Who to keep an eye on moving day at the 152nd Open

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The Saturday of any Open Championship is always exciting, traditionally known as moving day, today is set for fireworks as more wet and windy weather will make life incredibly difficult for all of those near the top of the leaderboard.

Often offering superb value, here are five players to keep an eye on ahead of yet another super Saturday.

Shane Lowry

With just 36 holes left to play at this year’s Open all eyes will be on current leader Shane Lowry. 

Lowry has a great Open record having won the tournament back in 2019 and posting a string of top ten finishes. Having grown up and learning his trade in conditions similar to what he has faced this week, it’s clear to see that despite the exceptionally difficult weather that has faced him, Lowry has felt at home on the links of Royal Troon.

Able to keep things simple, Lowry has managed to keep the mistakes to a minimum and when he has suffered a mishap he has been able to hit back straight away. 

Leading by two courtesy of some superb driving off the tee, Lowry has been deadly accurate with his wedges which has meant he has been able to make plenty of manageable putts. 

Having been in this position before, Lowry knows what it takes to win this tournament and he will be looking to use that previous winning experience to his advantage and extend his lead today.

Shane


Scottie Scheffler

Although Scottie Scheffler will tee off today five strokes behind Shane Lowry, he is by far the biggest danger to all those at the top of the leaderboard. 

Having experienced the worst of the conditions in both of his first two rounds he would have been delighted to be sitting at -2 at this stage of the tournament. 

Whilst Scheffler has the quality to blow any field away, perhaps his most underrated quality is his ability to grind and scratch his way to a score. 

Knowing that the conditions wouldn’t allow him to challenge right at the top of proceedings, Scheffler knew he had a battle on his hands to stay in touch and you got a sense that the Texan was playing well within himself to ensure that he didn’t blow his chance. 

With time and holes starting to run out, the time is now for Scheffler and he will be hoping to use today’s eighteen holes to vault himself into serious contention.

Jon Rahm

We are so used to talking about Jon Rahm when it comes to the game’s biggest tournaments but since moving to the LIV Tour, Rahm hasn’t been able to feature in the year's first three majors and has become somewhat of a forgotten man. 

Heading into the Open massively under the radar, the betting public didn’t know what they would get from Rahm, but through the first two rounds, we have seen the battling version of the Spaniard return.

Having carded a two over opening round of 73, Rahm battled superbly in some exceptionally tough conditions to post a one under second round and leave him one over ahead of today’s third round. 

Although he still has significant ground to make up today and will tee off eight strokes behind Shane Lowry, if Rahm can get off to a hit start he could find himself in serious contention ahead of the final eighteen holes tomorrow. 

Priced at 28/1, he could represent some serious value.

Xander Schauffele

Ever since lifting his maiden major title at the 2024 PGA Championship, Xander Schauffele looks hungry for more.

Often calm in his demeanour, the Californian has always demonstrated a calm confidence but he now has that winning experience at the very highest level to call upon.

Like Scheffler, Schauffele has enjoyed the worst of the conditions but so far he has been able to play well within himself and keep himself more than alive in the tournament.

An opening round 69 was paired with a scratchy 72 yesterday but considering the strength of the wind he should take massive amounts of confidence into today.

If Schauffele can keep his ball out of trouble, he has already shown that with a wedge and putter in hand he can be deadly. 

Set to start the day six shots behind Lowry, his odds of 10/1 could look massively overpriced by the end of today. 

Rahm


Justin Rose

Justin Rose first shot to prominence when he was able to finish in the top five as an amateur 26 years ago.

Always destined for a career at the very highest level. Rose has gone onto win one major and captured the highly lucrative FedEx Championship.

Whilst he has won all over the world, Rose would be slightly disappointed that he has only one major title and that the Open has always managed to escape his grasp.

Now ranked 67 in the world, the days of Rose automatically securing his place in the Open field are now behind him and in order to take his place in this year’s tournament the Englishman had to come through qualifying to secure his place. 

Having fought his way into this year’s lineup, it’s clear that Rose has arrived with a point to prove and is keen to take advantage of the opportunity that has come his way. 

Currently two shots behind his Ryder Cup teammate, many will see Rose as Lowry’s main challenger. Having drawn expertly on all of his experience through his first two rounds, his second round 68 when conditions were at their very worst is a sign that Rose is ready to win this championship. 

With the conditions set to swirl once more, Rose will be looking to repeat his performance from yesterday and if he can, there is a great chance that he will make major moves today.

Betting odds

Ahead of today’s third round, here are the top ten according to the betting.

SHANE LOWRY - 7/4

SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER - 18/5

JUSTIN ROSE - 11/2

XANDER SCHAUFFELE - 10/1

PATRICK CANTLAY - 18/1

DANIEL BROWN - 22/1

BILLY HORSCHEL - 25/1

CORREY CONNORS - 25/1

COLLIN MORIKAWA - 28/1

JON RAHM - 28/1