This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.
It goes without saying, but: The flash floods that overwhelmed West Virginia last month with death and destruction created an unimaginable tragedy. It will affect West Virginians long after the last of the floodwater subsides.
Greenbrier County was particularly hard hit, and the flooding forced the cancellation of last week's Greenbrier Classic. The Greenbrier resort announced it will reopen on Tuesday, and that little bit of good news can help get some residents back to work and on the road to normalcy.
Of course, this is a space for fantasy golf, and the plan was to recap the Greenbrier Classic. Instead, we'll review the Scottish Open, the European Tour event that took on added significance and interest with the PGA Tour dark.
And, selfishly, it allowed gamers preparing for this week's Open Championship the opportunity to get more prepared. Many of us watched the Scottish Open, at least more than we would have had the Greenbrier Classic been going on. And so we saw many more golfers who will be at Royal Troon, and reacquainted ourselves with links golf.
We saw Alexander Noren of Sweden edge Tyrrell Hatton of England by one stroke at Castle Stuart, just a few miles down the road in Scotland from Troon. As far as links courses go, the two are not especially alike, but that's a small factoid in planning for this week and didn't take away from our enjoyment.
Saturday was an especially "dreary July afternoon," as the announcer described. But somehow it
It goes without saying, but: The flash floods that overwhelmed West Virginia last month with death and destruction created an unimaginable tragedy. It will affect West Virginians long after the last of the floodwater subsides.
Greenbrier County was particularly hard hit, and the flooding forced the cancellation of last week's Greenbrier Classic. The Greenbrier resort announced it will reopen on Tuesday, and that little bit of good news can help get some residents back to work and on the road to normalcy.
Of course, this is a space for fantasy golf, and the plan was to recap the Greenbrier Classic. Instead, we'll review the Scottish Open, the European Tour event that took on added significance and interest with the PGA Tour dark.
And, selfishly, it allowed gamers preparing for this week's Open Championship the opportunity to get more prepared. Many of us watched the Scottish Open, at least more than we would have had the Greenbrier Classic been going on. And so we saw many more golfers who will be at Royal Troon, and reacquainted ourselves with links golf.
We saw Alexander Noren of Sweden edge Tyrrell Hatton of England by one stroke at Castle Stuart, just a few miles down the road in Scotland from Troon. As far as links courses go, the two are not especially alike, but that's a small factoid in planning for this week and didn't take away from our enjoyment.
Saturday was an especially "dreary July afternoon," as the announcer described. But somehow it didn't seem quite so dreary with a British accent. The rain was coming down pretty hard; of course, they continued on. The wind and the weather change quickly over there. On Sunday, Noren began the 18th hole in short sleeves, then put his pullover on in the fairway only to take it off again on the green.
Perhaps the pressure of the moment was also an issue for Noren. But this is getting to be old hat for the veteran, who now has won five times on the European Tour, all with the 54-hole lead. That's impressive. Noren missed most of 2014 with wrist injuries, but he has bounced back to win in 2015 and now in '16. And with Sunday's win, he climbed from 99th in the world to inside the top 50, at No. 49.
Noren has had only one top-10 at an Open Championship, a T9 at Royal Lytham in 2012, when Ernie Els won. But playing well heading into a major is virtually paramount, and thus Noren should be given consideration at Troon, especially at his pre-victory price of $6,900.
Four golfers advanced to the Open Championship after finishing in the top 12: Hatton, who was a shot behind Noren; Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts and Italy's Matteo Manassero, who tied with Danny Lee for third another stroke back; and Scottish favorite Richie Ramsay (T6).
MONDAY BACKSPIN
Alexander Noren
Noren normally hits about 58 percent of his drives in the fairway. At Castle Stuart, he was at nearly 84 percent (and that wasn't even in the top two in the field). If he can come close to replicating that number, he could be headed for the best major finish of his career.
Tyrrell Hatton
The Englishman is only 24 and has never won on the Euro tour or even made a cut at the Open Championship. But he moved from 98th to 68th in the OWGR, so we should be hearing more from him. He tied for 25th at last year's PGA Championship (and if you actually knew that, perhaps you've been spending a wee bit too much time on fantasy golf).
Danny Lee
The lone member of the PGA Tour who was in contention, Lee obviously likes playing this time of year – he won the Greenbrier last year. The New Zealander hit "only" 64 percent of his drives in the fairway at Castle Stuart, which would be pretty dang good stateside but good for just 60th best at the Scottish Open. And he also couldn't make a putt on Sunday. If either of those trouble spots gets rectified, Lee could be an option this week. He missed the cut last year in his Open Championship debut.
Andy Sullivan
The animated Englishman tied for 30th in his first Open Championship last year, and he was 23rd at this year's U.S. Open, so majors don't intimidate him. Sullivan tied for sixth with Ramsay at Castle Stuart, and to see him in the mix this week would hardly be a surprise.
Phil Mickelson
Oh, Phil. Mickelson closed with a six-under 66 on Sunday to tie for 13th and, naturally, give him confidence heading into the Open. That's never a good sign for Mickelson, whose game seems to go in the tank every time he expects the opposite. But he did hit 75 percent of fairways on the week, a number that could be good enough at Troon – if he gets his lag putting in gear.
Henrik Stenson
Like Mickelson, the top-ranked golfer in the field rebounded from an opening 76 to battle his way to a T13. As Stenson is a premier ball-striker, he'll be among the favorites at Troon, and his $9,500 price tag places him ninth on the DraftKings board. But there's a reason such a great tee-to-green golfer has never won a major: putting.
Branden Grace
Grace tumbled down the leaderboard on the weekend to tie for 29th. But the South African's growing resume in majors will make him an extremely popular option for the Open. At $9,700, he's just ahead of Stenson and, remarkably, just behind Rickie Fowler ($9,900). If you liked him but took pause after his 74 on Saturday, fear not. He's got the perfect game for the potential brutal winds along the Firth of Clyde.
Shane Lowry
Lowry shot 78-73 to miss the cut, and that was a bit of surprise, with three previous top-15s at Castle Stuart. But coming off his stellar U.S. Open, he should be a consideration at Troon. Further, the Irishman tied for ninth in the Open Championship two years ago (he missed the cut last year).
Chris Wood
The Englishman was a late WD from the Scottish Open, tweeting that he had a neck injury. He's in the field at Troon, so perhaps Wood was just being overly cautious. He was T11 just the week before at the French Open and is now 22nd in the OWGR. But that WD after rosters were in really stunk (care to take a guess who had Wood in his DraftKings lineup?).
Colin Montgomerie
Montgomerie opened with a 78 and missed the cut. But that's not why we're writing about him. He's had a remarkable European Tour career, albeit one marked by never winning a major. Now on the Champions Tour, the Scot won't win this week, either. But he has the potential to be the best story. Montgomerie desperately wanted to play in this Open, and he went out and qualified to do so, at age 53 playing 36 holes in one day against golfers half his age. He is dedicating this week to his father, James, who is 86 and has been associated with Troon for 60 years, 11 as the club secretary. Montgomerie will be in the first group off the tee Thursday morning, and thus will hit the first shot of the 145th Open Championship.
