Major Power Rankings: 2023 Open Championship Field

Major Power Rankings: 2023 Open Championship Field

This article is part of our Major Power Rankings series.

2023 Open Championship Power Rankings

Below are RotoWire's rankings for the 151st Open Championship, which gets underway Thursday, July 20 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, England. 

This list is an asset for any fantasy or gaming format, including wagers, season-long fantasy leagues, PGA DFS and any other contest you could enter.

This will be the 13th time Royal Liverpool has played host to the Open Championship, but only the third time in more than a half century. The 2022 Open originally was scheduled to be contested there, but when the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 tournament, the R&A modified the schedule to ensure that the historic 150th Open was played at St. Andrews.

In 2014 at Liverpool, Rory McIlroy won at 17-under-par for this third career major, defeating Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia by two strokes. In 2006, Tiger Woods won at 18-under for his 11th major, defeating Chris DiMarco by two shots. Before that, you must go back to 1967 for the previous time the Open was played at Royal Liverpool.

Somewhat incredibly, 40+ golfers -- more than 25 percent of this 156-man field -- played in that 2014 Open. And 11 of them also were around in 2006, nine of them former champions.

Hoylake is a small town on the tip of the Wirral Peninsula just north of Wales off Liverpool Bay, off the Irish Sea. Wind will be the course's primary defense, as is usually the case in British Opens. In 2006, the course was so baked out, firm and fast from weeks of sunshine that Woods famously hit driver only once all week. The par-72 course was 7,258 yards in 2006 and 7,312 in 2014.

It now will play at 7,383 yards on the scorecard -- but as a par-71, with just three par-5s. There have been other changes since '14. Most notably, there is a new penultimate hole. The 17th will play at a mere 136 yards, where the hole is guarded by pot bunkers and waste areas and any shot missing the green is trouble. Without getting too complicated, the new 17th is where the old 15th was. The new 15th is now 620 yards. Further, the 18th hole has been extended to 609 yards. With the new Nos. 17 and 18, a two- or-even three-stroke lead will not be completely safe come Sunday, according to noted course architect Martin Ebert, who made additional changes to the fourth, seventh, eighth and 13th holes.

Now, for the all-important weather forecast. It's still early, but it could overcast and rain at least a bit every day leading up to and continuing through the tournament. That's not unusual. Temperatures will be hard-pressed to reach 65 any day. The forecast right now calls for moderate wind in the mid-double-digits mph.

2023 Open Championship Field and Rankings

These rankings were formulated before the completion of the Genesis Scottish Open. Three spots in the 156-man Liverpool field were being held for non-exempt golfers with the highest finishes. The alternate list begins with Cam Davis, Adam Hadwin and Matt Kuchar, should anyone withdraw. Many golfers playing in the Open Championship were also in the Scottish Open.

Unlike most PGA Tour events, the top 70 and ties will make the 36-hole cut.

You'll see references to (OQS), and that's the Open Qualifying Series, numerous tournaments -- such as the Arnold Palmer and Wells Fargo Championships and the Memorial -- around the world over the past 6-to-7 months in which high finishers were awarded berths in the Open.

There are six amateurs in the field. Amateurs are denoted with (a).

The 2023 Open Championship Power Rankings are broken down into five categories:

  • Favorites
  • Contenders
  • Making the Cut
  • Borderline
  • Long Shots

Field changes and news updates will be noted in the comments at the bottom.

FAVORITES

1) Cameron Smith
Smith isn't No. 1 in the power rankings because he's the defending Open champion. He's No. 1 because he's the best in the world at links golf. His strengths -- short-game precision and imagination from 125 yards and in -- are accentuated. And the weaker aspects of his game -- off the tee -- are mitigated. Smith has a pair of major top-10s already this season -- a T9 at the PGA Championship and T4 at the U.S. Open, two tournaments that don't play to his strengths like an Open Championship does. He also won the LIV London tournament two weeks ago.

2) Rory McIlroy
McIlroy is not No. 1 not because he hasn't won a major in nine years. But nine years ago, he did win at Royal Liverpool. He's almost always in the mix at majors, nowhere more than at Open Championships. In his past seven Opens, McIlroy finished first, second, third, fourth and fifth. As they say in golf, that'll play. Like Smith, he finished top-10 at both the PGA (T7) and U.S. Open (2).

3) Scottie Scheffler
It's not easy dropping the world's No. 1-ranked golfer to No. 3. Scheffler famously had not finished outside the top 12 in his past 18 starts heading into the Scottish Open, and he had not finished outside the top 5 in six straight. He has played in only two Opens, tying for 21st last year and for eighth in 2021.

4) Viktor Hovland
Hovland had shown what he can do in Open Championships even before improving his short game this season. He was T12 in his Open debut in 2021 and T4 last year. He's also one of only two golfers -- Scheffler being the other -- to finish top-10 in all three majors this year. The 25-year-old Swede is barely a month removed from the biggest win of his brief career at the Memorial.

5) Brooks Koepka
Among the four majors, The Open seems like the worst fit for Koepka. And "worst" is relative. Since 2015, he's finished T4, T6 twice and T10. He missed the cut last year. But as we've seen, Koepka is far healthier this year than last, with a runner-up at the Masters followed by a win at the PGA Championship and a decent T17 at the U.S. Open.

