Photo Credit: Mike Francesa Podcast on YouTube
By Reice Shipley on

Scottie Scheffler’s 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’s chances in the event.

On Wednesday’s edition of The Mike Francesa Podcast, Francesa shared his predictions for The Open Championship, where he explained how he had doubts about Scheffler’s ability to play overseas on a links-style golf course.

“Obviously, in golf, there is tremendous value in just betting to win the tournament,” said Francesa. “Now, it’s 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’t think he’s gonna win this major here. I just don’t think he is.”

As for who Francesa did think would contend, he believed that Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood were two to watch ahead of the tournament.

“He is 5-1. Rory (McIlroy) is 6.5-1. (Jon) Rahm is 12-1,” said Francesa. “You 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’t been on Rahm all year. I haven’t been on Rahm the last two years. I just think Rahm is gonna play really well. He’s 12-1, I just have a feeling that you are going to get the best of Rahm this week.

“The 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’s 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’s 25-1 in this tournament. I just think something has stuck in me all week that, you know what, we’re gonna revisit that and Fleetwood is gonna have a big weekend.”

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.

“I would look for their guys to play well over there,” added Francesa. “The guys from over there to play well over there. I wouldn’t look for a lot of the American guys to win over there. Now, they are capable. But I just don’t see it. So I am going with Rahm and I am going for Fleetwood.”

Obviously, Francesa couldn’t 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’s predictions were largely incorrect.

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.

Meanwhile, Francesca’s 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.

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 “Funhouse,” who regularly calls out incorrect predictions from media members.

“The exact moment when I bet everything I own on Scottie Scheffler to win The Open Championship,” wrote Funhouse.

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.

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’s victory on Sunday. So perhaps moving forward, Francesa will think twice about doubting perhaps the greatest golfers of this generation.

About Reice Shipley

Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.

View all posts by Reice Shipley