The Open: why Spieth has the magic touch to join St Andrews legends

McIlroy favourite to lift Claret Jug

Golf might be a sport played on the six-inch course between the ears, but The Open is as much about the heart as the head.

While the man who lifts the Claret Jug on Sunday will have passed the ultimate test of patience on the most fascinating piece of golfing real estate on the planet, there's an X-factor required to get the job done at St Andrews.

World number two Rory McIlory is the betting favourite for The 150th Open and rightly so. He's a past winner, a man in form and a player who clearly has the stomach for battle despite his near eight-year Major drought.

Having won The Open at Royal Liverpool in 2014, McIlroy had St Andrews 2015 underlined in red ink for several years only to see his dream of making up for his 2010 disappointment shattered when he ruptured the ligaments in his left ankle in a soccer kick-about with friends the weekend before, and missed the Championship. His record at St Andrews is still a great one.

Rory's Old Course pedigree

He opened with a 63 to lead in 2010, then crashed to an 80 in the wind on day two before rallying to finish tied third.

In the Alfred Dunhill Links, where you play the Old Course twice, he's been runner-up three times and had another two top-eight finishes in eight starts.

He admits you can be aggressive off the tee given the firmness of the Old Course, but he predicts players will lay back to generate more spin from longer approaches.

"For example, this hole, the second, if you drive it up the fairway and the pin is on the left side, it's going to be very hard to get your ball close to the pin," he said during the Celebration of Champions. "So you're going to see quite a few guys laying back because you are going to get full shots into greens to be able to at least create some spin and get the ball close to some of these hole positions because, quite frankly, the only defence St Andrews has these days is tucking pins away and making it hard to get to them."

Rory McIlroy is the favourite to win The Open at St Andrews, as he bids to end his eight-year Major drought

Spieth can go the distance

He's the obvious favourite, yet we're not plumping our hard-earned cash on the Holywood star, but on a man with arguably even more golfing charisma.

Jordan Spieth might not be putting as well as he was in 2015 when he caressed his third Major win in a row at the Old Course only to finish a shot outside the playoff that saw Zach Johnson beat Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman.

Second to Collin Morikawa at Sandwich last year, Spieth's imagination, his pitching and magical long-range putting make him my pick this year.

Lowry has form

If he fails, I will be looking to Shane Lowry to win for the first time since he lifted the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush in 2019. He has form — one second, two thirds and another two-top 10s from 14 starts this year.

He has a links game, a short game that compares with Seve Ballesteros or Tiger Woods, and the heart to get the job done under the greatest pressure. He's also found his putting game after 18 months of hard work with putting coach Stephen Sweeney.

Second in the PGA Championship after a playoff loss to Justin Thomas and tied second in the US Open behind Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris has six top-eight finishes in nine Major starts, which makes him a must-pick this week.

He's played just one round in The Open — a 69 at Sandwich last year before he withdrew before the start of his second round after he injured himself while hacking out of deep rough. But given his ball-striking prowess and much-improved putting, it will be a surprise if he is not there on Sunday.

The Open would not be complete without its fairytale story, and at 50, Pádraig Harrington proved with his US Senior Open win three weeks ago that he can still hole the three-footers under the cosh.

He missed the 2005 Open at St Andrews following the death of his father Paddy early in the week, missed the cut in 2010 but was just two shots off the pace with a round to go in 2015, snatching the lead early in the final round before slipping away to tied 20th over the back nine.

He's since found a way to overcome some frailties on the greens and more importantly, he has convinced himself he can become the oldest Open champion. 

"Tom Watson proved that it's certainly possible," the 2007 and 2008 champion said. "I'm sure there's been others. Phil has done it. Obviously, when it comes to a links golf course, it's even more of a chance at St Andrews. I don't have a barrier of 50 years of age. In my head, the only barrier I have to winning tournaments is a little bit of nerves and how I manage my mental side. So it's not a physical side that's an issue.

"So yeah, every time I tee it up, I think it's going to be the week. I think I can do it. It's probably at my stage a little easier to win a major than it is to win a regular event because, you know, everybody else is going to be feeling it as well, which I tend to perform better when I've got my back to the wall and I know coming down the stretch in a major everybody else is going to feel the same way as I do."

Recommended bets

Jordan Spieth @ 18.5

Shane Lowry @ 25

Will Zalatoris @ 34

Padraig Harrington @ 280