6) Jordan Spieth
Spieth's Open record matches up with almost anyone's. He's never missed a cut in nine tries. He has a win (2017), a runner-up (2021) and five total top-10s, including T8 last year. He's had trouble holding late leads this year, but he still has five top-5s in the first half of 2023.

7) Xander Schauffele
Schaueffle has had another good year in the majors, with top-10s at the Masters and U.S. Open and a top-20 at the PGA. He also had four top-5s in other PGA Tour events before defending his title at the Scottish Open. Schauffele threatened at the 2018 Open Championship, eventually finishing co-runner-up to Francesco Molinari. He's never missed a cut in five Opens and tied for 15th last year.

8) Jon Rahm
Since winning the Masters in April, Rahm's record has been mixed, He has contended only once in seven starts since winning his first Green Jacket, and that came at the watered-down Mexico Open. His Open Championship record has also been mixed. In six previous starts, Rahm has just one top-10, a tie for third two years ago.

9) Rickie Fowler
Fowler has been "back" for months now, even though some observers accept nothing short of a win. Well, now there's one of those, too, with Fowler capturing the Rocket Mortgage Classic this month. He has six top-10s and 13 top-20s in 16 starts in 2023, and he zoomed to No. 23 in the world heading into the Scottish Open.  Fowler has made 10 cuts in 11 Opens, with two top-5s and a T6 as recently as 2019. One of those top-5s was co-runner-up to McIlroy in 2014 right here at Royal Liverpool.

10) Dustin Johnson
Johnson has a stellar record heading into his 14th Open. He tied for sixth last year and for eighth the year before, two of his five career top-10s. Notably, he was co-runner-up to Darren Clarke back in 2011. He also tied for 12th at the 2014 Open at Royal Liverpool. Johnson has not had the best year in the majors, though he did tie for 10th last month at the U.S. Open.

CONTENDERS

11) Collin Morikawa
Morikawa has been in only two Open Championships: He won it in his debut in 2021, then missed the cut last year. His short game and putting difficulties would suggest a high finish is not in the cards this year. But both aspects of his game have been getting better, as we saw in his playoff loss to Fowler at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Morikawa has finished T10-T26-T14 in the three majors so far in 2023.

12) Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood really shines in the majors, notably in the past two years. He has three top-5s, including last month at the U.S. Open and last year at the Open Championship (T4). He also was runner-up to Shane Lowry at the 2019 Open Championship. Besides last month's U.S. Open result, Fleetwood has three other top-5s in 2023, including last month's playoff loss to Nick Taylor at the Canadian Open.

13) Shane Lowry
Lowry won the incredible 2019 Open at Royal Portrush, then remained the Champion Golfer of the Year for two years since the 2020 Open was canceled because of the pandemic. He eventually defended his title, and honorably, tying for 12th in 2021, then for 21st last year. The Irishman also tied for ninth in 2014 at Royal Liverpool. This year, Lowry has finished top-20 in all three majors (without a top-10). In fact, he'd finished top-20 in four of his past five starts (without a top-10) heading into the Scottish Open.

14) Patrick Cantlay
Cantlay is becoming known for not contending in majors. He hasn't been bad, he just hasn't had results befitting a top-5 golfer. He's finished top-15 in the past five majors, including a tie for eighth at last year's Open. Cantlay is winless in 2023, but he's come close, with four top-4 showings.

15) Justin Rose
This will be the 42-year-old Rose's 20th Open. He's finished in the top-25 nine times, including T23 in 2014 at Royal Liverpool, and top-10 three times, including co-runner-up in 2018. He's already had a good major season, with a T16 at the Masters and a T9 at the PGA Championship, plus he got into the winner's circle earlier this season at Pebble Beach. His past five worldwide results heading into the Scottish Open were T9-T12-8-MC-T4.

16) Tyrrell Hatton
Hatton's Open record of only four made cuts in 10 starts is misleading. He missed his first four, but since then, he has tied for fifth, sixth and, last year, 11th. He's had a fantastic 2023 year to date. Hatton has done everything but win, with a runner-up at THE PLAYERS and five other top-6 cashes.

17) Bryson DeChambeau
Last year -- a decidedly down year for DeChambeau -- he tied for eighth at the Open Championship, his first quality showing in five tries there. He continued to show he has re-found his form with a tie for fourth at the 2023 PGA Championship and then a tie for 20th at the U.S. Open last month.

18) Tony Finau
Finau has done quite well at the Open, and in all the majors. He's never missed a cut in six Opens, two of which were top-10s. He tied for 28th last year. Finau is not playing his best this season, though he has made the cut in all three majors. He's probably still fighting for a berth on the upcoming Ryder Cup team.

19) Adam Scott
The 42-year-old has upped his game in recent weeks heading into his 23rd Open. He had top-10s in three of his past six starts entering the Scottish Open and had a top-20 at the Travelers. At the Open, Scott has made 17 cuts, 10 of which were top-25s, including last year's T15. He also tied for fifth the last time the Open was at Royal Liverpool in 2014, and he tied for eighth there in 2006.

