Americans have won the six previous Open championships staged at Royal Troon and former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley believes there is a good chance it could be seven in a row this weekend.
Not since South African Bobby Locke recorded a two-shot victory in 1950 has there been a winner from outside the United States at the South Ayrshire links.
Arnold Palmer, Tom Weiskopf, Tom Watson, Mark Calcavecchia, Justin Leonard and Todd Hamilton have been the winners that followed and there are plenty of Americans who have descended on Troon this week capable of continuing that trend.
Dustin Johnson is the favourite with the bookmakers but Rickie Fowler, Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson will all have their eyes on lifting the Claret Jug – not forgetting defending champion Zach Johnson.
McGinley said: “Royal Troon reminds me of St Andrews in terms of the test.
“You score on the way out with the prevailing wind while the back nine is tougher and into the wind.
“With the level of confidence Dustin Johnson has, he’ll be hitting it close to the greens on some of the short par-4s on the front nine.
“He did that at St Andrews last year but faded over the weekend.
“It’s hard to say who will contend but the American players are becoming more experienced.
“Dustin spent last week practising on links in Ireland at Portmarnock, while Patrick Reed opted to play the Scottish Open.
“Phil Mickelson loves it here and you certainly wouldn’t discount him.
“It’s hard to predict and if you were going to have a bet it would be prudent to wait until the day before when you have the draw and know what the weather is like.
“You can be knocked out the first two days if you get the wrong side of the draw. When the pack shuffles and we see the draw on Friday night is when we get a really good insight.”
- Paul McGinley is the captain of the Ballantine’s Golf Club, the world’s first online golf club – a destination for golf fans worldwide to share in their passion of the game. The club offers unique online content and exclusive opportunities for members to play the game they love. To join, visit Ballantinesgolfclub.com
