2023 British Open Sleeper Picks & Predictions: Theegala's Time to Shine at Hoylake

We're looking forward to this week’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club, which will host the season's final major for the 13th time in tournament history.

In typical British Open fashion, Royal Liverpool is a traditional European links course with swirling winds, not too different from what we saw at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick last week.

Be sure to check out all our British Open props on Covers and follow me on Twitter for more British Open picks and predictions throughout the week.

2023 Open Championship sleeper picks

• Sahith Theegala Top 10 (+1,100)
• Taylor Moore Top 20 (+700)

Picks were made on 7/17/2023 at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Royal Liverpool key stats

Royal Liverpool is a Par-71, 7,313-yard track designed by Harry Colt that has undergone some drastic changes since Rory McIlroy hoisted the Claret Jug here in 2014, including No. 17 transforming from a Par 4 to a Par 3 and No. 10 playing as a Par 4 instead of a Par 5.

Its majestic fairways, natural dunes, and unforgiving bunkers demand precision and strategy from players, offering a true test of skill. With breathtaking views of the Irish Sea, Royal Liverpool remains an enduring symbol of golf's tradition and excellence, captivating players and fans alike.

2023 Open Championship sleeper predictions

Sahith Theegala Top 10 (+1,100)

The first golfer we're targeting this week is Sahith Theegala. Despite failing to secure a win (we're not counting the QBE Shootout) since turning pro in 2020, he's cemented himself as one of the brightest young stars on the PGA Tour.

Currently ranked 31st in the FedEx Cup Standings, he has made 22 of 24 cuts this season and boasts seven Top-10 finishes, including his runner-up performance at the RSM Classic. Often for young up-and-comers in the sport, finding success at a major tournament is an entirely different beast than posting a strong finish at a standard Tour event.

But that's not the case for Theegala, who finished ninth at the Masters and made the cut at both the PGA Championship and U.S. Open. The 25-year-old is a terrific all-around player, especially once he gets off the tee box.

That's important to note because everyone is going to struggle off the tee anyways this week with the swirling winds that make these links-style courses so unpredictable. The main reason for this 11/1 price on Theegala is that he's failed to crack the Top 10 in a tournament since his fifth-place finish at the RBC Heritage back in April.

But all that does is give us a great opportunity to buy low on a guy who's a much stronger golfer than these Open Championship odds would indicate, and in a tournament where creative iron and green-side play will likely reign supreme, Theegala should be a real threat this week as long as the driver is not too disastrous.

Pick: Sahith Theegala Top 10 (+1,100 at DraftKings, risk 0.21 units)

Taylor Moore Top 20 (+700)

Another golfer to target this week is Taylor Moore, who is a boom-or-bust golfer. In my estimation, he'll either contend on Sunday and finish in the mix or miss the cut entirely, but probably not land somewhere in between.

Moore secured his first Tour victory this season at the Valspar Championship. He utilized that performance as a launchpad for his T11 finish at the RBC Heritage, T4 finish at the Zurich Classic, and a T4 finish at the Rocket Mortgage.

However, over that same span, he's missed four cuts and finished T72 at the PGA Championship, but at 7/1, I think it's worth taking a shot that Moore has one of his “boom” weeks in England. He's a solid all-around golfer that truly excels on the greens, which is a common profile of a “boom-or-bust" guy as putting is the most volatile aspect of this sport.

With how difficult the conditions could be this week, the one place where it will be crucial to gain strokes is on the greens. When Moore’s putter is hot, he's one of the better green players on Tour, so I'll gladly take a shot on this prop at 7/1.

Pick: Taylor Moore Top 20 (+700 at DraftKings, risk 0.21 units)

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