Previewing Oklahoma State Cowboys at The 2016 Open

The 145th Open Championship starts in, oh, about seven hours in Dvotland at Royal Troon. Oklahoma State’s representatives this year are Rickie Fowler, recent Scottish Open winner Alex Noren and top 10 finisher at last year’s Open Jordan Niebrugge.

Love how our guys always rep #okstate w/ Swinging Pete! Good luck at @TheOpen @RickieFowler @jniebs5 @Alex_Noren! pic.twitter.com/i6cad4TEYU

— Ryan Cameron (@ryancameron24) July 13, 2016

Fowler is obviously the primary contender from this group for the Claret Jug despite struggling of late at big boy tournaments (he and Phil Mickelson are the only two top 50 players to miss the cut at each of the first two majors of 2016). Fowler also missed the cut at the Players Championship although he did top 10 at the recent Bridgestone Invitational.

“I’d say today was a little bit more of how I’ve been the past couple years as far as how I was in ’14 at the majors,” said Fowler during the Bridgestone. “When I don’t have everything going well and still managing to get it around and make some good par putts and keep the momentum rolling. I feel like that’s where I’ve been struggling kind of a little bit of the first half of the year after the win in Abu Dhabi but coming back. I still played well in Phoenix, but after that it felt like the putter kind of went a little south and wasn’t making putts that you need to to keep momentum going.”

Fowler currently still ranks No. 7 on the PGA Tour in strokes gained this season but just 50th in putting. That’s bad for somebody ranked in the top 10 in the world.

The Open might be the salve he needs though. I discussed this with Carson a little on our podcast from today, but Fowler the golfer was crafted for Open Championships. His ball flight, his unflappable mindset and his underrated short game all set up beautifully for an Open win at some point.

The numbers from recent years tell me the same story. Fowler finished runner up two years ago when Rory burned down Liverpool. He has two top 10s in the last five years and has narrowly ranked fifth in scoring average in that time.

And now there’s another reason to root for him overseas. He’s going to be the anchor for the U.S. team at the Rio Olympics in a month. After Jordan Spieth and Dustin Johnson dropped out, Fowler will contend along with Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Matt Kuchar.

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So maybe this is the week Big Rick gets back on track at the majors, maybe not. Either way, I think he wins at least one Open before it’s all said and done.

If you’re interested in making some dough though (and betting IS legal in Scotland), Niebrugge is where you should look. Fowler has fallen to 33-1 in the odds (which isn’t bad either) but Niebrugge is 1,000-1.

The newly-turned pro finished four strokes out of a playoff last year at St. Andrews and 1,000-1 is a good number. Throw a ten-spot on that, sit back with a Hoboken latte and enjoy your weekend.

The Open is maybe my favorite major to consume. Brendan Porath wrote well on that here and I agree with him. Maybe it’s the getting up in the middle of the night when everyone else is asleep. Maybe it’s the disruption of the links style of play. Maybe it’s the 18th-hole coronation. Maybe it’s sure destruction for my pick (Sergio). I’m not totally sure. But there’s something about it that stirs deep. Enjoy this one, folks, history (potentially) awaits.

“It’s the greatest walk in golf.”
Welcome to #TheOpen week.https://t.co/GRBjCXT0oC

— The Open (@TheOpen) July 11, 2016