PGA Betting: British Open Odds Preview

The Claret Jug will be handed out for the first time since 2019 this week, as the British Open returns to Royal St. George’s in England.

At Bovada Sportsbook, the favorite this week is Jon Rahm at +875. Rahm captured his first career major title earlier this year at the U.S. Open.

In his latest tournament, last week’s Scottish Open on the European Tour, Rahm finished in seventh place. He’s only played the Open Championship four times in his career with his best finish coming in 2019 when he tied for 11th.

Following Rahm on the odds list at Bovada are Brooks Koepka at +1400, Jordan Spieth and Xander Schauffele at +1800, Justin Thomas at +2000 and Rory McIlory at +2200.

The only two players from that group who have previously won a British Open title are McIlroy and Spieth. McIlroy won at Royal Liverpool in 2014. He missed the cut at the Open in 2019, but posted consecutive top-five finishes in the three previous years.

Spieth has never missed the cut at British Open

Spieth won at Royal Birkdale in 2017. He has never missed the cut at the Open and finished tied for 20th in 2019.

Looking at a few of the other notables, Koepka has cracked the top 10 in three of his last four Opens, including tying for fourth in 2019, while Thomas posted his best Open finish in 2019 when he tied for 11th place.

You may not remember who won the British Open the last time it was held in 2019 at Royal Portrush. Ireland’s Shane Lowry shocked the field by shooting 15 under par for a six-stroke victory to win his first major title. Before that win, he had missed the cut in the previous four Opens. He hasn’t posted a win on the PGA Tour or the European Tour since his Open win. At Bovada, he’s a +4000 underdog to win again at Royal St. George’s.

At last week’s Scottish Open, Min Woo Lee bested Thomas Detry and Matthew Fitzpatrick in a playoff to record his second European Tour win. Lee is a +12500 underdog this week, while Detry is also listed at +12500 and Fitzpatrick is at +4000.

The PGA Tour stop last week was the John Deere Classic. Former U.S. Open winner Lucas Glover recorded his first tour win since 2011. Glover has only played in the British Open twice since 2011 and he’s a +20000 underdog to win another major this week.

Royal St. George’s hosts for first time since 2011

Royal St. George’s last hosted the Open back in 2011. Darren Clarke shot 5 under par to finish three strokes ahead of Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Clarke returns as a +75000 long shot this year, while Mickelson, who won the Open in 2013, is listed at +8000 and Johnson at +2500.

Along with Lowry and Clarke, other former Open Championship winners in the field this week include 2018 winner Francesco Molinari (+15000), 2016 winner Henrik Stenson (+25000), and two-time winners Ernie Els (+75000) and Padraig Harrington (+15000).