20) Matt Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick has been better lately in the Open but not yet great. He's never been better than T20. He was T21 last year in his first major following his breakthrough U.S. Open victory. This year, the Englishman won the RBC Heritage a week after tying for 10th at the Masters and then tied for 17th at the U.S. Open after missing the cut at the PGA.

MAKING THE CUT

21) Patrick Reed
Reed has three top-20s in his eight Opens, with a best of solo 10th in 2019. He tied for 47th last year. The LIV golfer has made all three major cuts this year, with a T4 at the Masters and a T18 at the PGA.

22) Min Woo Lee
Lee is developing a nice resume in the majors. In the past two years, he's finished top-25 in each of the four, and last month he tied for fifth at the U.S. Open. That followed a T18 at the PGA. Last year, Lee was T21 at the Open Championship. The Aussie still has off-weeks, but they don't seem to happen often in the biggest tournaments, and he is still only 24 years old.

23) Tom Kim
This has not been a great sophomore season for Kim, with just two top-10s in all of 2023. However, one of them was recent and in a major – T8 at the U.S. Open. He also tied for 16th at the Masters, so Kim's best results at least have come in the biggest tournaments. He tied for 47th in his Open Championship debut a year ago.

24) Wyndham Clark
Clark is one of the hardest guys in the whole field to gauge. He's coming off a win at the U.S. Open. Yet before that, he had never finished better than 75th in a major. And last year, he was 76th at the Open Championship. But with a great driver and a great putter, Clark can succeed anywhere.

25) Corey Conners
Conners is ranked 34th in the world now; his best has been 25th. That seems to be his range, though not by design. It's as far as his putting will take him. You can get by on the generally slower greens in Opens, and Conners has done that, with a tie for 15th two years ago and for 28th last year. He tied for 12th at the 2023 PGA, but he missed the two other major cuts earlier this year.

26) Brian Harman
Harman earned a return trip to the Open before even leaving St. Andrews last year – he tied for sixth. A top-10 results in automatic entry the next year. And it followed a T19 in 2021, reversing some terrible Open history in which Harman missed four of his first five cuts. He's also enjoying an overall reversal of form coming in, with a co-runner-up at the Travelers and another top-10 at the Rocket Mortgage before playing in the Scottish Open.

27) Ryan Fox
On one hand, the big-hitting New Zealander has just one top-25 in six Open starts. On the other, he's been at his very best over the past two years and has made the cut in all three 2023 majors, with a top-25 at the PGA (23) and a near-miss at the Masters (T26). Fox's best Open was a T16 in 2019. He took a long break after last month's U.S. Open and was idle until the Scottish Open.

28) Thriston Lawrence
The 26-year-old South African who looks like his first name is misspelled qualified by finishing in the top-30 in the 2022 DP World Tour rankings. He's won three times in the past 11 months, including just a few weeks back at the BMW International. Lawrence made the cut at the PGA, missed at the U.S. Open and tied for 42nd last year at the Open Championship.

29) Talor Gooch
Gooch is in the field thanks to finishing last season top-30 on the FedExCup points list, after a bit of word play -- they said he didn't qualify for the TOUR Championship because he was suspended for joining LIV -- kept him out of the U.S. Open. He has been the best golfer on the LIV circuit this year, but his results in the first two majors -- T34, MC – don't align. Gooch has finished T33 and T34 in his two Opens.

30) Jordan Smith
The Englishman finished top-30 in the DP World Tour rankings last year to qualify for his third Open. He tied for 47th last year. He's coming off a very quiet tie for 20th at the U.S. Open after a missed cut at the PGA. That's one of just two tournaments at which Smith has missed the cut in his past 11 worldwide starts.

31) Max Homa
Normally in these Power Rankings, Homa's poor major record is noted. Now, there's another layer -- he's not playing especially well anywhere. In his past five starts before the Scottish Open, he had just one top-10 – and barely at that, a tie for ninth at Colonial. This will be just the third Open for Homa, who missed the cut last year and tied for 40th in 2021.

32) Robert MacIntyre
The left-swinging Scot had never missed a cut in 10 majors until falling short at the PGA two months ago. He had a pair of top-10s in his first two Opens and then tied for 34th last year. Macintyre has fallen outside the top 100 in the world, and expectations of a great career filled with titles and Ryder Cup appearances don't seem to be materializing. He qualified by finishing in the top-30 in last season's DP World Tour rankings.

33) Justin Thomas
Thomas is not playing well, and he's never been especially good at the Open Championship. He's made four of six cuts, but he has only one top-25 and no top-10s (T11 in 2019). Thomas has missed two of the three major cuts in 2023, with a T65 at the PGA sandwiched in between. Overall, he had missed three of four cuts entering the Scottish Open, though that one make was a T9 at the Travelers.

34) Sam Burns
Burns has proven to be adept at making cuts in majors, but high finishes have been elusive so far. He's two for two at the Open, with last year's T42 his best. He was 29th at the Masters in April and 32nd at the U.S. Open last month. Certainly, more is expected from the world's 17th-ranked player. Burns is also fighting for a Ryder Cup spot, and where better than on European soil to show captain Zach Johnson he's deserving.

35) Si Woo Kim
Kim's body of work in the majors isn't great – he's never had a top-10. One of his best finishes was last year's T15 at the Open, which came after he missed the cut in two of his first three tries. Kim has had a great 2023 on the PGA Tour, winning the Sony back in January and more recently finishing as co-runner-up at the Byron Nelson and fourth at the Memorial.

