The 12 Best Tee-To-Green Golfers Who Have A Serious Edge At The Open Championship

The 153rd Open Championship kicks off today at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

Links golf requires a set of tools that are different from the PGA Tour and these 12 golfers below have an edge on the field this week in the British Open Championship: they are highly accurate from Tee-to-Green and reliably pick up strokes on their competition.

The game of golf always rewards accuracy but links golf in particular punishes wayward shots. In order to win the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Nothern Ireland, the future champion will need to be deadly accurate from Tee to Green.

Here, we see the 12 best Tee-to-Green golfers who will have a serious edge at the Open Championship. There are some familiar and expected names but some underdogs to look out for.

1. Scottie Scheffler

The world’s #1 golfer Scottie Scheffler has virtually zero holes in his game. His best Open Championship finish was t7 in 2024 and Scottie will almost certainly improve upon that at Royal Portrush in the 153rd Open Championship.

Scheffler isn’t just the best golfer in SG: Tee-to-Green he’s the best be a LOT with 2.278 SG while the next closest golfer is nearly a full stroke behind. Scottie is averaging 1.298 SG in Approach and 0.708 SG Off the Tee. Both of those rank #1 among all golfers. If he plays his game this week Scottie cannot be eaten.

2. Collin Morikawa

Collin Morikawa’s iron play is arguably the best on the PGA Tour if not top-3. That will be his biggest advantage of this week and the numbers are there to back him up.

Collin is averaging 1.315 SG: Tee-to-Green on the field and he’s picking up 0.760 SG: Approach on average over 50 rounds this season. If he finds the fairway, watch out.

3. Tommy Fleetwood

Despite having 0 wins on the PGA Tour, Tommy Fleetwood has won 7 times in Europe. He is also my pick to win it all this week and finally break through on the game’s biggest stage.

Fleetwood ranks 3rd overall in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green at 1.209. He’s picking up 0.629 SG on Approach, 0.315 SG Around the Green, and 0.265 SG Off the Tee. The Open Championship crowd at Royal Portrush will be in Tommy’s corner this week if he gets hot and there’s no reason he shouldn’t heat up.

4. Keegan Bradley

Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley has been on an absolute heater this season. He currently ranks 4th overall in SG: Tee-to-Green and has been a wizard in SG: Around the Green, picking up 0.448 SG on the field.

Keegan is pretty even off the tee and in approach, averaging 0.353 and 0.399 SG respectively. His game is balanced, his swing is smooth. Keegan deserves a look from everyone this week.

5. Shane Lowry

Shane Lowry is a stick. We know that. He won the 2019 Open Championship and will almost certainly be in contention again this week.

Lowry ranks 5th overall on the PGA Tour in SG: Tee-to-Green this season through 49 rounds. His biggest edge will be SG: Approach where Shane Lowry is picking up 0.932 SG on the field and ranks 3rd among all golfers right now in that statistic.

6. Sepp Straka

Through 60 rounds on the Tour this eason, Sepp Straka ranks 7th overall in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green. He’s in the 6th spot here because Rico Hoey ranks 6th but he didn’t qualify for the Open Championship and this is specifically about golfers with an edge at the 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush.

Sepp Straka is strongest, by far, in approach. He picks up 0.865 Strokes Gained: Approach on the field. That will be HUGE in Northern Ireland.

7. Si Woo Kim

Si Woo Kim has yet to finish top-5 in a major championship but his game matches up perfectly for Royal Portrush GC and the Open Championship. He ranks 8th overall in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green on the Tour through 74 rounds and just moved up two spots in the rankings.

Si Woo Kim is strongest in SG: Approach and Around the Green, picking up 0.387 and 0.380 respectively. He is no slouch off the tee though with an average of 0.298 SG this season.

8. Russell Henley

Russell Henley finished in solo 5th place at the 2024 Open Championship and will be seeking to improve upon that at Royal Portrush Golf Club.

The former University of Georgia golfer ranks 9th overall on the PGA Tour this season in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and is nearly split in SG off the tee and in approach, at 0.574 and 0.540 respectively for an average total of 1.051 SG from Tee-to-Green.

9. Rory McIlroy

The #2 golfer in the world and reigning Masters champion, Rory McIlroy, is a popular pick to win the 153rd Open Championship and for good reason. Rory currently ranks 10th overall in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green and he is picking up 0.632 SG Off the Tee with his distance and accuracy.

If Rory can find the fairway this week he will be in contention. He will still be in contention with wayward drives because he’s an incredible golfer but if his driver cooperates then it’s game on for McIlroy.

10. Patrick Cantlay

Patrick Cantlay, whose best finish in the Open Championship so far is t8 in 2022, ranks eleventh overall in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green this season through 50 rounds.

He is particularly accurate from the fairway to the flag where Cantlay is averaging 0.598 strokes gained on approach. This will be crucial for scoring at Royal Portrush.

11. Daniel Berger

Daniel Berger has come back from his 2022 sacroiliac joint sprain which sidelined him for 19 months and found form quickly. He ranks 12th overall on the PGA Tour this season and 11th among Open Championship competitors in SG: Tee-to-Green.

Berger is picking up 0.436 SG off the tee, on average, and 0.612 strokes gained on approach over 57 rounds this season.

12. J.J. Spaun

The reigning U.S. Open champion, J.J. Spaun ranks 12th on the PGA Tour this season in Strokes Gained tee-to-green at 0.930. He is strongest in SG: Approach, with 0.663 SG hitting at the flag but J.J. is no slouch off the tee either where he averages 0.278 SG off the tee.