British Open Predictions: Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler Among Bold Forecasts

The unexpected certainly happened at the Masters and U.S. Open. Will golf fans be in for some more suprises this week at the British Open?

Only time will tell, but we have had three straight first-time major winners with Jason Day (2015 PGA Championship), Danny Willett (2016 Masters) and Dustin Johnson (2016 U.S. Open). And our bold predictions for the 145th Open, which begins Thursday, include a fourth first-time major winner in a row.

See what we expect to happen this week at Royal Troon in our predictions below.

Rickie Fowler Will Miss Another Cut
This one sort of seems like cheating because Fowler has had a rough 2016 season, to say the least. Fowler already has missed the cut in the first two majors of the season, and it wouldn’t come as a shock if he did so again this week at Royal Troon.

Ernie Els Will Finish In Top 10
If you went just based off 2016 performances, Els is more likely to miss the cut this week than make some noise on Sunday. But he did finish fifth in his final PGA Tour event before his trip to Royal Troon, and he’s a two-time British Open champion and won the event in 2012. He also knows this course well after coming up just short in a playoff against Todd Hamilton in 2004 and finishing in a tie for 10th in 1997. So don’t be surprised if you see Els’ name in the top 10 once the 145th British Open wraps up.

Matt Kuchar Will Lead All Americans In Field
Look, there certainly are plenty of star American golfers capable of making a run at this year’s British Open, but Kuchar arguably has been one of the hottest golfers on Tour recently. He has seven top nines in his last 10 events, and we expect that trend to continue this weekend.

Top Five Finishers
Sergio Garcia, Adam Scott, Branden Grace, Jason Day, Matt Kuchar

Winner: Sergio Garcia
Garcia’s major-less drought comes to an end this week at the British Open. Why are we so confident Garcia finally will break through at 36 years old after coming up short so many times? Well, for a couple of reasons. Garcia has had a strong 2016 campaign, making the cut in 10 of his 11 appearances. He also has one win — the AT&T Byron Nelson — and he finished in a tie for fifth at the U.S. Open. And, on top of that, Garcia finished in the top six in his last two tries at the British Open. So, it appears the stars finally have aligned for Garcia.