36) Thomas Pieters
Pieters joined LIV earlier this year, but not before finishing in the top-30 of last year's DP World Tour rankings to qualify for his sixth Open. He's made all five cuts so far, including T28 last year, which matched his Open best. Pieters made the cut at the Masters and PGA this year, then missed at the U.S. Open.

37) Keegan Bradley
Bradley used to play the Open Championship well, with top-20s in three of his first five visits. But since then, he's gone 79-MC-MC-MC. Bradley is coming off a big win at the Travelers, his second victory of the season, and his play has been buoyed by a vastly improved putter.

38) Cameron Young
Young was runner-up last year in his debut Open, and that came after tying for third at the PGA. This year, he tied for seventh in the Masters. So that's a pretty good stretch of majors right there. He's not playing nearly as well week-in and week-out as he did last year, but he was T32 at the U.S. Open and then had a top-10 at the John Deere.

39) Denny McCarthy
McCarthy has never played in the Open Championship, yet he remains an intriguing consideration. Besides having made the cut in seven of eight career majors, including both of his starts this year, his play this season is among the best in the world. McCarthy's high finish at the Wells Fargo got him into this field as part of the Open Qualifying Series (OQS). He has finished in the top-6 in three of his past four starts and the other one was a top-20.

40) Jason Day
Day has cooled significantly since winning the Byron Nelson in May. He missed his next three cuts, including at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, then finished T45 at the Travelers before playing in the Scottish Open. Some regression after your first win in five years could be expected, but not this extreme. Day made his first eight cuts at the Open Championship before missing in his past two.

41) Lucas Herbert
Herbert is such an up-and-down player, primarily because he sprays the ball all over the course. But there's no arguing he has a top-notch short game, one that helped him to a T15 at the Open last year. Wide Open fairways surely help his game.

42) Abraham Ancer
Ancer tied for 11th in last year's Open, by far his best showing in four tries. He returns thanks to being in the top-50 OWGR at a recent cutoff point, though now he's fallen outside. Ancer made the cut at the Masters (T39) and U.S. Open (T54) but missed at the PGA.

43) Harris English
English appears to be fully recovered from early 2022 hip surgery, and he has posted a number of good finishes of late, notably a tie for eighth at the U.S. Open. That's clearly been his best major – three top-10s -- yet he's made five of seven cuts at the British Open. The two misses were last year shortly after returning from the surgery and in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.

44) Sepp Straka
Straka has turned around his season over the past few months, culminating with his win at the John Deere Classic. He also tied for seventh at the PGA Championship. Straka made the cut at the Masters but missed at the U.S. Open. And he missed the cut in his British Open debut a year ago.

45) Pablo Larrazabal
The 40-year-old Spaniard is having a second act to his career. He qualified for his ninth Open by finishing in the top-30 last year in the DP World Tour rankings. The Spaniard has won twice in the past few months, and he won twice more last year. Larrazabal made the cut at the PGA earlier this year, missed at the U.S. Open and also missed at last year's British Open.

46) Alex Noren
Noren has had an all-or-nothing relationship with the Open. He's played in 11 and made only six cuts, yet five of those were top-25s and two of them were top-10s. He MCed in his previous Open in 2021 and missed the cut in all three majors this year. But there's a glimmer here: Noren tied for 10th at something called the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed last month and then for ninth earlier this month at the Rocket Mortgage. He qualified by finishing in the top-30 in the 2022 DP World Tour rakings.

47) Hideki Matsuyama
Matsuyama has quietly been falling in the rankings, now outside the top-30 OWGR. He hasn't won since the Sony Open at the beginning of 2022. He still delivers a steady diet of top-25s, but the top-10s are becoming rarer. Matsuyama has made all three major cuts this year, though T16 was the best. You're beginning to see the picture. On top of all that, he's missed the cut at three of the past five Open Championships and was T68 last year.

48) Adrian Meronk
The 30-year-old from Poland has been a late developer, only recently becoming a regular in the majors. Three of the five he's played in came this year; he's missed two cuts with a T40 at the PGA. In his first British Open, Meronk tied for 42nd last year. Though now a PGA Tour member, he does his best work in Europe, winning the Italian Open in May and then finishing top-5 at both the KLM Open and BMW International.

49) Chris Kirk
Kirk will be making his 11th start at the Open. He's made only five cuts, but one of them was last year, when he tied for 42nd. He also made the cut at the Masters and PGA this year. Kirk shook off a recent stretch of three straight missed cuts with top-25s at both the Rocket Mortgage and John Deere.

50) Laurie Canter
The 33-year-old Englishman now with LIV has played in only four career majors. Two came last year and he made both cuts, including a tie for 79th at the Open. Canter went through the final qualifying a few weeks back to get in the field.

51) Rasmus Hojgaard
Just 22, Hojgaard has already been around a few years and has played in three majors - yet not an Open Championship. He's been in a U.S. Open and two PGAs, including a missed cut in May. Hojgaard won the Made in Himmerland tournament earlier this month, yet he had already qualified for the Open by being in the top-30 of the 2022 DP World Tour rankings. His twin brother Nicolai has taken Special Temporary Membership on the PGA Tour but did not qualify for the Open.

