Golf’s fourth and final major of 2022 is this week, as the 150th Open Championship begins on Thursday. This season’s British Open (as many Americans call it) will take place at the Old Course at St. Andrews. This historic course will host The Open Championship for a record 30th time. The first time was back in 1873, and the most recent time in 2015. A former Bulldog has never won this prestigious event and has only had one golfer finish in the top ten. This week, seven former Georgia golfers (I don’t count Patrick Reed) will try to win this major and take home the Claret Jug. Here is a little bit of history of the Bulldogs and this major, plus some information on the golfers themselves.
Harris English - Official World Golf Ranking (30th)
2022 Majors
Masters (Did Not Play)
PGA Championship (Did Not Play)
U.S. Open (T-61st)
English is playing in just his second major this season after being out of action for five months with a hip injury. He has played in four tournaments since coming back, and made the cut in three of them including the U.S. Open. He finished tied for 42nd last week at the Scottish Open with his best round being the final one when he shot even par. Last year, he played in his first Open Championship since 2016 and finished tied for 46th (ironically, the same finish in his previous appearance). in 2021, he shot two rounds under par for the first time at this major. This will be the second time he has played this tournament when being held at St. Andrews.
Brian Harman - Official World Golf Ranking (52nd)
2022 Majors
Masters (Missed Cut)
PGA Championship (T-34th)
U.S. Open (T-43rd)
Harman has made the cut in 16 of 22 PGA Tour events this season. He has finished in the top ten in four of those 16 events, with a tie for third finish at The American Express out in La Quinta. He missed the cut last week at the Scottish Open and had an opening round of 80. In the tournament prior to the Scottish (Travelers Championship), he had four rounds in the 60s and finished tied for eighth. He has made the cut in 14 of 25 majors that he has played, but just twice at the Open Championship. One of those times was last year and it was his best career finish and one of the best ever by a Georgia Bulldog. This is his second time competing at St. Andrews.
Russell Henley - Official World Golf Ranking (55th)
2022 Majors
Masters (T-30th)
PGA Championship (T-60th)
U.S. Open (Missed Cut)
Henley has made the cut in 15 of 17 PGA Tour events this season and in over half of them (eight) he finished in the top 25. He finished second in a playoff at the Sony Open in Hawaii back in January. The last two events he has played were the PGA Championship in May and the United States Open in June. Of the four majors, the Open Championship is the only one in which he has missed the cut more than he has made the cut. He has played at St. Andrew's once before and did quite well.
Chris Kirk - Official World Golf Ranking (58th)
2022 Majors
Masters (Did Not Play)
PGA Championship (T-5th)
U.S. Open (Did Not Play)
Kirk has made the cut in 15 of 21 PGA Tour events this season, including finishing tied for 5th at the PGA Championship out in Southern Hills. That was his best ever finish in any major of his career. Last week, he finished 71st at the Scottish Open, but was tied for seventh in the tournament prior (RBC Canadian Open). He has only played the Open Championship three prior times and made the cut just once, and that was his first time out. Speaking of firsts, this will be the first event he has played at St. Andrews. In last year's Open Championship, he started off with a 68, but faltered in the second round with a 74 and missed the cut by one.
Kevin Kisner - Official World Golf Ranking (25th)
2022 Majors
Masters (T-44th)
PGA Championship (Missed Cut)
U.S. Open (Missed Cut)
Kisner has had an up-and-down season. He has made the cut in just 10 of 19 PGA Tour events. However, five of those ten made cuts are top ten finishes including a runner-up finish at the WGC-Dell Tech Match Play. The Aiken, South Carolina native has the best ever finish by a former Georgia golfer at The Open Championship when he finished tied for 2nd in 2018. That year, he was leading or had the co-lead after each of the first three rounds before Franceso Molinari caught fire to win the Claret Jug. He has made the cut in his last five Open Championships. The only missed cut at The Open Championship was in 2015 (his first Open Championship) and the only time he has played at St. Andrews.
Keith Mitchell - Official World Golf Ranking (53rd)
2022 Majors
Masters (Did Not Play)
PGA Championship (T-34th)
U.S. Open (Did Not Play)
Mitchell has made the cut in 17 of 22 PGA Tour events this season and has six top tens. He has made the cut in six straight events and twice last month finished in the top ten. Last week, he finished tied for 36th at the Scottish Open and shot a final round of 66. Only one golfer in the field had a better final round score. Earlier this season, he finished tied for 34th at the PGA Championship. It was his best career finish at a major. He has played twice at the Open Championship, but missed the cut both times. Each time he had one round under par.
Sepp Straka - Official World Golf Ranking (59th)
2022 Majors
Masters (T-30th)
PGA Championship (78th)
U.S. Open (Missed Cut)
Straka has made the cut in 16 of 27 PGA Tour events this season. He has three top tens, which includes a tied-for-third-place finish at the RBC Heritage and his first career PGA Tour win at the Honda Classic back in February. He has missed the cut in each of his last three events. including the Scottish Open last week. This is his first career Open Championship and just the fifth one he has played. He has made the cut in four of the five majors.
One name I did not mention was Bubba Watson. He is still out with a torn meniscus. He is still the only former Bulldog to win a major (won two Masters). He has played in 11 Open Championships and made the cut in six of them, with a top finish of tied for 23rd in 2012. He missed the cut both times he has played at St. Andrews (2010 and 2015).
Overall, the former Dawgs have had mixed results at St. Andrews. The last time it was played there in 2015, it was Brendon Todd finishing tied for 12th and shooting a final round 66. That was tied for the best round that day. Henley and English also made the cut. Also finishing tied for 12th was Tim Simpson when this event was played in this location back in 1990. He shot under par in the first three rounds and finished even during the final eighteen. Chip Beck also played that year, but missed the cut. Beck had success at the Open Championship as he finished in the top 30 in each of the two years prior to 1990 and finished in the top 20 in the two years following.
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Here is a look at the seven golfers and their first round tee times and pairings. Two Dawgs are playing together (Kisner and Kirk). Those two were teammates in Athens during the 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons.
The times are listed in Eastern Standard Time.
