2025 Open Championship Preview: Course Breakdown, Biggest Storylines & Picks to Win | Royal Portrush

CBS Golf analysts Michael Breed, Greg Ducharme & Sportline Data Analyst Sia Nejad join CBS Sports HQ to preview the final major of the year with the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland.

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The final major of the season is upon us, the Open Championship. We are about to give you a mega preview from storylines to betting advice. This year at Royal Port Rush in Northern Ireland, uh the home of Rory Mroy, the club built back in 1888. The last time the tournament was held, there was back in 2019. Another Irishman, not from Northern Ireland, but Shane Lowry won it then. And this year, we enter with Xander Schoffley as the reigning champ of the Clare Jug. So, getting us ready here, we have our good friend Michael Breed. Greg Ducharm is going to join us in a second. Let’s do a course preview. Uh, because I was looking at this on a map. And first of all, we’re in Northern Ireland. It is like at the tippy top of Northern Ireland. So, I’m worried about the weather. What is the course like here, Michael? Well, you’re right about the weather. And it’s the story will be about the weather. We’re expecting a little rain and it’s obviously going to be a little bit colder than what you’re used to down there in Florida and certainly what I’m dealing with up here in the uh metro New York area. But what I can tell you is is that this golf course, one of my favorite if not my favorite in the in the uh Open Championship Roa. It’s a phenomenal golf course. It’s a par 71. Plays about 73 7400 yards. But when you’re playing golf over here, specifically at Royal Port Rush, you don’t really look at the yardage. If you look at the the the layout of the golf course and understand that this golf course, it’s going to play totally different than what we’re used to here in the States. The ground is going to be firm. It’s going to be fast. You’re you’re really getting this ball on the ground and then you’re letting it run. You’re going to see this ball along the ground running for 50, 60, 70 yards. I’m telling you, it’s going to be crazy. And you’re you almost don’t even look at the length of the hole as much as you’re trying to avoid these bunkers. There’s 62 bunkers that are out here, which doesn’t sound like a lot. It’s the least in the open championship roadup. But yet at the same time, you listen to Shane Lowry, you listen to Rory Mroy talk about this golf course, and they talk about the bunkering being perfectly placed. And that’s what this is all about. You’re trying to avoid these bunkers. So you make decisions. Are you going to hit a two or three iron off the tea? Are you going to hit a driver? You’re you’re you’re sort of avoiding bunkers whether you choose the two or three iron or whether you choose the the driver. And there’s a lot of movement to the property, a lot of swailes that you got to negotiate. There’s some elevated greens and some falloff areas and the bunkers around the greens are well short of the green. So, what you’re realizing is is that when these players are playing these shots into the green, they’re playing a shot that’s going to carry the the bunker, but it’s not going to land on the green because if it lands on the green, the greens are going to be firm as well, and the ball’s going to roll through the the green and roll off the green. You’re not going to see golf balls spinning like we see it in uh say a a US Open where the ball will land on the green and it will stop. That’s not going to happen. We will see some rain that will soften this golf course a little bit, but it will not play soft in any way, shape, or form. And so what you expect to see is you’ll see some scoring, take advantage of the three parfs that are out there. And the final six holes to me are really what this golf course is all about. You’ve got two par threes that’ll play in the in the length of 200 or more yards. The 16th hole was 236 yards. And that’s going to mean that this golf ball with that wind and all the elements, it’s going to be very very low and it’s going to be rolling and running. It’s going to be difficult to judge the distance that that ball is going to travel. And then the 18th hole, much like the Scottish Open, the final hole is about 480 play. The wind is going to be a real factor in this. Finding the fairway down the stretch and putting yourself in a position where you can make a par or birdie is a challenging uh uh uh ask and you got to get it done with that with that T-shot there on 18. I love this golf course. It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch it. Michael, you started off and I was like, “Okay, it’s not going to be bad.” Like the ball’s going to be moving fast. Avoid the bunkers. And then you went on and on and on. This course sounds terrifying. I mean, way more than the US Open, which we just saw. Uh that said, give us a breakdown of one of the holes. You mentioned the final six holes. Things are going to come down to that. What do you want to show us today? Well, it’s interesting. So, this whole thing is about short game. When Shaden Lowry won back in 2019, it was all about short game. He was number one in strokes game around the green. But the thing that’s so fun about it is you’re not going to see players uh just falling into a 60°ree wedge, which they will typically do. I’ve got a sixiron in my hand. I’ve got a shot here of about 50 yards. Now, this would typically be a shot where you would