52) Joaquin Niemann
The LIV golfer has made the cut in 11 of his past 12 majors, missing only at this year's PGA. The month before that, Niemann turned in his best major showing yet, a tie for 16th at the Masters. He finished T59 and T53 in the past two Opens.

53) Alexander Bjork
Bjork has been on the hottest players in Europe, finishing in the top-10 in six of his past seven DP World Tour starts before playing in the Scottish Open. He hadn't missed a cut in 10 months. The Swede qualified via his rankings in the Race to Dubai after last month's BMW International. The downside for Bjork is that he's missed the cut in every Open he's played, all four of them.

54) Padraig Harrington
The 51-year-old who won the Open back-to-back in 2007-08 is going strong on the Champions Tour. But he's still keeping up on the PGA Tour, too. He made the cut at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, just missing a top-25 at the latter. Harrington also tied for 10th at the Valero Texas Open. He's ranked 192nd in the world, better than dozens of players in this field.

55) Thorbjorn Olesen
Olesen has been in eight Opens and made five cuts, but he hasn't played in one since 2019. His best was T9 back in 2012 and he made the cut at the 2014 edition at Royal Liverpool. Olesen won the Thailand Classic earlier this year but he has already qualified for the Open by finishing in the top-30 in the 2022 DP World Tour rankings.

56) Branden Grace
Grace went through the final qualifying tournament, the only way he could get in now that he's with LIV. This will be his 11th Open, and he's made eight cuts, though he missed two years ago in his previous start. Grace played in two majors last year and missed both of those cuts, too.

57) Russell Henley
It's been a spectacular major season for Henley, who tied for fourth at the Masters and for 14th at the U.S. Open. The Open Championship has never really been his thing. He's missed the cut in half of his eight starts with just one top-25, a T20 back in 2015. He chose to skip the Scottish Open, where some semblance of links golf might have helped him.

58) Thomas Detry
Detry made it through the final qualifying tournament and will play his third Open. He tied for 34th last year and missed the cut in 2021. The 30-year-old Belgian's rookie season on the PGA Tour has proven difficult. He has only three top-25s in 2023 and now is close to falling out the top-100 in the world rankings.

59) Victor Perez
The Frenchman has struggled in majors, notably missing all four cuts in 2021. But he's starting to show signs – 34th in last year's Open, a career-best T12 in the 2023 PGA. Perez finished last season in the top-30 on the DP World Tour to punch his ticket to Royal Liverpool.

60) Richie Ramsay
The 40-year-old Scotsman lost a great opportunity to win a couple of weeks back at the Made in Himmerland tournament a couple of weeks back when he doubled the 72nd hole to miss a playoff by a stroke. But it was his third top-10 in five starts. Ramsay qualified for his eighth Open by finishing in the top-30 in the 2022 DP World Tour rankings. He's made only three of seven career Open cuts and hasn't played since 2017, but that year he tied for 22nd.

61) Sahith Theegala
Theegala acquitted himself nicely in his Open debut a year ago, tying for 34th. Now he's three for three in the 2023 majors, with a top-10 at the Masters and a near-top-25 at the U.S. Open. But that T27 at LA Country Club has been the best result in Theegala's past six starts, and that's enough to say he's in a bit of a slump.

62) Christiaan Bezuidenhout
The South African qualified thanks to his tie for third at the Joburg Open late last year. It was part of the Open Qualifying Series (OQS). This will be his fourth Open, and he's made the cut the past two years. Bezuidenhout missed the cut in his lone major so far this year at the PGA. It's been a down year for him, though he does have top-25s at the RBC Heritage, Byron Nelson and Charles Schwab.

63) Yannik Paul
The German is set for his Open debut and third career major thanks to finishing in the top-30 in the 2022 DP World Tour rankings. He tied for 69th a couple of months ago at the PGA. Paul has been very good in Europe in 2023. He's made his past 10 cuts, half of them ending up as top-10s. In the latest Ryder Cup standings, he sat third on the European points list, so there's a chance he could make the team.

64) Danny Willett
The Englishman has a very good track record at the Open, making the cut eight times in 10 starts, including seven in row. Willett qualified by winning the flagship tournament on the DP World Tour, the BMW PGA, within the past five years (2019). He played the first two majors this year and missed both cuts.

65) Adam Schenk
Schenk has been one of the hottest players the past few months, and his tie for seventh at the Memorial got him into the field via the OQS. He was also second at the Charles Schwab, seventh at the Rocket Mortgage and fourth at the John Deere. But Schenk missed the cut at both the PGA and U.S. Open. This will be his first British Open.

66) Matthew Southgate
Southgate has been in four Opens and made three cuts, including a tie for sixth and a tie for 12th. Impressive, right? The thing is, he hasn't played an Open since 2018 and is now ranked 283rd in the world. But the Englishman did just get through via the final qualifying tournament and then tied for 10th at the Made in Himmerland tournament a couple of weeks back.

67) Matthew Jordan
You'll surely hear Jordan's story early and often this week, if not already. The Englishman, who just made it into the Open via the final qualifying tournament, has been a member of Royal Liverpool since age 7. He's now 27. This will be Jordan's second career major after missing the Open cut last year. He is ranked well outside the top-200 in the world yet has made his past five cuts, four of which have been top-25s.

