2021 British Open Bettors' Roundtable: Favorites, Sleepers, Best ...

Possible Open contenders (clockwise): Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka.GolffileThis week the British Open returns to Royal St. George's in South England for the 15th time. And if so, how?Gary Van Sickle, Morning Read: I don't think so, unless one famous player decides the restrictions are a bunch of nonsense, dines out in a public restaurant with a non-secured buddy and the R&A takes drastic action, like disqualification. I don't know if that would happen or could happen, but yes, that would affect the Open's outcome.Greg Vara, Rotowire: It’ll only affect the players who don’t play well. All the inconveniences will fade away for anyone who gets off to a good start.Jeff Ritter, Morning Read: I don't think it'll have a tangible impact on the action, but it's possible a few players fail to get in sync off the course, which affects their on-course performance. That's a rhetorical question.)Royal St. George’s isn’t typically ranked among the great courses in the British rota, and it has an eclectic mix of past champions from its previous 14 Opens, including all-time greats Walter Hagen and Henry Cotton, and out-of-nowhere winners like Ben Curtis and Bill Rogers. Bombers beware, stray from the fairways and you’re buying a load of trouble.Hochberg: The big factor this week is that's it's true links golf. That's a fair criticism and it makes RSG a fun course for tourists but maybe not the best way to find golf's Champion Golfer of the Year. He's still only 22 years old, and his time is coming. Remember what happened on the final nine of the U.S. Open.Ritter: I'm also off Bryson this week. Also, it's hard to picture a high-ball hitter such as Bryson DeChambeau ever handling windy Open conditions.There can only be one: who wins the 2021 British Open and why?Vara: Louis Oosthuizen. Van Sickle: Jon Rahm has established himself as the planet's best golfer and he's among the few top players actually playing his best golf right now.