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Golf Monthly Tour Issue
The Open Championship 2026 Preview: Who Will Lift The Claret Jug At Royal Birkdale?
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Hello and welcome to another episode of Golf Monthly Tour Issue. This is your Open Championship preview packed with course analysis, trends, expert betting picks and more.
Before we get into Open Championship week, a quick word from our sponsors, Callaway. There’s something special about this time of year. Firm fairways, unpredictable weather, and links golf asking every question imaginable. It’s the ultimate test of your game. The Callaway Quantum family has been engineered to help golfers unlock more from every round. Combining impressive ball speed with outstanding forgiveness and consistency, the range is designed to give you confidence every time you step onto the course. Whether you're chasing extra distance off the tee or looking for more consistent ball striking, Quantum delivers performance you can trust. As we watch the world’s best take on one of golf’s greatest championships this week, it’s a good reminder that every golfer can benefit from equipment that inspires confidence. To find out more, visit eu.callawaygolf.com.
With Baz and Elliott attending The Open Championship this week, excitement was high on the show. With Jonny joining us to provide his analysis, we discussed Tom Kim's win in Scotland, Scottie Scheffler's missed cut, Rory McIlroy's chances, the changes at Royal Birkdale, the new fan code of conduct and shared our best bets for the Open Championship.
If you want to get in touch or ask a question, drop us a message on social media or email golfmonthly@futurenet.com - and don't forget to leave us a review!
Golf Monthly's Tour Issue podcast is your weekly round-up of the latest news from the world of professional golf. Our experienced, insightful team react to events at the top of the game providing their opinions on the events, and the players, at the highest level.
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46:35|Welcome to another episode of Golf Monthly Tour Issue, your destination for analysis of tour golf coverage from around the world. With the PGA Tour regular season wrapped up, Baz Plummer is joined by Matt Cradock and Elliott Heath to look ahead to the excitement of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.In this episode, the team dissects the action from last week’s Wyndham Championship, particularly Michael Brennan's impressive victory, but also coverJordan Spieth's wild week and Brooks Koepka’s ongoing struggles.The panel also break down the 'bubble' for the top 70 players qualifying for the FedEx St. Jude Championship, debate the playoff format and discuss whether a match-play overhaul could be on the horizon. Finally, the team shares their best bets and top picks for this week's FedEx St. Jude Championship as part of their ongoing season-long Tipster Challenge.If you have a question about the PGA Tour, playoff predictions or thoughts on future season formats, reach out to us at golfmonthly@futurenet.com or send us a message across our social media channels. Also, don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review!Episode Timecodes00:00 – Introduction & Wyndham Championship Review01:36 – Michael Brennan’s Wyndham Championship Win03:32 – Beau Hossler's Near Miss05:30 – Jordan Spieth: Box Office Golf & Driver Yips09:03 – Analysing Brooks Koepka’s Form17:15 – The FedEx Cup Bubble: Who Made the Top 70?21:03 – Debating the FedEx Cup Playoff Format28:00 – FedEx Cup Champion Predictions33:18 – Course Breakdown: TPC Southwind35:09 – Tipster Challenge: Best Bets for the FedEx St. Jude ChampionshipMajor Drama, Dream PGA Tour Courses, Solheim Cup Picks And Caddy Pranks
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50:13|In this week's episode, stand-in host Jonny is joined by Matt and Elliott as they discuss a superb Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. There is chat about the winner as well as our takes on several hot topics including Bryson DeChambeau, Tommy Fleetwood and whether the fans behaved.There is also a brief round-up of our Tipster Challenge as well as a look ahead to the 3M Open on the PGA Tour. We'd love to hear from you. If you have any questions or comments about the pod so far, drop us a message on social media or via email at golfmonthly@futurenet.com.Golf Monthly's Tour Issue podcast is your weekly round-up of the latest news from the world of professional golf. Our experienced and insightful team react to events at the top of the game, aiming to provide their opinions on the events and the players at the highest level. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.The Open Championship Fantasy League: Who Would Make Your Major Line-Up? Plus Baz Picks ANOTHER Winner
52:21|Before we get started I want to thank this week’s sponsor Chip In - Sports Pools. Fantasy Golf has arrived. With The Open just around the corner, there’s a new way to make Major weeks even more interesting. Chip In is a fantasy golf app built for golf fans who want a simple, social sweepstake with real prizes and an epic Live Leaderboard feature!The format is simple - you pick 8 golfers from The Open Championship field. Your four best golfers contribute to your score and the lowest team total at the end of the tournament wins the top prize. For The Open at Royal Birkdale, Chip In has £8,000 worth of prizes available, so whether you’re watching from the sofa, the clubhouse or following every shot from Thursday morning, it’s a brilliant way to get involved.Download Chip In using the link (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/chip-in-sports-pools/id6755233886), enter The Open Championship Chip In £50 League and get your picks in before the tournament starts. CHIP IN is available in the UK to those aged 18 and over. Please gamble responsibly - begambleaware.orgIn this week's episode, Baz is joined by Jonny and Matt to discuss Chris Gotterup's win at the John Deere Classic (which Baz successfully predicted last week), who would make our Open Championship fantasy team line-ups, whether the Scottish Open should rotate its host venues and share our best bets for the Genesis Scottish Open.We'd love to hear from you. If you have a question for our ask the pod segment, want to leave us some feedback or have some your own great betting tips or insights - drop us a message on social media or an email to golfmonthly@futurenet.comPGA Tour Changes: Progress Or Peril? Comprehensive Explainer And Expert Opinion
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46:45|Thank you to this week's sponsor, Fujikura. All 4 men’s Majors in 2025 and the first men’s major of 2026 were won with a Fujikura VENTUS shaft in their driver - which is the first time ANY company has done this. The new TR Red, Black & Blue shafts are now fully launched on tour to complete the VENTUS TR Collection. The three shafts have different profiles to suit your needs. Red offers mid to high launch & mid to low spin, Blue offers mid launch & low spin and Black offers low spin & low launch. The VENTUS TR collection has been upgraded with VeloCore+ technology for increased control of the club through your swing and reorientation of spread tow material in the mid-handle section which allows the shaft to keep up with golfers that have a more aggressive swing transition. Now, there are even more options to get the perfect fit with the tour-trusted VENTUS shafts. Visit fujikuragolf.com to learn more and find an authorized Fujikura charter dealer near you.In this week's episode, Baz is joined by Matt and Elliott to discuss Wyndham Clark's gutsy wire-to-wire win at the US Open, the questionable behaviour of certain fans at Shinnecock Hills, our thoughts on conduct rules being enforced and whether bunkers should be playable or perfect!We also preview the KPMG Women's PGA Championship and the Travelers Championship, offering our best bets for the week and an update on the GM Tipster challenge.Next episode we will be introducing our 'ask the pod' section of the show, so please drop us a line with any questions or comments you have on anything golf-related to golfmonthly@futurenet.com and we will read out the best ones on air.