68) Sungjae Im
Im's great season turned the other way in May, when he flew to Korea for a tournament the week before the PGA. He won that tournament, but he's missed three of six cuts since, including at the PGA and U.S. Open, and his best result was T24 at the Rocket Mortgage. The Open has not been Im's thing, though he's played only twice – a missed cut in 2019 and a tie for 81st last year.

69) Marcel Siem
Siem had made seven straight cuts entering the Scottish Open, including a runner-up in the Porsche European Open and a tie for 10th at the Made in Himmerland tournament. He qualified thanks to his ranking in the Race to Dubai after the last month's BMW International In five previous Opens, Siem has made two cuts. One of them was a tie for 21st his last time in 2021.

70) Matt Wallace
Wallace just played in his first major since 2021 and tied for 65th at the PGA. He's on the comeback trail after a few lean years. He tied for 40th at the 2021 Open, a year in which he made three of the four major cuts. This will be his fourth Open. Wallace won the opposite-field event in the Dominican Republic earlier this year. He qualified for the Open via the final qualifying tournament.

BORDERLINE

71) Seamus Power
Power withdrew from the Scottish Open during the first round on Thursday citing a hip injury. At this point, we don't know the severity, and whether he just being cautious for the Open. He was coming off a tie for 13th at the John Deere the week before. Power missed the cut in his Open debut last year at age 35. He's missed the cut in the two of the first three majors this year, along with a T46 at the Masters. Power has racked up eight top-25s in 2023. We moved him from Making The Cut to Borderline as a hedge.

72) Andrew Putnam
Putnam has played in only one Open, tying for 32nd in 2019. He missed the cut at the PGA in May but then tied for 43rd at the U.S. Open. He qualified thanks to a T5 at the Memorial (OQS).

73) Gary Woodland
Woodland is in the field by virtue of his 2019 U.S. Open victory. He has a curious Open Championship resume. He's missed only three cuts in 10 starts, but they have come in his three most recent appearances.

74) Francesco Molinari
The 2018 champion turned in top-15s in two of the next three Opens, including T15 last year. Lifetime, Molinari has made nine of 14 cuts. He's come up empty in 2023, missing all three major cuts.

75) Kurt Kitayama
Kitayama has played in 11 career majors and made only four cuts. One of the four came at the PGA two months ago, when he tied for fourth. He's missed the weekend in three of his four Opens, but the one make came last year with a tie for 72nd.

76) Phil Mickelson
The 2013 winner will play in his 29th Open. He's missed his past three cuts. Since his remarkable co-runner-up at the Masters, Mickelson has played poorly on LIV and managed only a T58 at the PGA before missing the cut at the U.S. Open. He finished with top-25s (T22, T23) at the 2006 and 2014 Opens at Royal Liverpool.

77) Louis Oosthuizen
The 2010 Open champion is now 40 years old and with LIV. His other good Open finishes include a co-runner-up  (2015) and a shared third (2021). But curiously, Oosthuizen has made the cut only eight times in 15 tries. He missed last year. He played in only one major so far this year and it was a WD at the Masters.

78) Brendon Todd
Todd reached his fourth Open thanks to his tie for eighth at the Wells Fargo (OQS). He's also coming off a runner-up at the John Deere. Todd tied for 12th at the Open back in 2015 and for 39th in 2014 at Royal Liverpool. He missed the cut at the 2021 Open and also at this year's PGA in his lone major start of 2023.

79) Billy Horschel
Horschel has had only one top-25 all year, and that came in the WGC-Match Play. He's close to falling out of the top-50 in the world. He's made the cut in only three of eight Opens, but they include the past two. He tied for 21st last year.

80) Charl Schwartzel
Schwartzel made it through the final qualifying tournament to grab a berth in his 16th Open. It'll be his first since 2018, when he missed the cut. He tied for seventh when the Open was last at Royal Liverpool in 2014. Schwartzel is now with LIV Golf.

LONG SHOTS

81) Daniel Hillier
2nd Open, MC in 2021. Qualified as winner of recent British Masters. Ranked No. 136 OWGR.

82) Emiliano Grillo
7th Open, 4 missed cuts, T12 in 2016, 2021. Won Charles Schwab in May. Ranked No. 41 OWGR.

83) Ewen Ferguson
1st major. Qualified via 2022 DP World Tour rankings. Recent T4 at British Masters. Ranked No. 134 OWGR.

84) Rikuya Hoshino
3rd Open, two MCs. Qualified via 2022 Japan Tour money list. T62 at 2023 PGA. Now playing DP World Tour. Ranked No. 125 OWGR.

85) Callum Shinkwin
4th Open, T41 in 2019. Qualified via 2022 DP World Tour rankings. Ranked No. 111 OWGR.

86) Taiga Semikawa
1st major. Qualified as winner of 2022 Japan Open. Made cuts at 2023 Sony and Farmers, MC at Amex. Ranked No. 158 OWGR.

87) Romain Langasque
4th Open, T63 in 2019. Qualified via ranking in Race to Dubai after BMW International. Runner-up at Italian Open. Ranked No. 137 OWGR.

