Scottie Scheffler\u2019s reign of dominance over the golf world continued in his victory at The Open Championship from Royal Portrush Golf Club in County Antrim, Northern Ireland on Sunday. And while many saw this as the most likely outcome heading into the tournament, the result was quite a shock to Mike Francesa, who was actually quite pessimistic about Scheffler\u2019s chances in the event.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday\u2019s edition of The Mike Francesa Podcast<\/a>, Francesa shared his predictions for The Open Championship, where he explained how he had doubts about Scheffler\u2019s ability to play overseas on a links-style golf course.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, in golf, there is tremendous value in just betting to win the tournament,\u201d said Francesa. \u201cNow, it\u2019s not easy to pick a winner in golf. You have to pick one guy. Scottie Scheffler is, of course, favored. I do not think he is going to dominate yet on a links course. He has not been on a links course that many times in his life. His best finish has been eighth. Now, Scottie Scheffler is capable of winning any tournament he plays in, we know that. But I just don\u2019t think he\u2019s gonna win this major here. I just don\u2019t think he is.\u201d<\/p>\n As for who Francesa did think would contend, he believed that Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood were two to watch ahead of the tournament.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is 5-1. Rory (McIlroy) is 6.5-1. (Jon) Rahm is 12-1,\u201d said Francesa. \u201cYou go on down from there. There is very good value all the way down the line. As there always is in any golf tournament. Unless you bet Scheffler. A couple things jump out at me. I just think Rahm is gonna play really well. I haven\u2019t been on Rahm all year. I haven\u2019t been on Rahm the last two years. I just think Rahm is gonna play really well. He\u2019s 12-1, I just have a feeling that you are going to get the best of Rahm this week.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other guy that is sticking in my head is (Tommy) Fleetwood. Now, you know Fleetwood has never won a tournament here in America. He has never won a major. But he has won plenty of tournaments on the other side of the pond. He has won tournaments around the world. And then, of course, you had the crazy finish a couple of weeks back when Keegan Bradley beat him. Let\u2019s be honest, he choked. It was a brutal finish for Fleetwood, who has had that pressure, been in the top 10, the top five so many times. He\u2019s 25-1 in this tournament. I just think something has stuck in me all week that, you know what, we\u2019re gonna revisit that and Fleetwood is gonna have a big weekend.\u201d<\/p>\n \ufeff<\/p>\n You may notice than all of the players that Francesa was touting were foreign-born players. And this was no coincidence, as Francesa essentially gave American players very little chance to go over the Europe and claim an Open Championship victory.<\/p>\n \u201cI would look for their guys to play well over there,\u201d added Francesa. \u201cThe guys from over there to play well over there. I wouldn\u2019t look for a lot of the American guys to win over there. Now, they are capable. But I just don\u2019t see it. So I am going with Rahm and I am going for Fleetwood.\u201d<\/p>\n Obviously, Francesa couldn\u2019t have been more wrong about Scheffler, who won convincingly by four strokes to secure three-fourths of the coveted career grand slam in golf. But it goes far further than that, as just about all of Francesca\u2019s predictions were largely incorrect.<\/p>\n Rahm and Fleetwood both made the cut. But neither were all that close to contending in any way, finishing in a tie for 34th and a tie for 16th respectively.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Francesca\u2019s prediction of international players largely dominating the American-born players also aged poorly, as every player who finished in the top 3 (Scheffler, Harris English, and Chris Gotterup) were American-born golfers.<\/p>\n As Francesa said before making his picks, betting outright winners in golf is incredibly difficult to do given how many players are in a major championship field. But with that being said, Francesa did get some flak for his picks from the popular social media account \u201cFunhouse,\u201d who regularly calls out incorrect predictions from media members<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe exact moment when I bet everything I own on Scottie Scheffler to win The Open Championship,\u201d wrote Funhouse.<\/p>\n The exact moment when I bet everything I own on Scottie Scheffler to win The Open Championship. \u26f3\ufe0f pic.twitter.com\/GkN3r1AU65<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Funhouse (@BackAftaThis) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Upon this clip of Francesa being reposted by the Funhouse account, many who frequently watch Francesa piled on for giving the No. 1 player in the world very little chance to win a major championship.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n His rationale for picking the other guys is real hard hitting analysis- \u201cI just think they\u2019re going to win\u201d<\/p>\n \u2014 Matt Shatzer (@Mattshatzer) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Mush mush train is NEVER. EVER. LATE.<\/p>\n \u2014 Michael Leon (@mikeleeeeon) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n You could make an entire fortune betting against what Francesa considers his sports knowledge\u2026<\/p>\n \u2014 Cheesey30 (@sportsfanspeaks) July 20, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Betting against someone like Scheffler at this point seems about as foolish as betting against a prime Tiger Woods, a comparison that has been made for years now and is being made even more after Scheffler\u2019s victory<\/a> on Sunday. So perhaps moving forward, Francesa will think twice about doubting perhaps the greatest golfers of this generation.<\/p>\n \t\n
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