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For the first time in 11 years, the 2018 Open Championship heads to Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland, where greats such as Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Tom Watson have all hoisted the famed Claret Jug. It’s one of the most classic examples of links style golf, and it should make for a highly compelling third major of the year.
In the United States, coverage on Thursday and Friday will be on the Golf Channel starting at 1:30 a.m. ET, while coverage Saturday and Sunday will both be split between the Golf Channel (starting 4:30 a.m. ET) and NBC (starting 7 a.m. ET). If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can watch the Open Championship live (or DVR it) on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
NBC (live in most markets) and the Golf Channel are both included in the “Fubo Premier” channel package, which is largely tailored towards sports fans. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch a live stream of the Open Championship on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the FuboTV app.
If you can’t watch live, FuboTV comes with 30 hours of Cloud DVR (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours), as well as a “72-Hour Lookback” feature, which allows you to watch any round of the Open Championship up to three days after it airs even if you forgot to record it via DVR.
In addition to their extensive Netflix-like streaming library, Hulu now also offers a bundle of live TV channels, including both NBC (live in most markets) and the Golf Channel. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of either channel on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
NBC (live in select markets) is included in the “Sling Blue” channel package, while the Golf Channel is in the “Sling Blue” plus “Sports Extra” bundle. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of both, and you can then watch the action live on your computer via the Sling website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
Preview
As with any major, there are a seemingly endless number of potential contenders.
World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, as per usual, is the oddsmakers’ favorite. He hasn’t played since his third-place finish at the US Open last month, but considering he’s first on Tour in strokes gained off the tee, first in strokes gained tee to green and first in scoring average, there’s no reason not to have him at the top of the list heading into Carnoustie.
Following DJ on the odds list are Justin Rose, Rickie Fowler and Rory McIlroy. Rose is in the best form of that trio, with four-straight Top 10’s and four victories in his last 19 starts, while Fowler is probably the most interesting as he continues to chase his first major. But you can never count out Rory. He’s been all kinds of inconsistent lately, but here are his last three Open Championship starts: 1st (2014), tied 5th (2016) and tied fourth (2017).
Elsewhere, there are plenty of compelling players to watch.
Jordan Spieth is the defending champ, but his game is really shaky right now. Tommy Fleetwood has struggled since his second-place finish at the US Open, but he owns the course record at Carnoustie, so he should be pretty comfortable. Tyrell Hatton has won the Alfred Dunhill two years in a row. And that’s not just a random stat–the Alfred Dunhill is co-hosted by Carnoustie, and Hatton has shot a 67 and a 65 in his two rounds there the last two years.
That Tiger Woods guy should have a pretty decent following. He’s still trying to find some consistency in his return from the back injury, but he has showed glimpses of being Tiger, and he has finished seventh (1999) and 12th (2007) in his last two trips to Carnoustie.
Francesco Molinari is red-hot. Patrick Reed and Brooks Koepka are looking to join Woods, Padraig Harrington, McIlroy and Spieth as the only players to win two majors in the same year since 2000. Justin Thomas is second in the world and has ben outside the Top 25 just once in last 18 tournaments.
And we haven’t even gotten to Phil, Sergio, Jason Day, Jon Rahm, Paul Casey, Branden Grace, Hideki Matsuyama and a number of others who could win without it coming as a surprise. It’s a really deep field for one of the most classic courses in the world–and it should be a fun four days.
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