We’re staying across the Pond this week for the fourth and final major of 2024, the Open Championship.
Here you go guys: Your last chance to call yourself a major champion in 2024. Or, for some, it’s the next chance to add to that major victories total. Whichever category players may fall into, it’s going to be a challenge to hoist the trophy on Sunday.
The reason is simple in that all of the big-name players are here in search of the Claret Jug. For those looking for their first major, playing at Royal Troon will amp up the pressure.
You want a challenge? How about avoiding the 98 bunkers that will more than test players’ abilities, and that will sometimes include just figuring how to get out of those bunkers.
Or the fact that the weather, whether it’s rain, cool temps, winds, or all of those factors will test both the player and his caddie to pull the right clubs.
In the end, it’s going to be four days of golf that will see if players can thrive--or even survive in some cases--with the conditions that the course and Mother Nature have in store for them.
Let’s see if we can pick a couple of players who just might hoist that trophy, including a longshot. And remember, despite there being big names up and down this week’s entry list, longshots do come in.
Last year’s tournament is a prime example as winner Brian Harman was +12000 to win. Here we go as a field of 156 players chase a $3.1 million payday out of a $17 million purse.
One last reminder: Get your bets in early with the tournament starting in the middle of the night in US timezones.
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Odds to win the British Open
Check out live odds for the 2024 British Open at top-rated sportsbooks:
The top 70 players (and ties) will make the cut at Royal Troon this week.
Fading the defending champion
We love looking at defending champions to repeat. But sometimes the numbers just don’t add up. And that’s the case with Brian Harman this week.
The 2023 champion comes in here at +6600, so the number will get more than a few bettors backing him. But his form isn’t where it needs to be coming into this event for us to bet on him.
In his last 10 events, he’s got just one top-10 finish. Granted, that was in his most recent outing, the Travelers Championship, where he was T-9, but otherwise he’s been all over the board. That won’t work very well against this field and on this course.
Guess who’s back?
That’s right, Scottie Scheffler is back in action and looking for win No. 7 of the season. Sure, Scheffler’s the favorite at +500 but like we’ve said before: Never bet against Scottie Scheffler.
We’ve done that a couple of times in 2024 and regretted it every time. Not this time.
He’s got those six wins in just 15 starts (along with two runnerup finishes) and there’s no reason not to stay on this bandwagon. Go ahead, jump on, as there’s still a little room left.
He’s coming across the Pond after recording that sixth win, a playoff victory in the Travelers Championship, so a T-41 in the previous US Open outing didn’t affect his mindset--or ours--at all.
He’s also got one major in 2024, the Masters, so a second major would bookend a run in the majors that would be special with two victories, a T-8 and that T-41.
We don’t love the odds we’re getting, but we do love how Scheffler is making the most of a season to remember.
Tiger Woods also makes his return
In most cases, the phrase goes: Heeeeeee’s back. Now it’s: Sigh, he’s back.
We’ve talked about this for years now: Sportsbooks love Woods for the simple fact many, many bettors still back him to win despite the fact his game hasn’t been anywhere near where it needs to be and hasn’t been for quite some time. Enough said.
Check out Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa is +1800 this week, and that’s a number we love. He won the Open Championship in 2021, so he’s comfortable on these types of courses with the weather changes the field will face.
He’s coming off a solid finish in last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, and he will be coming in with full confidence. He wound up T-4 last week when a final round 69 wasn’t good enough to keep him in the hunt, but his first three rounds of 65-66-66 were enough to have us intrigued.
One for the longshot lovers
Adam Scott, +8000 this week, did everything but win at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open.
Scott wound up solo second when Robert MacIntyre eagled the 16th hole and birdied the 18th to nip him by a shot. The solo second last week is Scott’s only top-10 finish of 2024, but his game appears to be heading in the right direction.
He was T-33 in the Open Championship in 2023, but he was coming in off a missed cut at the Genesis. Following his finish last week, his game and mindset have to be in a great place.
He’s got 14 PGA Tour wins including a major, the 2013 Masters. But it’s been since 2020 that he’s been in the winner’s circle. After last week’s runner-up finish, we like the odds of him snapping that drought.
Elephant in the room
That would be Rory McIlroy. At +750, he’s the second favorite behind Scheffler. But that’s where the similarities end.
It’s hard to believe Mcilroy has four majors on his resume and a total of 26 PGA Tour wins including two in 2024. That’s the good news. The bad news is it’s going on 10 years since he last won a major, the 2014 PGA Championship.
That’s not to say he hasn’t been close. It is to say he hasn’t been able to close them out on Sunday. Like last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, when he was in the picture on Sunday, we don’t like his chances this week for the simple reason that he just hasn’t been able to seal the deal when it comes to a major.
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