The Open Bets

Good afternoon! Welcome to Caddyshanks, we’re like Al Czervik’s golf bag… we’ve got it all baby.

Here's what we've got for ya today:

• Doin Lines: The Open

• Golf Ball Distance Rankings

• Golf Shots Heard Round The World

• Best Putter in The Game

• Golf Thing We'd Buy If We Weren't Broke (3x)

Doin Lines: The Open

The best golfers in the world are about to compete in the oldest golf tournament in the world - The Open Championship.

We Americans get to wake up at 4am to watch it. Don’t get it twisted, this is a privilege - not a chore.

Also should note, for the true sickos out there, the golf actually starts at 1:30AM ET on Thursday and Friday.

🚩 Location: Royal Liverpool

💰 Purse: $16.5M - Winner gets $3M

👑 Previous Winner: Cam Smith

⛳️ Field: 156

👀 Watch Schedule: 

Thu/Fri: 1:30-4AM: Peacock 

4AM-3PM: USA 3-4PM: Peacock

Sat: 5-7AM: USA 7AM-3PM: NBC 

Sun: 4-7AM: USA 7AM-2PM: NBC

The Field at a Glance

156 golfers are geared up to try and get their hands on the famous Claret Jug.

Will Cam Smith repeat his win from last year?

Will Rory win two weeks in a row?

Will Scottie Schefflers putter wake up?

Is Brooks Koepka gonna destroy everyone?

Will someone get their first major?

The Course

This is the 13th time that Royal Liverpool has hosted The Open, but only the third time since 1967. The most recent two:

2006 Champ at Royal Liverpool: Tiger

2014 Champ at Royal Liverpool: Rory

The one thing they both had in common when they won here? Tiger only used driver once, and Rory took a similar approach. Both lead in accuracy off the tee.

The course is a little different now though with the addition of a new par-3 17th hole and other tweaks to the back nine.

The Data

Course history is obviously lacking and the weather (or lack thereof) is always a major factor at The Open.

Plus, it’s Links golf again, which we covered last week, but it just hits different than American golf. There’s a different style of shot making that can be required. The standard stats don’t necessarily apply.

So what can we hang our hat on?

Previous Open Performance, Previous Major Performance, and a little gut instinct.

💰Shanks Picks💰

Outright Winner: Viktor Hovland +2500 FDS - Vik finished 12th and T4 in his previous open experiences. He also won the AP Invitational and seriously contended in two majors this year.

Top Five: Jordan Spieth +650 FDS - This is the gut instinct play. Spieth hasn’t had his best year, but he seems to be healthy off the wrist injury and he has the best shot making ability on tour. (May have also thrown $25 on him OR +3000 as well).

Top Ten: Brooskie +210 - We all know Brooks Koepka is a major machine. Taking him top ten feels like stealing. He could easily win this whole damn thing. We don’t hate taking him outright at +1800.

Top Twenty: Robert Macintyre- Last week was heartbreak city for the Scot, but MacIntyre has two top-10 finishes in his past three appearances at The Open.

Long Shots: Min Woo Lee +8000 FDS - He’s got the game and the swag to do it. He finished T21 last year at The Open and he’s shown he can win on a links course by taking the Scottish Open trophy in 2021.

Old School Longshot: PADDY!!! +17000 FDS Padraig Harrington to become the oldest player to win The Open.

Make The Cut Parlay: A friend of the newsletter messaged in and said “give the people a winner this week” then sent this:

Hovland, Fowler, Koepka, Cam Smith, and Tommy Fleetwood to all make the cut +186 on FDS.

However, if you add old PADDY BOY to it, it changes to +403. What could be better than hinging your hopes on a 51 year old?

Golf Ball Distance Rankings

"Don't ever let someone tell you that the type or quality of ball won't help you play better. The difference between an expensive "Titleist Pro V1x" and the "ProV1 (Reload)" off the tee was a whopping 16 yards.

That's the difference between hitting the green while impressing the cart girl, and ending up in the swamp water at your local muni. Go ahead and live with the shame if you like, I'll see you on the green!"

Golf Shots Heard Round The World

Great Expectations: Tommy Fleetwood grew up just 30 miles from Royal Liverpool. Can he win his home Open?

Tigers Ex: The ex girlfriend of The Goat has dropped her lawsuit against his estate.

Open to Saudi Money: The world has changed, says R&A CEO, who is apparently open to taking Saudi money.

Mind Blowing Golf Fact

Golf Thing We'd Buy If We Weren't Broke (3x)

It’s freaking MAJOR WEEK BABY! And we have the latest lineup from all the major brands in celebration of The Open. I’m going to get ahead of myself and say no, we are not talking about the Srixon staff bag. They totally blew it, it’s rather boring and I’m annoyed to be honest. So, I’m going to rank the other 3 major brands that have new staff bags in honor of The Open!

1. TaylorMade - $599.99

The yellow is absolutely stunning. The blue to complement is absolutely stunning. And with the number “23” on the side, stylishly presented like a score for the year 2023, it’s obvious that this bag was inspired by the unmistakable scoreboard. You might also notice that there are a bevy of different fonts used all over the sides. This is not an error, but an homage to local rival football clubs and the annual match known as the Merseyside Derby. This bag oozes confidence, sportsmanship, and competitive drive.

2. Callaway - $???

This bag is also dripping with beautiful color, although for different reasons. Callaway designed their British Open staff bag around Liverpool's history of music, specifically groovyness of the '60s and The Beatles. If you look closely, also has Liverpool itself in the design, with the bird statue atop the Liver Building. This bold colorway is akin to the daring confidence that pros carry themselves with during the 151^st Open Championship and for that, I am in love with it (even though I’m not a Callaway player).

3. Cobra - $650

It’s not that I don’t love the Cobra bag, I just don’t love it as much as the others. If you want to go with subtle, clean, and classy, yet still has a ton of attention to detail, this is your bag. The logo on the side of the bag resembles the Liverpool city sign. The red and white stripes on each side represent the barbershop from Penny Lane and Crown Jewels. The inside lining of the bag boasts imagery of the iconic, double-sided clock at the Royal Liverpool clubhouse. If you look at the headcovers you’ll notice that each of which is designed to mimic the outfits the Beatles wore on the cover of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Iconic throughout, just like the Cobra pros.

That's all folks! See you Friday for an special evening edition of Shanks. (Yes, we are going to wait until the second round is over on Friday). Look for it around dinner time.