88) Adri Arnaus
3rd Open, T76 in 2022. Qualified vis 2022 DP World Tour rankings. MC at 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 107 OWGR.

89) Connor Syme
3rd Open, MCs in 2017, '19. Qualified via 2022 DP World Tour rankings. Ranked No. 211 OWGR.

90) Nick Taylor
1st Open. Qualified via FedExCup standings after Travelers. Won Canadian Open last month. Ranked No. 46 OWGR.

91) Taylor Moore
1st Open. Won 2023 Valspar Championship. Made cut at Masters, PGA, MC at U.S. Open. Ranked No. 48 OWGR.

92) Michael Kim
2nd Open, T35 in 2018. Qualified via 7th place at Wells Fargo (OQS). Ranked No. 130 OWGR.

93) Adrian Otaegui
2nd Open, MC in 2019. Qualified via 2022 DP World Tour rankings. Recent runner-up at KLM Open. Ranked No. 91 OWGR.

94) Kazuki Higa
2nd Open, MC in 2022. Qualified via 2022 Japan Tour money list. Ranked No. 115 OWGR.

95) Antoine Rozner
2nd Open, T59 in 2021. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. DP World Tour player. Ranked No. 139 OWGR.

96) Joost Luiten
9th Open, T32 in 2019, MC in 2021. Qualified via ranking in Race to Dubai after BMW International, where he was runner-up. Ranked No. 152 OWGR.

97) Jazz Janewattananond
4th Open, T46 in 2021. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. Playing on DP World Tour. Ranked No. 237 OWGR.

98) Jorge Campillo
4th Open, 3 MCs. Qualified via ranking in Race to Dubai after BMW International. Ranked No. 132 OWGR.

99) K.H. Lee
2nd Open, MC in 2021. Four straight MCs on Tour through John Deere Classic. Ranked No. 52 OWGR.

100) Davis Riley
1st Open. Qualified via T8 at Arnold Palmer Invitational (OQS). MC at 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 82 OWGR.

101) Guido Migliozzi
3rd Open, 2 MCS. Qualified via 2022 DP World Tour rankings. Ranked No. 226 OWGR.

102) Tom Hoge
2nd Open, MC in 2022. MCs at 2023 Masters and U.S. Open, T58 at PGA. Ranked No. 42 OWGR.

103) Trey Mullinax
2nd Open, T21 in 2022. Qualified via T8 at Arnold Palmer Invitational (OQS). Ranked No. 106 OWGR.

104) Henrik Stenson
18th Open, 2016 champion, 13 made cuts, missed past two. Now with LIV Golf.

105) Shubhankar Sharma
3rd Open, T51 in both 218 and 2019. Qualified via 2022 DP World Tour rankings. Ranked No. 264 OWGR.

106) J.T. Poston
2nd Open, MC in 2022. Qualified via top-30 of 2022-23 FedExCup standings. T6 at John Deere. Ranked No. 57 OWGR.

107) David Micheluzzi
1st Open. Qualified as winner of the 2022-23 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit. T67 at Byron Nelson, MCs at PGA Championship and Memorial. Ranked No. 358 OWGR.

108) Takumi Kanaya
4th Open, 3 MCs. Qualified via T3 at Mizuno Open, (OQS). Won the next week on Japan Tour. Ranked No. 115 OWGR.

109) Keita Nakajima
2nd Open, MC in 2022. Qualified as runner-up at Mizuno Open (OQS). T54 at 2023 Sony Open, MCs at Farmers and Genesis Invitational. Ranked No. 151 OWGR.

110) Scott Stallings
3rd Open, MCs in 2013-14. Qualified via top-30 in 2022-23 FedExCup standings. T26 at Masters, MCs at PGA and U.S. Open. Ranked No. 80 OWGR.

111) Zach Johnson
18th Open, 2015 champion, 12 made cuts, missed past two. Ranked No. 222 OWGR.

112) Lee Hodges
1st Open. Qualified via T12 at the Memorial (OQS). T55 at the 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 114 OWGR.

113) Ockie Strydom
1st. Open Qualified as winner of 2022-23 Sunshine Tour Order of Merit. MC at 2023 PGA. DP World Tour player. No. 157 OWGR.

114) Bio Kim
1st Open. Qualified via T4 in Hong Kong World City Championship (OQS). Ranked No. 194 OWGR.

115) Sami Valimaki
1st Open. Qualified via runner-up at 2022 Joburg Open (OQS). DP World Tour player. Ranked No. 215 OWGR.

116) Hurly Long
1st Open. Qualified via 2022 DP World Tour rankings. Ranked No. 244 OWGR.

117) Kalle Samooja
1st Open, qualified as T4 in Made in Himmerland tournament two weeks ago. Won 2022 Porsche European Open. Ranked No. 250 OWGR.

118) Stewart Cink
24th Open, 2009 champion, 15 made cuts, missed past two. Champions and PGA Tour player. Ranked No. 294 OWGR.

119) Ernie Els
32nd Open, two-time winner in 2002 and 2012, 23 made cuts, missed past two. Champions Tour player.

120) Oliver Wilson
7th Open, 6 MCs, last in 2018. Qualified via co-runner at British Masters (OQS). Ranked No. 260 OWGR.

