{"id":15437,"date":"2025-07-15T18:49:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-15T18:49:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/?post_type=article&p=15437"},"modified":"2025-07-16T15:16:35","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T15:16:35","slug":"2025-open-noonans-outright-picks-and-preview","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/api.betspertsgolf.com\/raw-forum\/article\/2025-open-noonans-outright-picks-and-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 Open – Noonan\u2019s Outright Picks and Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The year’s final major championship, the 153rd Open Championship, is back along the northern coast of Northern Ireland, with Royal Portrush Golf Club’s Dunluce Links course hosting golf’s oldest major championship for the third time.<\/span><\/p>\n

The “Champion Golfer of the Year” title, along with the Claret Jug, will go to one of the field’s 156 golfers, including the majority of the Official Golf World Ranking’s top 70 and a select group of elite amateurs. <\/span><\/p>\n

It’s rare for the R&A to return to a venue this quickly, but Royal Portrush was so well received by the players in 2019 that a quick return was deemed necessary. On the scorecard, Portrush is a 7,381-yard par-71 layout that looks and plays quite differently than traditional Open Championship venues. <\/span><\/p>\n

The routing is exceptional, designed so you’ll never play consecutive holes in the same direction, keeping the field on its toes when it comes to the wind and weather rolling in off the Atlantic. And the weather WILL be <\/span>rolling<\/span> in. As is often the case with The Open Championship, rain, wind, and cool temperatures are <\/span>in the forecast<\/span>. Forecasts change quickly, so determining who’ll benefit from a particular wave advantage can be a bit of a blindfolded dart competition. <\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most notable features of Royal Portrush, especially compared to other Open Championship venues, is its relatively few greenside bunkers. Even after the extensive course updates for the 2019 Open Championship, the Dunluce Links has only 57 bunkers, which is the lowest number of any course in The Open rota. Most are placed along the fairway to alter tee shots rather than surrounding the green complexes. <\/span><\/p>\n

Royal Portrush stands out from many traditional Irish and Scottish links courses due to its dramatic dunes and sophisticated green complexes. Unlike most links courses, which feature large, flat greens that allow players to use the ground game to run the ball onto the greens with relatively simple recovery options, Portrush presents a different challenge. This is <\/span>mostly<\/span> why <\/span>I’m looking at a different set of corralary courses this week<\/span><\/a> instead of focusing on past results at Open Championships or on links-like setups.<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, and about those greens. The greens here are smaller than those found at typical links courses, averaging only 5,400 square feet, and they are much more undulating. The tightly mown runoff areas and tricky lies surrounding these elevated greens demand precision on approach shots and a soft touch around the greens, as scrambling becomes paramount because missing the green is inevitable here.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more course details, check out\u00a0<\/span>Ron’s<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span>course preview<\/span><\/a>. It’s the best in the business, bar none. Also, don’t forget to check out our new research tools, the course <\/span>stats page<\/span><\/a>, along with the\u00a0<\/span>Tournament Cheat Sheet.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h3>\n

Podcast:\u00a0<\/span>Apple<\/span><\/a> |\u00a0<\/span>Spotify<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

YouTube:\u00a0<\/span>Betsperts Golf<\/span><\/a><\/h3>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

Key\u00a0<\/span>Rabbit Hole<\/span><\/a> Stats This Week:<\/span><\/h2>\n