In the absence of a tournament on the DP World Tour schedule this week, The Tips takes the time to reflect on The 151st Open and look ahead to the Ryder Cup with the qualification approaching its final sprint.
Joining regular host Ollie Silverton this week are golf writers Ben Coley and Niall Lyons as they discuss their fortunes at the fifth and final Major Championship of the year, make their selections for this week's PGA TOUR event - the 3M Open - and discuss who might receive a Ryder Cup Captain's pick into the European team.
The 151st Open
Brian Harman cruised to a six-shot victory at The Open as he claimed his first Major Championship victory at Royal Liverpool.
In a dominant performance, the American proved to be a class apart from the rest of the field.
Remarkably, he defied demanding conditions including miserable wet weather during the final round to find only two bunkers all week and miss just one putt from inside of ten feet.
On last week's Tips episode, golf writer Tom Jacobs suggested Brian Harman as a good option for a top-20 finish, ensuring there were returns to be made for listeners.
Despite neither Lyons or Coley predicting the PGA TOUR player to lift the Claret Jug, they were both unequivocal in their praise.
"There are just not enough superlatives to describe how he played last week," said Lyons. "It was hugely impressive."
Coley added: "I can only echo what Niall said. Brian Harman was absolutely fantastic.
"It was a nice reminder to all of us that The Open of all the Majors is the most open in terms of any kind of game can win.
"We saw a great mix of styles of play in contention.
"Every year we can also get hung up on the various trends and at the end of the day the best guise to how anyone will perform is how they are playing right now."
3M Open
There are just two weeks remaining until the start of the FedExCup Playoffs, with only the top 70 in the FedExCup standings qualifying for the FedEx St Jude Championship (the first Playoffs event).
Tony Finau, the second-highest-ranked player in the field at No. 19 in the Official World Golf Ranking, is making his second start this season as the defending champion, previously missing the cut at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
There are 24 players in the field making the trip from The Open Championship, including three that finished in the top ten - Sepp Straka, Emiliano Grillo and Cameron Young.
To listen to the panellist's picks in full, and who else they mentioned, click here: https://linktr.ee/dpworldtour.
Who will receive a Captain's Pick into the Ryder Cup team?
Following golf's final Major of the year, there is now a three-week break on the DP World Tour schedule.
After the short hiatus, there will be just three events before qualification ends after the Omega European Masters in Switzerland on September 3.
So, with the window to earn an automatic spot via both the World Points List and the European Points List, who might be in contention for a captain's pick from Team Europe skipper Luke Donald?
Ludvig Aberg is one player being highlighted as a contender and Coley would not be surprised to see the talented Swede impress in the coming weeks in Europe.
"I think Aberg has got a serious chance," he explained.
"If you would like to know exactly what is going to happen over the next four weeks, I will tell you.
"He is not going to win this week or next week, therefore he is going to miss the FedExCup Playoffs, he is going to fly over to Europe and play in the Czech Masters.
"He is going to be 12/1, I am going to tip him 5pts each way and he is going to win by six. After all that happens, he is going to be on the Ryder Cup team."
Lyons is also impressed with what he has seen from Aberg in his fledgling career, having only turned professional earlier this year.
But he does believe it would be a surprise to see if in the team over players who enjoyed more success on the DP World Tour in the past year, including Adrian Meronk and Robert MacIntyre.
"A few weeks ago, Aberg played with Luke Donald in Detroit and shot 65 so that is hugely impressive.
"From what I hear, Donald is hugely impressed by him. For me, I’d actually be surprised if he makes it. You have got the eight locks and then I think it is between Straka, MacIntyre, Power, Meronk, the Højgaard twins and Aberg.
"I’d be surprised if Aberg makes the grade unless he does something on the PGA TOUR or he lands back in Europe and wins.
"In MacIntyre and Meronk you have got two course winners who have both played extremely well this season.
"It will be a huge talking point if either of those are left out considering what they have done in the last 12 months."
