The Open Championship is my favorite major of the PGA TOUR. Aka the “British Open” for us Americans, The Open is played in the United Kingdom annually, and I like waking up at weird hours to sweat my golf bets.
Plus, The Open is a rescue from an otherwise terrible part of the sports calendar. There’s nothing else to watch in sports Thursday and post-All-Star break MLB is the only thing to watch this weekend.
READ: The 152nd Open Championship Bets To Win, One-And-Done Pick From An Ice-Cold PGA TOUR Bettor
More importantly, I picked the “Champion Golfer of the Year” back-to-back years from 2021-22 and need to stop the bleeding from my PGA TOUR 2024 betting season. With that in mind, I’m recklessly adding bets to my card for The Open Championship 2024 at Royal Troon in Scotland.
2024 Open Championship Best Bets
The odds are the best available at the time of publication.
Rory McIlroy (+115) > Scottie Scheffler at DraftKings
Scheffler looks like a mortal at links-style courses and should be closer to -120 over Rory instead of -140. McIlroy is the 2014 Champion Golfer of the Year and finished T6 at The Open last year and third in 2022. Scottie’s best finish was T8 as a debutant in 2021.
Moreover, Rory has more experience with the links. He is from North Ireland and grew up playing at links-style courses. McIlroy plays DP World Tour events, including last week’s Genesis Scottish Open, which he won in 2023. Scheffler doesn’t play in the Scottish Open or on the DP World Tour.
Rory McIlroy practices for the 152nd British Open at Royal Troon in Scotland. (Pedro Salado/Getty Images)
Finally, Scottie complained about the odd lies he encountered on the “native landscape” of Pinehurst No. 2 at the U.S. Open last month. He will face similar situations this week at Royal Troon, a links-style course known for uneven lies and fescue rough on the fairways.
Akshay Bhatia was voted “Best Newcomer” on FanDuel (+800)
Ludwig AbergOberg is ranked fourth in the Official World Golf Ranking and is the +185 favorite in this market. The 24-year-old has been knocking on the door all year. Oberg has seven top-10 finishes this season, including a tie for fourth at the Scottish Open, second at the Masters and eighth at the Players Championship.
However, Bhatia’s prize money was too tempting to pass up. First, being left-handed might help him do well at Royal Troon. Phil Mickelson topped the list after finishing second at the 2016 British Open. Mickelson finished three strokes behind the winner at -17. Henrik Stenson11 strokes ahead of the third place.
Second, Bhatia dominated the Valero Texas Open for three straight days. Danny McCarthy Beating him and forcing a playoff, Bhatia won. In his past four tournaments, Akshay finished T22 at the Memorial, T16 at the U.S. Open, T5 at the Travelers Championship and T2 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Finally, Åberg is considered child prodigyBut Bhatia turned pro at 17 and played on the PGA Tour when he was only 22. Like Oberg, Bhatia’s ceiling is high and he has the ability to win multiple majors in his career.
Aaron Rai Top 20 at BetMGM (+200)
The Englishman is in great form and I’ll keep him in the same league. Rai has six top-20 finishes in his last eight starts, including five consecutive top-10s. One was a tie for 19th at the U.S. Open and another was a tie for 4th at the Scottish Open, which he won in 2020.
Additionally, despite missing strokes with his irons, Rai still managed to finish T4 last week, which is rare. Accuracy is undoubtedly Rai’s strongest skill. This season, he leads the tour in driving accuracy and ranks seventh in strokes gained (SG): approach.
Aaron Rai prepares to putt during the 2024 John Deere Classic in Silvis, Ill. (Joseph Kress-USA TODAY Sports)
However, Rai has been in controversy recently because he Rolling Stone. according to Betting NumbersOver his past four starts, Rai has a putting performance of +5.7 at the Scottish Open, +8.9 at the John Deere Classic, +4.8 at the Rocket Mortgage and +2.8 at the U.S. Open.
DraftKings’ Tom Kim tops 20 (+160)
Kim is the last player out on my 2024 Open betting card. This is more of a pricing question because Tom plays well on links courses. He tied for 15th last week at the Scottish Open, tied for 6th last year, was 3rd in 2022, and tied for 2nd at the Open last year.
Tom King hits a shot from the rough during a practice round for the 152nd British Open. (Harry How/Getty Images)
Tom is also “playing for the majors.” Kim has won 11 straight majors with his irons and has been more accurate off the tee in 12 of his past 13 tournaments, according to DataGolf.com. Finally, Tom is in great form. The Korean tied for 15th at the Scottish Open and lost to Scheffler in a playoff at the Travelers Championship last month.
152nd British Open Final Betting Slip
champion
- Collin Morikawa (+1600): 1.5 units (u)
- Brooks Koepka (+4000): 0.55u
- Hideki Matsuyama (+5500): 0.45u
- Cameron Young (+6000): 0.4u
- Joaquin Niemann (+6600): 0.35u
Additional bets
- Rory McIlroy (+115) over Scottie Scheffler: 1u
- Akshay Bhatia “Top Debutant” (+800): 0.25u
- Aaron Rai Top-20 (+200): 0.5u
- Tom Kim Top-20 (+160): 0.75u
- Hideki Matsuyama Top-20 (+225): 0.5u
- Cameron Young Top-20 (+210): 0.5u
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Follow me on X (or Twitter, whatever) @Geoffery-Clark And check out my OutKick Bets Podcast for more betting content and random rants. I’ll be adding the full season’s worth of bets to my PGA Tour 2024 betting history via X.
