Open Championship Round 2 Picks & Predictions: McIlroy Looks Primed For Victory

The first round of the year’s final major is officially in the books. With the way the leaderboard is stacking up at the Old Course at St. Andrews, we are shaping up for an exciting weekend of action at the 2022 British Open.

American rookie Cameron Young set the pace in the opening round, shooting an 8-under 64. 2014 Champion Golfer of the Year, Rory McIlroy is just two strokes off the lead — and still atop The Open Championship odds board — while guys like Cameron Smith, Scottie Scheffler, and Dustin Johnson are just a few shots back.

Now, we turn our heads to Friday's second round and give you a three-ball's worth of best plays.

2022 Open Championship Round 2 picks

• Rory McIlroy outright (+360)
• Shane Lowry over Collin Morikawa in R2 (-125)
• Aaron Wise over Talor Gooch in R2 (+100)

Picks were made on 7/14/2022 at 11:05 p.m. ET.

Best 2022 Open Championship Round 2 picks

Rory McIlroy Outright (+360)

The Achilles heel and recurring theme for Rory in majors recently has been getting off to a bad start. Not Thursday at St. Andrews. 

McIlroy put on a fantastic performance in Round 1, shooting a 6-under 66. The score was McIlroy's best in the opening round of a major since his latest major victory, the PGA Championship in 2014.

While the best pre-tournament odds on Rory to win are long gone, we’re not missing the boat on this. Quite frankly, there is reason to believe he can keep this up through Sunday.

For starters, Rory is just playing great all-around golf at the moment. He has posted seven consecutive Top 20 finishes, which includes a win at the RBC Canadian Open and three Top 10s at the other majors this season. 

Also, aside from the last two, McIlroy has a strong history at the Open Championship, carding four consecutive Top 5 finishes between 2014 and 2019 (he missed 2018 due to injury). 

Then, there is his current form. He shot his 6-under by draining seven birdies and bogeying only No. 14, which was the toughest hole on the course on Thursday. He ranked sixth in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green, and fifth in SG: Putting. His second shots did show some room for improvement as he ranked 66th in SG: Approach in Round 1.

We all know Rory can be one of the crispest iron players in the world and ranks 13th on Tour in SG: Approach for the season. He should be even more dangerous as the weekend approaches. 

On top of all that, Rory looks locked in and motivated. What better place to end his major drought than at the Open Championship?

Best odds: Rory McIlroy outright (+360 at DraftKings)

Shane Lowry over Collin Morikawa in Round 2 (-125)

This is an intriguing matchup between the last two Open Champions who both finished at even par after Round 1 but got there in different ways.

Lowry, the 2019 champion, stumbled out of the gates going 3-over through his first four holes. The Irishman settled down, however, draining four birdies to just one bogey the rest of the way. Lowry rode his irons on Thursday, finishing the round sixth in SG: Approach.

It was the flatstick that let Lowry down in the opening round. He had several three-putts, which isn’t uncommon on the Old Course’s massive greens, but they were sloppy ones. He ended up ranked 143rd in SG: Putting in Round 1. That’s a tough day for a guy who ranks 36th on Tour in SG: Putting. 

Morikawa on the other hand had never played the Old Course before this week. The 2021 champion didn’t look lost by any means but it certainly looked like he was feeling out the course at times. While he is known as one of the best ball strikers in the world, his play on and around the green leaves something to be desired. 

Look for Lowry to post the better round on Friday.

Best odds: Shane Lowry over Collin Morikawa in Round 2 (-125 at DraftKings)

Aaron Wise over Talor Gooch in Round 2 (+100)

Gooch had a very nice opening round. The 30-year-old hit some great putts on his way to shooting a four-under 68. Basically, he needed to do that considering how bad his iron play was on Thursday.

Gooch is generally solid with his irons and around the greens, but all those blind shots and even lies seemed to get the better of him in Round 1 as he ranked 131st in SG: Approach.

He should improve on that, but will probably regress with the putter. Before defecting to LIV, Gooch ranked 106th on Tour in SG: Putting.

Meanwhile, Wise had an up-and-down opening round, shooting an even-par 72. He was great off the tee ranking fourth in SG: Off-the-Tee, and had a solid day with his irons. He just didn’t hit as many putts as Gooch.

These two are very similar players at the moment, but you can expect a solid regression from Gooch with the putter on Friday. If he doesn’t improve his iron play, you could see him trending in the opposite direction.

At even money, Wise and his solid all-around game are worth a wager in this matchup. 

Best odds: Aaron Wise over Talor Gooch in Round 2 (+100 at DraftKings)

2022 Open Championship odds

This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks in your region. Odds are best used between rounds. When available, our fair line is updated once per hour between 6 a.m. ET and 11 p.m. ET.

Pages related to this topic