just grab your 60° wedge and you would just spin it. It would land by the hole and then it would stop. It doesn’t work that way when you’re playing in an open championship. And the cool part is there’s a lot of terrain, a lot of firmness, not just on the greens, but also shy of it. I’ve got a sixiron. Watch how this is going to work. Now, we’re playing the 18th hole at the old course. I And there’s a what they call the valley of sin just shy of this. I’m going to take a little sixiron and let this thing kind of run along the ground. It’s going to roll up the hill just like this and then it’s going to trundle. Oh, find the hole. No, it didn’t. But it finds the green. That’s what these players are going to be dealing with. You’re going to see a lot of shots around the greens that are going to be six irons, hybrids, putters. You are rarely if ever going to see somebody hitting a sand wedge or a lob wedge around the green, throwing it up into the air. Why? Because of the wind. And that’s one of the reasons why these greens are going to be a little bit slower than what we’re used to seeing in the US. The short game is always fascinating to watch when you’re watching Lynx Golf. Michael, I love you so much. That Irish accent sounds Scottish, I think. Right. No, it is. And sometimes Borders on Australian, too, by the way. I slide it in there. Don’t really know exactly where I’m going, but I always think of William Wallace. That’s what I think of when I do this stuff. William Wallace killed 50 men. Oh, man. Uh, and look, it works. It works. Okay, so taking a look at the Open Championship. It has only been held twice here at Royal Port Rush. Uh, the last time it was here back in 2019, Shane Lowry won it. Mentioned Irish. It is in Northern Ireland though, the home of Rory Mroy. However, a lot of eyes on Scotty Sheffller, who is the betting favorite, world number one to win it. Who’s also making headlines today talking about his mindset to the game and his approach. I think I said something after the Byron this year about like it feels like you work your whole life to celebrate winning a tournament for like a a few minutes. It only lasts a few minutes. That kind of euphoric feeling and I like to win the Byron Nelson Championship at home. I literally worked my entire life to become good at golf to have an opportunity to win that tournament. And you win it, you celebrate, get to hug hug my family, my sister’s there. such an amazing moment and then it’s like okay now now what are we going to eat for dinner you know life goes on a lot of headlines made about uh Scotty Shuffler that his his entire thing was about 5 minutes long uh but getting a lot of praise and Michael and Greg Ducharm who’s joining us I think we can agree having that balance between work life is one of the reasons that Scotty Shuffler does so well he already won the PGA championship this golf season he has finished his last 10 times he has played in the open top 10 finishes. Uh Greg, since you’re joining us, we’ll start with you. Give us your thoughts on Scotty heading into this weekend. Well, I love Scotty Sheffller’s game. Just about every week he tease it up and you could see why. I mean, you just mentioned some of the records that he’s had. He plays great on seemingly every single week. The one concern I do have is in his history in Lynx golf, he’s not putted very well. He’s lost strokes putting in his last three open championships and his last three Scottish opens. Um so even though this is the best putting season of Scotty Sheffer’s career, uh last week’s struggles on the Greens, if you will, Michael, they do cause me a slight bit of concern. And yet with his his struggle on the Greens, he still finished tied eighth. But you know what? I I think Scotty Sheffler is one of those guys that does what he needs to do to win tournaments. And what I what I think that’s so fascinating about Scotty is the perspective that he had. You you listen to that clip of him talking about, you know, you you work all that you work hard as you possibly can to win a tournament and then when you do it’s over in like two seconds. He it is not his number one priority. And yet he’s as competitive a person as there is. I expect I expect Scotty to be competitive again. Build on his tied seventh back in 2024, the success he had last year in the Open Championship. And I just kind of feel like, you know what, this is a guy who um is gonna have a great week. I think the player of the year is going to be decided this week at the Open Championship between either Scotty or Rory Mroy. Okay, so let’s talk about Rory here, Greg. I’m going to go to you on him. Uh look, he completes the Grand Slam by winning the Masters, but even more so than that, and it’s hard to believe it. This is the tournament that has been circled for him all year. We’ve all known it. He’s back in Northern Ireland. He wants to win and things have kind of been up and down for him since the Masters. I mean, kind of a pedestrian finish at the PGA and then he had to struggle to make the cut at the US Open. Yes, he finished in the top 20 there. How do you feel about the pressure, Greg, being put on Rory heading into this? Oh, I feel a whole lot better about it in large part because it’s his second go at it. I mean, he he told Shane Lowry in 2019 before that tournament that this would be the biggest tournament he’s ever played in, and then he makes a triple on the very first hole. Uh, so I think Rory put a a lot of pressure on himself back in 2019. And while there is a lot of pressure, Rory