2017 British Open Betting Preview & Trends

After Brooks Koepka surprised at the U.S. Open last month will another underdog break through to claim their first Major when the British Open tees off at Royal Birkdale this week?

Royal Birkdale will be hosting The Open for the 10th time and the favorite at the Bovada Sportsbook unsurprisingly is No. 1 ranked Dustin Johnson at +1400. Johnson, who was also the pre-tournament favorite at The Masters and the U.S. Open, is looking for this first win at The Open. His best finish in the tournament came in 2011 when he tied for second and last year he finished tied for ninth.

The champion last year at Royal Troon was Henrik Stenson. He delivered a dominating performance, shooting 20-under par to win his first Major. At the Bovada Sportsbook Stenson is a +2500 underdog to win again. The last time The Open was played at Royal Birkdale in 2008, Stenson was in contention and tied for third place.

In 2008 the champion at Royal Birkdale was Padraig Harrington. That was his second consecutive Open win as he also won the previous year at Carnoustie. Harrington is a major underdog to turn back the clock at Royal Birkdale at +5500.

Turning back to the favorites, the usual suspects follow Johnson on The Open futures odds with Jordan Spieth also at +1400, Rickie Fowler and Jon Rahm at +1600, and Sergio Garcia at +1800.

Spieth has only cracked the Top 25 at The Open once when the tied for fourth in 2015. Fowler’s best finish in The Open came in 2014 when he tied for second. Rahm played The Open for the first time last year and finished well back tied for 59th. Garcia finally won his first Major earlier this year at Augusta, but he’s come close at The Open numerous times with five Top-5 finishes. In 2008 Garcia struggled at Royal Birkdale and finished tied for 51st.

If you’re looking for a longshot, Rafael Cabreara-Belloo might be worth a look at +5500. He won the Scottish Open last week and will be looking to become the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2013 to win the Scottish and British Open.

Speaking of Mickelson, the former Open champ is a +4000 underdog at the Bovada Sportsbook to win another this week. A few other former champions in this week’s field include Rory McIlroy (+2000), Louis Oosthuizen (+4500), Zach Johnson (+8000), and two-time winner Ernie Els (+25000).