5 Potential First Time Major Winners At The Open

Here we take a look at who may win their first Major at Royal Portrush

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Potential First Time Major Winners At The Open

The Open takes place at Royal Portrush where Max Faulkner won his first and only Major back in 1951.

The Championship returns to Northern Ireland this year for the first time in 68 years, but will a first-time major winner once again be lifting the Claret Jug?

Last time out, Francesco Molinari picked up his first Major title at Carnoustie after going bogey-free for his final 36 holes.

Here we take a look at who may win their first Major at Portrush…

Jon Rahm

The Spaniard is coming into the week on great form after winning his second Irish Open .

Rahm has only been a pro for three years but has already won eight times and has had three top four finishes in Majors.

His Open record isn’t great but he has won the Irish Open on links courses twice so I wouldn’t worry.

The 24-year-old is looking to become just the second Spaniard to lift the Claret Jug after three-time winner Seve Ballesteros.

Xander Schauffele

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

Schauffele was runner-up last year and has had five top six finishes in just 10 Major starts.

The American has won four PGA Tour titles in the last two years, including the WGC-HSBC Champions in China last October.

The 25-year-old looks certain to be a future Major champion.

Matt Kuchar

(Photo by Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Another American to have finished runner-up at The Open is Matt Kuchar, who was 2nd to Jordan Spieth at Royal Birkdale two years ago.

Kuch has had two other top 10s in the Open and is having a superb season with two wins, two runner-up finishes and places of T12th, T8th and T16th in the year’s first three Majors.

Marc Leishman

(Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

The Aussie has had three top six finishes at the Open including a runner-up in 2015 when he lost out to Zach Johnson in a playoff.

The four-time PGA Tour winner is great at flighting it down with his game suiting links golf well, hence why he has had his best Major results in the Open.

His 2019 season is going well with a win early on at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia as well as six other top 10s.

Matt Wallace

(Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)

The Englishman won six times on the Alps Tour in 2016, once on the European Tour in 2017 and three times on the European Tour in 2018.

He is still seeking his first win of 2019 and it’s hard to bet against him at Portrush.

Wallace has had two runners-up and two top three finishes this year including at the USPGA Championship and he was also T12th at Pebble Beach in the US Open.

The 29-year-old is in great form after finishing 3rd at the recent BMW International Open where he had a great chance to win the title.

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