green-side bunkers. Even after the extensive course updates ahead of the 2019 Open, the Dunluce Links contains just 57 bunkers—by far the fewest of any course on The Open rota. Instead of relying on sand to challenge players, Portrush defends itself with dramatic elevation changes, grassy hummocks and hollows surrounding most greens, and the towering sandhills that shape and frame nearly every hole. Even though it was recreated from the old 17th hole, “Big Nellie”, a cavernous, revetted trap guarding the fairway on the right side of the par-5 7th, remains the most famous bunker on the course. 

From an agronomic standpoint, greens and fairways are primarily composed of fescue grass. The first cut of rough is 2″ high and two yards wide and is a mixture of fescue, bentgrass, and indigenous grasses and wildflowers. Surrounding the fairways beyond the first cut is much thicker fescue, along with a myriad of other vegetation. When fescue is left to grow, it becomes wispy, thick, and penal. Balls can sit up one time and be completely buried the next.

Marram grass and other native dune vegetation are found on the high dunes and outer areas beyond the rough. Marram grass is tough, wiry, and nearly impossible to play from. It adds to the wild, natural aesthetic and poses a serious threat to wayward drives. Patches of heather and coastal shrubs like gorse may be found in less-maintained zones, especially beyond the dunes. These areas aren’t in play often, but when they are, it’s typically a lost ball or forced punch-out……

Betting

While I’m avoiding the top, I’m certainly not shying away from making some bets. Only ONE American makes the card (depending on how you feel about Sepp’s status as an Austrian). I couldn’t talk myself into most of the top of the board, so I’ll be chasing the dragon with some bigger prices.

Tyrell Hatton +2952
Shane Lowry +3450
Sepp Straka +5500
Russell Henley +6966
Ryan Fox +9000
Hideki Matsuyama +10557

Also, as mentioned on the live stream yesterday, I’m not super keen on Scottie this week after seeing his putting on the slow greens in Scotland and looking back on his overall stats with the flatstick on this side of the pond. I’ll be going at it for another crack in the matchup markets against him.

Rory > Scottie +135 (72-hole matchup)

Noonan has a lot of overlap with me this week and does a nice job of explaining how he approached the week:

Weather

Kind of important this week, and truthfully, as of right now, I’m willing to buck what looks like a clear AM/PM wave advantage, mostly because it doesn’t look bad enough to be some sort of multi-stroke difference that just kills the tournament for the unlucky draws.

With some calls for “heavy rain” on Thursday now, there is an off chance that we see a stoppage, throwing a wrench into the wave advantage, especially considering we DO NOT use split tees here, everyone goes off of #1 to start. This means the first and last tee times are spread out by roughly TEN hours.

Barracuda Championship!

The Open isn’t the only game in town this week, with a fun alt even up in Tahoe for those who didn’t qualify to play at Portrush. As is tradition, I will also bet on this one.

Tournament Overview

• Dates: July 17–20, 2025

• Location: Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood), Truckee, California

• Format: Modified Stableford (Double Eagle: +8, Eagle: +5, Birdie: +2, Par: 0, Bogey: -1, Double Bogey or worse: -3)

• Purse: $4,000,000 ($720,000 to winner)

• FedEx Cup Points: 300

• Field: 156 players, including 7 in the top 80 OWGR (no YouTubers though)

• Defending Champion: Nick Dunlap (2024, 49 points)

Wide fairways, challenging greens, but played at altitude and stableford scoring should push players to be aggressive when they can. Looking for strong iron play and guys who can dump a ton of putts in. Long hitters who can play aggressively and score over and over. Even with the altitude having this play more like a 7000-yard course, distance will still help if you can avoid the 90+ bunkers and the water, leaving some easy wedge shots to set up scoring chances.

Cam Champ +2500
Mark Hubbard +3500
Kevin Roy +3500
Austin Eckroat +3500
Garrick Higgo +6046

News and Notes

• Mayo Bomb! The timing on this seems late, but I’m guessing they didn’t really want to go this route and were just waiting for him to do the right thing on his own instead.

• Crazy indeed. This run stretches from JFK to Jimmy Carter.

• Love this. I understand the need for grandstands and the need for relief from said grandstands, but they don’t need to make it easy.

• Finally, can anyone help Kiz out?

As always, bet responsibly, have fun, and set your alarms for like 1 am!

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