2012 Open Championship: Five dark horses

With the 2012 British Open upon us, we’re offering up five players from the field who are flying under the radar.


Francesco Molinari
Perhaps not a dark horse to some golf pundits, but the majority aren’t considering him. Molinari (pictured above) has just finished second in his last two starts and looks perfect for bad weather links golf. In his 15 tournaments in 2012, he has only finished outside the Top-20 on three occasions, including a win at the Spanish Open. Could easily win, but will almost certainly be around on Sunday.

Ross Fisher

I’ve tended to think Ross fisher is a dark horse to win the last three or four Open Championships but I’m beginning to wonder if he has what it takes down the stretch. He missed the cut last year but is showing good signs again with some good finishes. He had a blow out final round last week but I’m guessing, once the wheels fell off his mind was already at Royal Lytham. If he under performs this year, I’ll officially jump off the Fisher bandwagon.
Nicolas Colsaerts
The largely unknown Belgian gained some followers with a decent showing at the US Open, but those watching Colsaerts know he’s been playing great golf for some time now. He has had a great 2012 with seven top-10 finishes and a win at the BMW World Matchplay. My only concern was his form at the Irish Open, but may surprise this week.
Rafa Cabrera-Bello
Now here is a Spaniard that really could win big tournaments. When in contention, Cabrera-Bello seems to get better and better. He won the Dubai Desert Classic earlier in the year but more importantly for this week, he played well at The Irish Open only a few weeks ago.
Marcus Fraser
We have to include one Aussie in the field and of the 13 Australians, Marcus Fraser is definitely someone who should be considered. Fraser has had four top-10 finishes on the European Tour this year including a second place last month at the BMW Open. He’ll be hoping for wet conditions and if he gets through round one, keep an eye on him.

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