Here's everything you need to know about 2024 Open Championship PrizePicks plays for Thursday for this week's PGA Tour event in Troon, Scotland.
With the Genesis Scottish Open in the rearview mirror, we now look forward to this week's 2024 Open Championship. Royal Troon Golf Club hosts for the first time since 2016.
Royal Troon is a par-71, 7,385-yard track that can play extremely difficult. The front nine is alongside a windy shoreline and the back nine features an abundance of difficult gorse bushes, wispy rough and bunkers.
The name of the game this week is ball striking, with an emphasis on accuracy both off the tee and on approach.
Find my 2024 Open Championship PrizePicks plays for Thursday below.
2024 Open Championship PrizePicks
Corey Conners Less Than 71.5 Strokes
Corey Conners is one of the top ball strikers in this field, which immediately drew me to his PrizePicks square. Conners also enters this week in incredible form as he's made the weekend in 26 consecutive tournaments. Additionally, he's posted 14 top-25 finishes over that stretch.
He finished ninth at the U.S. Open, which, of course, was contested on Pinehurst No. 2. That's important to know because it was a major championship contested on an extremely difficult course — exactly what we'll also see this week.
Conners shot 71 or lower in each of his four rounds at Pinehurst.
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Alex Noren Less Than 72 Strokes
I wrote about Alex Noren in my first-round-leader article this week, and if I like him to lead after the first round, then I obviously also like him to shoot 72 or lower.
Noren enters this event in good form as he's made the weekend in 19 of his past 22 tournaments. He has 14 top-25 finishes over that stretch, the majority of which occurred due to his accurate ball striking — both off the tee and on the approach.
He profiles well for this course, which makes me believe he can go low this week. Noren has shot 71 or lower in six of his past eight rounds at major championships.
Rasmus Hojgaard Less Than 72.5 Strokes
Rasmus Hojgaard is one of the best players on the European Tour. At just 23-years-old, the sky's the limit for Hojgaard in terms of potential. I like his upside this week, especially considering that he boasts 13 top-25 finishes over his past 21 tournaments.
A lot of that success is due to his ability to bomb the ball off the tee and follow that up with a strong approach game. That could be a good recipe for success this week, as long as the accuracy off the tee doesn't start to surrender itself in exchange for distance.
The good news for Hojgaard is that he was at the field average last week at the Genesis Scottish Open for accuracy off the tee. That helped propel him to a 21st-place finish.
Finally, Hojgaard has shot 72 or lower in four of his past five rounds at major championships.
For a more in-depth analysis of the Open Championship, check out the Links + Locks podcast.