knows how to handle that. And I I think that he will have an understanding heading into this week that, hey, what he he knows what he needs to do this time. He will be prepared for this moment unlike he was back in 2019. I also think his game is in uh good enough form, Amanda, because he did finish tied second last week. There’s a little cleaning up to do, but Rory’s in in really good order. Rory is the second betting favorite to win at plus 700. Scotty Shuffler is a favorite. You go down just a couple ticks there. Uh John Ram Bryson Desambo and then Xander Schoffley defending the defending, excuse me, champ here, Michael Breed. What are the chances he could go back to back? Well, I think you know what? There’s certainly I feel better about him now than I did a week ago. He really played nicely at the Scottish Open. The putter was fantastic. Um, his iron play was great. He was number one in the field in strokes gained approach. And the thing about Xander Schoffley is he is the defending champion, but he’s a two-time major champion and he’s played well in major championships. He has a tied eighth at the Masters. He has a tied 12th at the US Open. This is a guy who seems to play well in big moments and he obviously has that tied eighth at the Scottish and I kind of feel like coming in here he’s got a lot of confidence. The putter was great for him in round four and it hasn’t been a great year for him with the flat stick but I think he’s got a lot of confidence now and he’s gotten a little bit familiar with these green speeds last week. And so you com you combine what is a a very good iron player with a very uh good putting stroke and some gained confidence with a short game that last year was exceptional. This year because of the swing challenges that he’s had, I don’t think he’s really had the chance to find that short game practice. But when you’re changing into this type of play at the at the Scottish Open, at the Open Championship where the short game is quite a bit different, you’re kind of playing a short game as I showed you before that’s different than what you’ve been doing all year long. I think that’s going to be an advantage for Xander Schoffy. And so, where do I think he he sits? I think he’s in really good form. I think he’s going to have a very good week. Certainly a top five is where I see him uh ending up the week. I don’t know whether he wins, but I think it’s going to be a top five. No question. Top five definitely in contention. All right, so a lot of golfers to choose from as to who’s going to win. Uh going through the odds, Scotty, Rory, John, Ron, Bryson Dashambo, and Xander, and then Tommy Fleetwood. Uh Greg, your pick is wild, so I’m going to make people wait for just a second. It’s not wild, it’s just it’s long odds. Uh Michael, let’s start with you. Who do you like to win? Well, you heard Greg talk about it. Rory Mroy. I think Rory Mroy comes in here and he’s got a a little chip on his shoulder from finishing tied second at the Scottish, losing to to Chris Garup. And I also think he’s got a chip on his shoulder from what happened in 2019 where he missed the cut here on a golf course that he owns the course record on. He shot 61 here when he was 16. He’s not 16 now, but he’s had a lot more experience. And that experience of hitting that T-OT, that opening T-OT out of bounds in 2019 and then ultimately missing the cut. I think that’s got him a little bit uh a little bit bothered. And I think when you take that and you put it all together with that RDER Cup that’s lurking in front of him, those are things that are really important. This is a a tournament that he has had sort of starred on his list. I want to play great this week and he is prepared now coming off that tied second. I love Rory and his chances here at the Open Championship. Are we ready to get wild? I like to pause. Yes. Yes. Guys, I’m just saying like if you really believe in this, I’m going to go put money down right now. I really do believe in this. This is um Keegan Bradley. Now, there’s a couple of really interesting things. I know that you’re probably surprised because it’s not Scotty or Xander or Rory or any of those guys. This is the kind of thing that happens in open championships. Uh and there’s a few things that I look for specifically in major championships. One, uh all-around players tend to perform very well. You might not find that surprising. Well, Keegan’s fourth stroke game tiger green on the entire PGA tour this year. His ball striking is elite. It’s It’s not wild when you look at him from a ball striking perspective. His short game that will be required this week. He’s 10th on the PGA Tour in strokes gain around the green. Then when it comes to the putting, what I want to see in putting is I don’t want you to be making mistakes. So Keegan in his three putt avoidance is 31st on the entire PGA Tour. He finished tied eighth at the PGA Championship, which was his best major performance in a long time. Look, last time we were at Royal Port Rush, a national hero uh won the Open. I I think we get another national hero this time around, but it’s just in our from our country. I I I see I counted uh on the betting favorites, he is 34th and the odds have actually moved a little bit. Uh he is now 100 to one. So, we are going to give you all the accolades if you are in fact correct. Greg Ducharp. Uh, guys, we appreciate it. They’re taking a look at the upcoming PGA schedule. As mentioned, this is the final major of the season happening this week’s. But then we’re all getting ready for the