121) Ben Griffin
1st Open. Qualified via T14 at Arnold Palmer Invitational (OQS). MC at 2023 PGA. Ranked No. 108 OWGR.

122) Hiroshi Iwata
3rd Open, MCs in 2014-15. Qualified via 2023 Japan Tour money list. 42 years old. Ranked No. 184 OWGR.

123) Zack Fischer
1st Open. Qualified as winner of the 2022 Visa Open de Argentina tournament on PGA Tour Latinoamerica. Korn Ferry Tour player. Ranked No. 401 OWGR.

124) Christo Lamprecht (a)
1st major. 2023 British Amateur champion. 22-year-old South African. 6 feet 8. Plays at Georgia Tech.

125) Dan Bradbury
1st major. Qualified as winner of 2022 Joburg Open (OQS). Recent T8 at British Masters. Ranked No. 333 OWGR.

126) Travis Smyth
1st major. Qualified via solo third at Hong Kong World City Championship (OQS). Played in three LIV Golf events in 2022. Ranked No. 305 OWGR.

127) Richard Bland
4th Open, MC in 2022. Qualified via 2022 DP World Tour rankings. Age 50. Now with LIV Golf.

128) Alex Maguire (a)
1st major. Qualified as winner of 2023 Open Amateur Series. 22-year-old Irishman just finished senior season Florida Atlantic.

129) Nacho Elvira
1st major. Qualified as Made in Himmerland tournament runner-up two weeks ago. Ranked No. 355 OWGR.

130) Marc Warren
5th Open, two made cuts, last played in 2016. 42 years old. Qualified as T4 in Made in Himmerland tournament two weeks ago. Ranked No. 375 OWGR.

131) Jose Luis Ballester (a)
1st major. Qualified as European Amateur champion. 19 years old. Plays at Arizona State.

132) Gunner Wiebe
1st major. Qualified as co-runner-up at British Masters (OQS). Son of former PGA Tour player Mark Wiebe. Ranked No. 481 OWGR.

133) Alex Fitzpatrick
1st major. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. Younger brother of Matt, who checks in 20th above. European Challenge Tour played. Ranked No. 559 OWGR.

134) Alejandro Canizares
4th Open, first since 2012, T27 in 2010. Qualified via T4 at Australian Open (OQS). Ranked No. 572 OWGR.

135) Marco Penge
2nd Open, MC in 2022. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. European Challenge Tour player. Ranked No. 538 OWGR.

136) Kensei Hirata
1st major. Qualified as winner of Mizuno Open (OQS). 22 years old. Ranked No. 429 OWGR.

137) Taichi Kho
1st major. Qualified as winner of Hong Kong World City Championship (OQS). 22 years old. Ranked No. 615 OWGR.

138) Oliver Farr
2nd Open, MC 2022. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. European Challenge Tour player. Ranked No. 684 OWGR.

139) Seungsu Han
1st Open. Qualified as winner of Korea Open (OQS). T50 at 2018 PGA. Ranked No. 462 OWGR.

140) Mateo Fernandez de Oliveira (a) 
1st Open. Qualified as winner of 2023 Latin America Amateur Championship, MCs in 2023 Masters and U.S. Open.

141) Kyungnam Kang
1st major. Qualified as runner-up at Korea Open (OQS). 40 years old. Ranked No. 394 OWGR.

142) Martin Rohwer
1st major. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. Three-time winner on Sunshine Tour. Ranked No. 770 OWGR.

143) Kyle Barker
1st major. Qualified via final qualifying tournament, Plays on Sunshine Tour. Ranked No. 727 OWGR.

144) Harrison Crowe (a) 
1st Open. Qualified as winner of 2022 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship. MC at 2023 Masters. 21-year-old Australian.

145) Tiger Christensen (a) 
1st major. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. 19-year-old German playing at U. of Arizona.

146) Darren Clarke
31st Open, 2011 winner, 19 made cuts, lastly in 2013. Champions Tour player. Winner of 2022 Senior Open.

147) Brandon Robinson-Thompson
1st major. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. Playing mostly on MENA Tour. Ranked No. 804 OWGR.

148) Michael Stewart
1st major. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. European Challenge Tour player. Ranked No. 856 OWGR.

149) Haydn Barron
1st major. Qualified via T4 at Australian Open (OQS). Ranked No. 920 OWGR.

150) Kazuki Yasumori
1st major. Qualified via T3 at Mizuno Open (OQS). Ranked No. 942 OWGR.

151) Connor McKinney
1st major. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. Also came through regional qualifying. 2022 Australian Amateur Champion. Plays on European Challenge Tour, Ranked No. 1,128 OWGR.

152) Graeme Robertson
1st major. Qualified via final qualifying tournament. Also came through regional qualifying.

153) John Daly
25th Open, 1995 winner, 10 made cuts, last in 2012. Champions Tour player.

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The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Len Hochberg plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DK: Bunker Mentality.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Len Hochberg
Len Hochberg has covered golf for RotoWire since 2013. A veteran sports journalist, he was an editor and reporter at The Washington Post for nine years. Len is a three-time winner of the FSWA DFS Writer of the Year Award (2020, '22 and '23) and a five-time nominee (2019-23). He is also a writer and editor for MLB Advanced Media.
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