The Open Championship 2024: Course & Field Preview, Key Stats, + Odds

Professional golf's final major championship of the 2024 season has finally arrived, as the 152nd Open Championship begins on Thursday, July 18, at Royal Troon, located in Troon, Ayrshire, Scotland. Royal Troon, designed by George Straith and 1882 Open winner Willie Fernie in 1888, last hosted The Open in 2016, when Henrik Stenson infamously outdueled Phil Mickelson to win by three strokes.

An elite field of 156 players is on hand at Royal Troon this week, including 49 of the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking . World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, 2014 Open winner Rory McIlroy, and reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau headline the group and are joined by 2023 Masters winner Jon Rahm, five-time major champion Brooks Koepka, and reigning Open Champion Golfer of the Year Brian Harman.

Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Patrick Cantlay, Tyrrell Hatton, Cameron Young, Sahith Theegala, Tony Finau, Tom Kim, and Max Homa are notables looking to become first-time major champions.

Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa, Shane Lowry, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Justin Rose, Wyndham Clark, Hideki Matsuyama, Adam Scott, Bryson DeChambeau, and Justin Thomas are past major champions trying to add another trophy to their collection this week.

THE ODDS

Scottie Scheffler (+550), Rory McIlroy (+750), Xander Schauffele (+1200), and Ludvig Aberg (+1400) enter the week as the betting favorites, according to BetRivers Sportsbook.

Collin Morikawa (+1600), Bryson DeChambeau (+1800), Tommy Fleetwood (+2200), Tyrrell Hatton (+2200), Jon Rahm (+2500), Viktor Hovland (+3000), and Robert MacIntyre (+3300) are the rest of the players listed below 40/1 odds.

Tom Kim (+4000), Patrick Cantlay (+4500), Tony Finau (+4500), Shane Lowry (+4500), Brooks Kopeka (+5000), Hideki Matsuyama (+5000), Joaquin Niemann (+5000), Louis Oosthuizen (+5000), Aaron Rai (+5000), Adam Scott (+5000), Cameron Smith (+5000), Sungjae Im (+5000), Sahith Theegala (+5000), Corey Conners (+6000), Min Woo Lee (+6000), Wyndham Clark (+6600), Matthew Fitzpatrick (+6600), Brian Harman (+6600), Alexander Noren (+6600), and Cameron Young (+6600) fill up the jampacked middle tier of the betting board.

Jordan Spieth (+7000), Justin Thomas (+7000), Si Woo Kim (+9000), Davis Thompson (+9000), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+10000), Akshay Bhatia (+10000), Jason Day (+10000), Russell Henley (+10000), Nicolai Hojgaard (+10000), Max Homa (+10000), and Sepp Straka (+10000) are the rest of the players under 125/1.

For the complete tournament odds board, click here .

*Odds Listed At Time Of Writing*

PAST WINNERS

2023: Brian Harman (-13)

2022: Cameron Smith (-20)

2021: Collin Morikawa (-15)

2019: Shane Lowry (-15)

2018: Francesco Molinari (-8)

KEY STATS

SG: Approach

Fairways Gained

Total Driving

SG: Around-The-Green

Scrambling

SG: Putting (Slow)

Greens In Regulation Gained

Proximity 175-200 Yards/200-225 Yards

SG: Tee To Green (Windy & Difficult)

SG: Total (Major Championships)

THE COURSE

While Royal Troon (par 71) was established over one century ago and has previously hosted 10 Opens, the course underwent an extensive restoration process in 2021 led by Martin Ebert to prepare for this tournament. It's worth pointing out that Ebert was also in charge of the restoration processes for fellow Open venues Royal Portrush and Royal Liverpool.

Following the restoration, Royal Troon now stretches 7,385 yards after being lengthened by 195 yards with nine new tee boxes. The course also features narrow fairways, tiny Browntop Bentgrass green complexes, Fescue and Gorse rough, and countless devilish pot bunkers.

With a par-71 layout this week, the players will face 11 par-4s, four par-3s, and three par-5s. The structure of the course is rather unique, as the opening six holes typically play downwind and provide numerous birdie opportunities out of the gate. Once players reach the 7th tee box, they now will face a crosswind as the course swings inland and plays more into the rugged terrain. The final six holes play straight into the breeze and run parallel to the opening six holes. It's truly a tale of two halves at Royal Troon.

Among the 11 par-4s on the course, six stretch over 450 yards -- all coming on the back nine. However, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 7 are par-4s shorter than 410 yards where birdies can easily be made from the fairway. Players will want to take advantage of the short par-4s early in the round, as things get much more difficult down the stretch.

Three of the four par-3s play over 200 yards, with the lone exception being the "Postage Stamp" 8th hole. Depending on the tee box, No. 8 can play as short as 99 yards, but the minuscule green complex still gives players fits and will lead to countless bogeys regardless of the distance.

All three par-5s stretch over 570 yards, with the 623-yard 6th hole being the longest hole in Open Championship history. The 599-yard 4th hole isn't a cupcake either but it still yields plenty of birdies. The average distance of the par-5s is 598 yards.

Like most of the top courses in Europe, Royal Troon's difficulty lies in the hands of the Golf and Weather Gods this week. As of this writing, wind gusts aren't supposed to reach upward of 20 miles per hour, and there doesn't seem to be much rain in the forecast. However, that can always change in an instant. Still, I'd expect a winning score around 15-under considering the forecast doesn't appear miserable for the players. If the wind and weather pick up though, the outlook on the tournament changes drastically.

All in all, I'll target players with plenty of Open experience who are accurate off the tee and have a lofty short game to battle through any weather conditions. Long-iron play will also be key this week, particularly on the back nine with plenty of long par-4s and par-3s. It's going to take a well-rounded game to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday.

Follow @OnTapGolf on Twitter for more golf news and updates !