FedEx St. Jude Championship coming up in less than a month, August 7th. [Music] Once again, getting you ready for the open going on this weekend in Royal Port Rush in Northern Ireland. taking a look at the odds to win. Scotty Sheffller sitting right above Rory Mroy. Uh, however, we were just talking to our experts. Things are very close. They like a lot of people who are favorites and they like a lot of people who are long shots. Uh, so let’s get some betting experts in here who can look at the numbers and not just talk about maybe their feelings as to who’s going to win. Granted, they have a lot of research behind him. Sienna here. Let’s start with the easy one. Pick to win. Who do you like? Well, I thought I was going to go Amanda with some super long shot, but I just heard Greg Ducharmm pick a 100 to one shot in Keegan Bradley. So, I’m going to split the difference here on that board we just showed. I do like Xander Schoffley. I think his odds are a little too long at 25 to1, but I’m going to go double the odds there. I’m going to go to Matt Fitzpatrick. Amanda, he has been trending in such a good way. We know he’s got good link style form. We know in 2019 he was T20 at Royal Port Rush. The problem with Matt Fitzpatrick over the last year or two is that his ball striking has just been way out of line. It has been downright terrible. But we finally see Matt Fitzpatrick rebounding with the ball striking in a pretty significant way. It led to a T4 last week, a T8 the week before that, and a T7 prior to that. What I also love about Matt Fitzpatrick is his short game and his putter on these slow fescue greens. He just grades out so well. So, when we’re looking at numbers and we’re looking at, hey, what number presents so much value to a guy that can actually win? I think 50 to1 is way too long on Matt Fitzpatrick. I don’t think this market is respecting what he can do. He almost won last week and I think he can be in contention this week and maybe win it at 50 to1. Okay, good odds there. Um, I have no idea what to do anymore because I have now had three picks to win. Uh, but so we’re gonna move on. Let’s talk about DFS. Maybe a little bit safer there. Obviously, we know some of the guys are going to be really, really expensive. Uh, what are some good buys that you can get? Amanda, you get an idea of why golf betting is so fun. There’s just so many choices, so many things you can do, including in DFS. Adam Scott is a guy I really like. He’s a guy that, by the way, that’s 75 to1 that I actually think can win this tournament as well at very long odds. I’m going to take him and Harry Hall. I mean, Adam Scott is coming in with great great form. Really trending in the right direction just like Matt Fitzpatrick. Kind of a small sample size. He’s done it very recently, but he is really getting up for these big events. I like his open championship form. Uh three tournaments in a row where he’s been really amazing with the ball striking and it’s just a matter of the short game, which can come and go for Adam Scott, but I’m going to trust him on these uh fescue greens and this link style format. I think Adam Scott is going to be just fine. And speaking of a guy with good short game, specifically with a good putter, that is Harry Hall. He’s relatively long and accurate off the tee, has the complete Treeden game, and he’s an awesome putter. Uh, also coming in with great form, T7 at the Scottish Open. A very cheap price for a Harry Hall that could top 20 this event. Okay. As you mentioned though, golf is fun to bet. There’s a lot to bet there. Uh, as you’re looking through everything, is there a best bet that you have? Something you feel really, really good about? Amanda, if you recall this part of the week, I’m always giving you an international bet. I’m going top South African. And those that have listened to this particular segment, they might think, well, top South African, I must be going with Tristan Lawrence because I’ve been riding this guy for a few weeks in a row. I do like Tristan Lawrence, but I don’t love him in this market. I’m going to go top South African Cristian Bzadenhound at plus 360. If you want to sprinkle a little bit on Tristan Lawrence, that’s great at plus 450. Now, here’s who’s in this market. It’s Christian Bzadenhound. It’s of course Tristan Lawrence. We’ve got Luis Uzen, Aldrich Podguider, Dean Burmeister, and Shawn Norris. I actually think this is largely a twoman race between CBZ aka Christian Bzadenout and Tristan Lawrence. I love what Christian Bizadenha does specifically in these big tournaments especially in 2025. He really gets up for the majors. I like how he profiles here. Pretty accurate off the tea. Not necessarily long, but that shouldn’t hurt him. Love what he’s doing with the approach play in particular. I think this plus 360 is a really good number. And again, maybe a little safety play, maybe a little sprinkle on Tristan Lawrence because I think he could get there potentially as well. It’s been a while since we’ve been able to do this. Okay, I I got a South African fact for you. Uh, not one official language. They have 12. How about that? That’s a good one. 12 12 languages according to Amanda, I missed this. It’s this is a learning experience and we’re going to be really good at trivia someday. Uh, Sia Desad, we appreciate it. You can check out Zia all the guys on the Early Wedge, a portion of the Early Edge podcast. And I will say Mike Mccclure is on there as well. He absolutely killed it last week. So, make sure to check out their latest episodes.