Last year's Champion Golfer of the Year was a long shot ... can this one be, too?
The latest: Brian Harman wasn't on everyone's radar heading into the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool but he won with +12,500 odds. I'm not going quite that far down the board but have a pair of long shots worth targeting, including Canadian Corey Conners.
Check out our Open Championship long shot picks for the tournament beginning on July 18.
Open Championship long shot picks
Best Bet: Corey Conners to win (+6,000)
Conners is primed for a big week.
The Listowel, Ontario native has six top-20 finishes in his last eight starts, including a T9 at the U.S. Open in June. He hasn't finished outside of the top 50 since the Sony Open in January thanks to some remarkable iron play.
Conners ranks fourth in strokes gained: approach (+0.853) this season and is sixth in greens in regulation (71.13%).
He's also an extremely accurate driver, which will be important at Royal Troon, and he's found his short game at the right time.
Conners has posted positive strokes gained: around-the-green in four of his last five starts and positive strokes gained: putting in three of his last five, per DataGolf.
Those areas tend to be his greatest weaknesses, and if he can stay hot, I really like his chances to contend.
Key stat: Conners has posted positive strokes gained: putting in his last five starts in the UK.
Quick pick
Thompson to win (+9,000): Davis Thompson secured his first PGA Tour win at the John Deere Classic two weeks ago.
He finished T2 at the Rocket Mortgage the start before that and T9 at the U.S. Open the start before that. What's not to like?
Thompson admittedly doesn't have much experience playing links golf.
He made his first start in Scotland at its national open last week and opened with a 5-under 65 before finishing T46.
It's risky to back a player like that at the Open, but Thompson's stat profile theoretically fits the course. He's an accurate driver, has a great short game, and is a strong iron player.
So let's ride — after all, they're called long shots for a reason.
Golf picks made at 2:31 p.m. on 07/15/2024.
