Based on Trends, One of These 8 Players Will Win The Open

I don’t love to fall into the trap of trends—anything can happen when the pressure of a major championship looms—but sometimes they’re so convincing that you have to pay attention.

If you’ve never heard of GolfRamble on Twitter, they’re a great follow if you’re a stats head. Every time a major rolls around, they post great information leading up to round one. On Monday morning, Ramble posted a trends thread for The Open that I couldn’t ignore.

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According to Ramble, the last 12 Champion Golfers of the Year had a previous top-two finish in a major, at least three top-15 finishes in their last five starts, were ranked inside the top 40 in the world, had a top-three PGA TOUR finish that season, and a prior top-20 finish at The Open (if they had played in one before).

You get all that?

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Last year, four players checked all the boxes: Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau, Keegan Bradley, and J.J. Spaun. Of course, Scheffler went on to win at Royal Portrush. This year, eight players fit the criteria at Royal Birkdale…

Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark, Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre, and Tom Kim.

So, if you’re into trends, one of those names will be hosting the Claret Jug in Southport, England, on Sunday afternoon.