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TSN Senior Reporter

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After a one-year pause, the Open Championship has returned with players set to chase for the Claret Jug. While a number of players have taken a pass for a variety of reasons ranging from positive COVID-19 tests to the birth of a child, the majority of the world’s best golfers are at Royal St. George’s.

While greats of the game, including Harry Vardon, Walter Hagen and Greg Norman have won at the layout in Sandwich, England, the last two winners, Ben Curtis and Darren Clarke, were surprises.

That’s not surprising considering the course provides one of the more unpredictable layouts of the Open rota. The bumps and rolls of the fairways, the ball-grabbing bunkers and a collection of blind tee shots mean a lot of good shots turn out to be not so good. Great patience is as much of an asset as good putter.

With that in mind, here are a few players to consider for the return of the Open.

Favourites

Jon Rahm

Coming off his U.S. Open victory, Rahm is bursting with confidence. On a course where those who can drive the ball well have won, he is second in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and second in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green. And he’s won on links courses before, capturing the Irish Open at Portstewart in 2017. He’s also coming off a seventh-place finish at the Scottish Open. Combine all this and Rahm’s hard to pass over.

Brooks Koepka

The guy who only gets up for majors is back at a major and ready to get another leg of the Grand Slam, something he stated this week was a goal of his. In his last two majors, Koepka tied for second at the PGA Championship in May and tied for fourth at the U.S. Open. His record at the British is solid. He’s finished inside the top 10 in this event three of his last four starts including a tie for fourth two years ago at Royal Portrush.

Mid-range

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick is coming off a playoff loss at the Scottish Open and the heartbreaking defeat of his English team in the Euro Cup, so he needs something to brighten him up. A Claret Jug would probably do that. In his last start at the Open, he tied for 20th. Although he’s not long with the driver, he makes up for it with accuracy, sitting 13th in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 17th in Driving Accuracy. Keeping the ball out of the long stuff this week is imperative. On the green, he’s no slouch either, ranking 24th in Strokes Gained: Putting and second in holing putts from 15 to 20 feet.

Jordan Spieth

Spieth won the Open in 2017 and hadn’t won since that time until he grabbed this year’s Valero Texas Open. Since then, he’s been on a tear and statistically, at least, he is the second-best golfer on Tour behind only Jon Rahm. Since that win, he’s finished inside the top 30 in every start. He seems to enjoy the Open as well with that win and two other top-10 finishes in his last five starts. He also has the best Strokes Gained: Total number in the Open since 2015, averaging 2.89. The only question mark will be whether he can keep his tee shots out of the hairy parts of the course.

Longer shots

Marc Leishman

In his last six Open Championship starts, Leishman has finished in the top six in half of them. That’s a decent record and one of the reasons for it is his low-trajectory, boring ball flight that gets through the wind with ease.  The big Australian is also coming in with some form, having just missed a playoff at the Travelers. Add to it his tie for fifth at the Masters this year and he would be an intriguing pick.

Brandon Grace

When it comes to the Open, Grace is best known as the first player to go sub-63 when he posted a round of 62 at Royal Birkdale. That led him to a tie for sixth, his best finish at the oldest major. The South African is making his 10th appearance at the Open and has only missed the cut once. He’s coming in with good form having finished tied for fifth at the U.S. Open last month. That was one of three top-10s on his season, one of which was a win in Puerto Rico.