Do it right the first time.

Well, that’s often easier said than done.

Of course, that’s unless you are Collin Morikawa.

For the second time in less than a year, Morikawa won a major championship in his tournament debut.

This time around, he won the Open Championship at 30-to-1 odds.

There’s no doubt that the fact it was his debut at the event contributed to Morikawa being listed at such long odds.

At least one analyst was able to overlook that and make the correct prediction.

Fortunately, it was one of ours.

Here is the Morning Coffee for Monday July 19, 2021.

 

Morikawa wins Open championship

Maybe it was just a little bit too easy to overlook Morikawa.

After all, 10 of the past 11 winners had played the Open Championship at least four times. Seven of the past 10 winners were 32 or older.

However, at +3300 to win the tournament outright at the start of the week, our very own Michael Harrison realized that the price was too good to pass up. 

Here is what he wrote in his First Look At The Field on the Tuesday morning:

“He will be making his tournament debut, which is pushing his odds down from what they normally would be if he was a links golf veteran.

It's a totally different setup, but Morikawa won the PGA in his first start at that event…

At +3300 odds, he's worthy of serious consideration with how hot he's been this season.”

While Morikawa closed at +3000, Harrison was right about the value being too good to pass on.

After all, he had led the field in Strokes Gained Approach, GIR Gained and Strokes Gained Ball Striking in his previous 24 rounds entering the final major of the season.

Sure, he’s had some issues on the greens. However, he was able to overcome them at Royal St. George’s and perform at an elite level, closing without a single bogey over his final 31 holes.

In the end, his 265 (15-under) matched the third-lowest score by a major champion in the Masters Era, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Pretty good for a 30-to-1 selection.

The 24-year-old Morikawa needed just eight starts to become a two-time major champion.

Meanwhile, the top Canadian contenders beat the odds to deliver top-20 finishes.

Adam Scully, who had complete coverage of The Open for TSN Edge throughout all four rounds, reflected on Morikawa’s dominance, as well as the memorable performances by both Mackenzie Hughes and Corey Conners.

With the final major of the season in the books, it’s never too early to look ahead to next season.

Here is a look at the top choices to win The Masters next April.

 

Reading Between The Lines

While Harrison delivered with the Morikawa selection, the biggest winner of the weekend was our very own Aaron Bronsteter, who went 4-for-4, including his Dart Throw Of The Week at +1600.

Four winners – three of which were plus-money selections, including taking Islam Makhachev to win in Round 4 at +1600 as his Dart Throw of the Week.

He’s now 5-1 over the past two weeks dating back to UFC 264, not including a split with his two long shot dart throws.

Make sure you check back in before Saturday to see who Aaron likes for this week’s UFC Fight Night event.

 

Milwaukee one win away from NBA title

The Milwaukee Bucks will have the opportunity to clinch their first NBA title since 1971 with a win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Tuesday night.

Milwaukee, which overcame a 16-point deficit to beat the Suns on the road in Game 5, went from +135 to -400 to win the championship following that victory.

It was the first road win by either team in the series.

The Bucks opened as a five-point favourite for Game 6 on their home floor.

Phoenix, which went from -155 to +320 to win the title after losing at home, will need to figure out how to extend the series as a +175 underdog for Game 6.

As somebody sitting on a Suns ticket, I thought it was the worst-case scenario to have to hedge ahead of Game 5.

As it turns out, it was the right move.

Even after losing Games 3 and 4 on the road, I thought Phoenix would rally at home and ultimately win the series.

Now, I’m happy I hedged my bet.