Matt Fitzpatrick Might Be Built for Royal Birkdale Go to https://kachava.com and use code WINGO for 15% off your first order. Golf Live continues its Open Championship preview with a closer look at Royal Birkdale, the history of champions there, and the players Trey Wingo and Justin Ray trust most this week. Royal Birkdale may not always get talked about like St. Andrews, Carnoustie or Muirfield, but the winner’s list says plenty. Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Johnny Miller, Tom Watson, Mark O’Meara, Padraig Harrington and Jordan Spieth have all won Opens there. As Trey puts it, Birkdale produces real major champions. The History at Birkdale Trey and Justin go through the names that have won at Royal Birkdale and why the course has a habit of finding elite players. There is also the strange history. Mark O’Meara beat Brian Watts in a playoff in 1998. Ian Baker-Finch won there in 1991 before his game unraveled years later. And Jordan Spieth’s 2017 win became one of the most chaotic masterpieces of his career, complete with the wild miss, the long ruling and the “go get that” eagle putt. Birkdale does not always look like the most famous course in the Open rota, but it has created plenty of memorable Open moments. Experience Matters at the Open Justin brings one of the biggest stats of the segment: over the last 15 years, Open Championship winners have averaged their 38th career major start at the time of victory. That is higher than the Masters, PGA Championship and U.S. Open. The point is simple: experience matters at the Open. Playing links golf, handling the schedule, accepting bad breaks and staying patient all matter more this week than they might at other majors. That is why Trey keeps coming back to mental strength. At Birkdale, players are going to get bad bounces. They are going to end up in spots that feel unfair. The winner has to be able to absorb that and keep going. Why Fitzpatrick Makes Sense Justin’s pick to win is Matt Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick has rebuilt his approach game in a massive way, going from 127th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approach a few years ago to first this season. Justin compares that improvement to the way Fitzpatrick added speed and power before winning the U.S. Open. Trey agrees with the pick. For Trey, Fitzpatrick’s biggest edge is how cerebral he is. He takes notes, studies everything and approaches the game with a level of preparation that fits this kind of course. If Birkdale requires discipline, patience and problem-solving, Fitzpatrick checks a lot of boxes. The Other Picks Justin also likes Russell Henley for a top-five finish. Henley is accurate, controls his ball flight and could benefit from firm conditions that reduce the gap between him and longer hitters. Min Woo Lee is Justin’s top-ten pick. He finished second at the Scottish Open, has shown stronger ball-striking this season and tends to get hot in bunches. Trey also likes Collin Morikawa, who has already won an Open at Royal St. George’s and knows how to handle a quirky links setup. His other pick is Justin Rose, partly because of the story. Rose first became known at Royal Birkdale in 1998 as a 17-year-old amateur, and winning the Open there now would be a full-circle moment. At Royal Birkdale, the best pick may not be the loudest name. It may be the player built for the test. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

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