2022 British Open: Deep Sleepers To Consider

Take a shot on these dark horses at St. Andrews

The best golfers in the world will convene on the historic Old Course at St. Andrews for the 2022 British Open this week. Tiger Woods headlines a field that includes elite golfers like Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Matthew Fitzpatrick and more, all of whom will be competing for a share of $14 million, with $2.5 million and the famed Claret Jug going to the winner. As always, unknown names will emerge in this tournament, so let’s take a look at some potential deep British Open sleepers to consider backing.

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Sahith Theegala (150/1 To Win, BetMGM)

Best Bet: Top 30 Finish (+300, FanDuel)

PGA Tour rookie Sahith Theegala has been in solid form lately and if it wasn’t for a double bogey on the final hole of the Travelers Championship, he would have had his first career win. He did finish 2nd at that event, but he had a solid T16 finish at the John Deere Classic last week to move to No. 62 in the world. He only got into this event due to Daniel Berger’s withdrawal due to a back injury, but it’s only a matter of time until Theegala turns more heads on a big stage. Overall, Theegala ranks 1st on the PGA Tour in Total Birdies and holds the 2nd-longest streak on Tour this season (314 holes) without a three-putt.

Jordan Smith (125/1 To Win, BetMGM)

Best Bet: Top 20 Finish (+450, DraftKings)

Jordan Smith ranks 1st on the European Tour in SG: Off-The-Tee and has logged an impressive five Top 10 finishes and eight Top 20 finishes this season with just a single missed cut. The Englishman is 13th in this year’s DP World Tour ranking and recorded two runner-up finishes on that tour, is coming off a T24 at the Scottish Open last week and even won himself and his caddie cars as the result of a hole-in-one in that tournament. Overall, Smith ranks 1st on the European Tour in Greens In Regulation Percentage (74.26%) and 5th in Stroke Average (69.87), both of which could come in very handy this week.

Ryan Fox (66/1 To Win, BetMGM)

Best Bet: Top Australian (+450, BetMGM)

When it comes to Aussies, only Cameron Smith, Adam Scott and Mark Leishman have shorter odds than Ryan Fox, who is one of the hottest players on the European Tour right now. He has a win on that tour under his belt and also finished in the Top 3 in three of his last six tournaments, ranking 2nd in Stroke Average and 3rd in SG: Total. Fox has also made the cut at this event in five of six tries, so there’s a lot to like about him this week. 

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Adrian Meronk (150/1 To Win, BetMGM)

Best Bet: Top 20 Finish (+450, DraftKings)

Although he’s coming off a missed cut at the Scottish Open, Adrian Meronk won the Irish Open and went on a run where he had three Top 3 finishes in six European Tour starts. He didn’t only win the Irish Open, he dominated by three strokes over the runner-up, and will be noticeable on the course due to his 6’6 frame. He ranks 2nd on the European Tour in SG: Off-The-Tee, something that can come into play in his favor at St. Andrews.

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Seamus Power (80/1 To Win, BetMGM)

Best Bet: Top Isishman (+600, BetMGM)

Only Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have shorter odds to be the top Irishman at this event and Seamus Power has shown up at majors this year, finishing 9th at the PGA Championship and 12th at the U.S. Open earlier this season. He grew up playing in windy conditions on links courses, like most Irishmen, so he should fit in very well this week. Power has five Top 10 finishes under his belt this season, has made over $3 million on the PGA Tour in the 2021-2022 campaign and ranks 24th in the FedExCup standings. While BetMGM doesn’t have faith in him delivering this week, I certainly do. He’s the best dollar-for-dollar value on the board this week in my opinion.

Joohyung Kim (150/1 To Win, BetMGM)

Best Bet: Top Asian (+750, FanDuel)

Only Hideki Matsuyama, Sungjae Im and Hao Tong Li have shorter odds to be the Top Asian at this event and 20-year-old Joohyung Kim has a lot of promise as someone who just finished 3rd at the Scottish Open and 23rd at the U.S. Open. Not only that, but he won The Singapore International and finished 2nd at the SMBC Singapore Open the week later on the Asian Tour earlier in 2022. That win happened to be in very windy conditions, which is very important to note considering the forecast for this week at St. Andrews.

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