With 19 LIV Golf players heading to The Open Championship, the spotlight is on how they’ll perform against the world’s best. In this video, top LIV Golf analysts break down each player’s form, chances, and what to expect when the Claret Jug is on the line. From major winners like Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka to rising stars like Joaquin Niemann and Dean Burmester — who’s got the best shot at lifting the trophy? Can LIV Golf make a serious statement at Royal Troon? Tune in for expert insight, bold predictions, and a preview of what could be a historic week in golf.
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All right, championship Sunday has come to a close and right now it’s time to zoom out. This upcoming week, all eyes will be on the open championship. 19 live players are competing for uh what we know is going to be really exciting. And the story lines are loaded. We got Rahm chasing legacy, Reed fighting for Ryder Cup redemption, or Westy just rolling back the years. And here to talk about it, of course, we have Jerry Falsz. We have our legend David Farity, also known as the best drust here at Live Golf, and our LiveGolf journalist Matt Vincenzi here to talk about the open next week. 19 live players headed there. Off of the top of mind, who are you guys most excited to follow next week? Well, for me, it’s it’s John Rom. I mean, I know he would have loved to win today, but he did exactly what he needed to do leading into next week. He’s won two Irish Opens, including one at La Hinch in 2019, which I think is a pretty good comp course for Port Rush. Finished T11 there at the Open in 2019. And then today, he gets in the heat of heat of battle, plays in the wind on Friday. Everything that you’d want to see from John Rom, in my opinion, makes him the favorite next week. Oh, absolutely. You know, I think he’s certainly one of the favorites, if not the favorite. But, uh, and what a fantastic start to his preparation. You know, a round like he had today. you know, he’s got to be going into next week with his tail up. But the other one, you know, and is kind of a sentimental favorite for me will be Tom McKibben, a youngster that I’m extremely proud of, you know, coming from that six counties, that little province, you know, along with players like Graeme McDow and Darren Clark and of course Rory Mcroy, one of the greatest players of all time. Tom McKibben is is set fair, you know, to carry that torch. I like I like Rahm’s chances a lot uh for the local crowd. He won’t be treated as the favorite, Matt, as you know, because Rory’s playing some seriously great golf. Uh, but and and Tom McKibben, I’m with you 100%. The way he performed here today, the praise, the accolades with which all the people in this profession uh treat that young man and the things they have to say about him. Darren Clark recently saying he he’s the one of the best ball strikers he’s ever seen. He says he compares it to Rory Mroy. It’s incredible. John Rom says today, I don’t know what they do in Northern Ireland, but two of the best golf swings he’s ever seen. Two of the best golf swings on the planet are from Northern Ireland and Rory and McKibben. So, that’s going to be exciting to see. I thought he was talking about me. Well, you did have a pretty swing back when you used to display it. I remember playing behind you one time in a big tournament and and I was jealous of that, too, as everything else about you. But, nonetheless, it’s going to be it’s going to be cool. But I think our 19 guys, Matt, I think our 19 guys represent the best talent pool of any that we’ve put forth in the major since the inception of Liv. He was talking about you, by the way, David. Let’s take a look at those 19 guys going to the open next week. Here’s a list starting with Bryson Dambo, John Ram, Sergio Garcia. A whole list of heavyweights headed to the open. Love the number 19. Hopefully that number will grow over time. Matt, when you look at this lineup here, what do you think? How do you feel? Well, I mean, I know he’s not having his best season of his career, but if you talk about Royal Sport Rush, you have to talk about Brooks Kepka. Yeah. His caddy, Ricky Elliot, grew up on the course, knows it like the back of his hand, and Brooks said that was in part what fueled him to a T4 finish here last time they played it. So, I think Brooks, he was T12 with the US Open, had a decent round today. I think he’s gearing up for this one. How about Lee Westwood? When I think of the the quote, he still got it, I think of Lee Westwood. Yeah. Uh and for him to just compete for so long in his career at this high level, it it’s super impressive to see. What do you think, Derek? Well, he played beautifully the last time uh it was at Royal Port Rush, which was a phenomenal success. Uh the first time it had been back there since 1952. It is one of the crown jewels in World Golf, regularly ranked in the top 10 in the world along with Royal County Down in the same province. Um, but they’re going to have to weather the storm kind of like they did the first round here, except it’ll be about 40° cooler. And uh, you know, from the northeast tip of Ireland, you can see across the Sea of Scotland on a clear day. And the locals say if you can see Scotland, it’s going to rain. And if you can’t see it, it’s raining. That’s a weather forecast. How about uh Dustin Johnson, Jerry? Yeah, he’s uh he’s got a lot riding next week. He I mean, he played well. Really well. He’s played well the first couple of rounds. many many times, but he hasn’t been able to piece three rounds together. We talked about it in the pre-round show. He hasn’t and and the same thing happened today. He got four over on the trot almost and then he then he became the Dustin Johnson that we remember and then he struggled coming home. His major exemption runs out after next week for the majors. That’s going to put even more heat on his shoulders. Speaking of heat, I know it’s hot and uh you have this vest on, David, but I want to play a little game with you guys. One dark horse pick from each of you for the open next week. Come on, Carlos Ortiz. Carlos Ortiz. Yeah. Yeah. I had a great showing at Oakmont and uh you know me, a really talented player that can hit all the shots. You got to be able to hit it both ways at Royal Port Rush. It’s it’s an unusual links course because there’s a lot of elevation change. Mostly they’re flat, you know, down by the ocean. But, you know, you climb a steep hill at the first and then crisscross it and then coming back down at 16, you know, you you’ve got to have all the shots. And Carlos Ortiz, he has them. Yeah. What about yours, Matt? Mine’s going to be Lucas Herbert. Uh, he’s he won an Irish Open. I think he’s a sneaky, very good Lynx player that doesn’t get talked about in that category enough. And his caddy, Nick Pew, grew up playing Lynx and grew up uh at Hoy Lake. So, he’s he can guide Lucas around there a little bit, too. And Lucas is a shot maker. He likes to move the ball both ways. He’s creative. When you get him in a creative environment where he can score by by his shot making, I think that’s where he’s going to thrive. Yeah. Dean Burmeister is my I was I was going to go with Lucas and Dean because they’re kind of the same player to me, but I’m going to go with Burmeister. Okay. All right. Thanks for playing, guys. That was a lot of fun. Entire one.
