Can you believe that we're already at the final major of the 2023 golf season? The best in the world will tee it up at Royal Liverpool Golf Club for the 2023 Open Championship. Scottie Scheffler is the current favorite to win outright with odds of +700.
Rory McIlroy is also in the running at +800 after winning the Scottish Open last weekend. Need help betting on this prestigious event? Here are 11 best bets for the 2023 Open Championship.
FT H2H: Rory McIlroy OVER Jon Rahm
Rory is red hot coming off his impressive victory at the Scottish Open last weekend. That marked his 2nd win on the season and his 9th Top 10 appearance. In 2014, he won his only Open Championship, right here at Royal Liverpool.
He did miss the cut in 2019 and finished a weak 46th the year after. However, he regained his confidence last year when he finished 3rd. His play was up to his level of excellence as it had been in 2017 when he finished 4th and in 2018 when he was runner-up.
Rahm has been and continues to be a forced on the Tour. However, his play here at the Open has been a bit up and down. We are backing a hot and consistent Rory this week.
FT H2H: Cameron Smith OVER Rickie Fowler
Cam has been playing better and better as the major season has gone on. After finishing tied for 34th at the Masters, he grabbed a Top 10 finish at the PGA and then a Top 5 finish at the most recent US Open.
Now, he sets to defend his title and looks to take back-to-back Claret Jugs home. He faces Rickie Fowler here, who has been having a resurgence. However, it has been a while since he has played well at the Open Championship.
You must go back 2019 to find the last time Fowler had a respectable finish (9th). We like the former champ to take this matchup down.
FT H2H: Tommy Fleetwood OVER Tyrrell Hatton
Tommy Fleetwood loves the Open. His 33rd place finish in 2021 was his WORST finish in the last 5 years. He was runner-up in 2019 and 4th last year. He’s playing well, as he finished 6th last week at the Scottish Open.
He’s got Tyrrell Hatton here who has had his ups and downs at the Open. He was 11th last year but missed the cut the year prior.
He was 6th in 2019 after missing the cut in 2017 and finished 51st in 2018. Fleetwood’s consistency is going to benefit us here in this matchup.
FT H2H: Jordan Spieth OVER Patrick Cantlay
Jordan has been a monster at the Open. His 20th place finish in 2019 was his worst in the last 5 years, very similar to Fleetwood. However, he won the Claret Jug in 2017 and the rest were all Top 10 finishes.
That is truly amazing. He’s got Cantlay here who has been just as inconsistent as Hatton has been at the Open.
He was 8th last year but missed the cut the year previous. He was 12th in 2018 but followed that up with a 41st place finish. Consistency is key once again in this matchup.
FT H2H: Bryson DeChambeau OVER Hideki Matsuyama
Since 2018, Matsuyama’s best finish at The Open was last year’s 68th place finish. He missed the cut in 2018 and 2019. He is coming off missing the cut at the RMC while sitting out last week’s events.
Bryson, after missing the cut at the Masters earlier this season, has had a nice run through the PGA (4th) and US Open (20th). He was 8th last year at the Open and as always, his length will be an advantage.
Top 40 Finish: Brian Harman +110
After missing the cut at the Open from 2017-2019, Harman seemingly figured out what to change in his game in order to be successful across the pond. In 2021, Harman finished inside the Top 20 and followed that up last year with a 6th place finish.
He very well could be on his way to contending this year at Royal Liverpool Golf Club. He is coming off a 12th place finish at the Scottish Open after finishing 9th at the RMC and runner-up at the Travelers.
We love the plus money value we are getting for Harman, who has finished inside the Top 40 in 13 of his 23 starts this season.
Top 40 Finish: Bryson DeChambeau -105
Bryson has been chugging along on the LIV Tour. He finished tied for 11th last event in London. This came after a runner-up finish in Andalucia, a 9th place finish in DC, and a 5th place finish in Tulsa.
After a couple of rough starts at the Open, Bryson put things together last year and finished 8th. And this year, at the previous 2 majors, Bryson was 20th at the US Open and 4th at the PGA. He will certainly be there over the weekend and has a better chance of contending than missing the cut.
Top 40 Finish: Francesco Molinari +470
Molinari has been terrible lately. He has missed the cut in 5 straight starts and 6 of his last 8. However, the 2 in which he made the cut, he finished inside the Top 40.
He now gets to play at the Open where he has had recent success. He finished 15th last year, 11th in 2019, and took home the Claret Jug in 2018.
He has the chops to contend even though his recent form has been bad. Getting over 4 to 1 on him is a valuable risk.
Top 30 Finish: Dustin Johnson -115
DJ finished 5th at LIV’s last tournament that took place in London. And in his most recent major, he seemed to turn things around.
After finishing 48th and 55th at the Masters and PGA, DJ shot 3 under and finished tied for 10th at the US Open. DJ has the length, demeanor, and recent success to make a run here at Royal Liverpool. His 8th place finish in 2021 was only bested by his 2022 finish which was 6th.
Top 30 Finish: Jordan Spieth -110
Since Jordan won the Claret Jug in 2017, he has continuously been chasing that dragon. While he has not been able to win it again, he has certainly been close.
His 20th place finish in 2019 was the worst he has finished in the last 5 Open Championships. He was in the top 10 in 2018 and 2022 and fell just short in 2021 when he was runner-up.
Getting him at near even money for a Top 30 finish is laughable. This is our favorite play of the tournament.
Top 30 Finish: Shane Lowry -110
After missing the cut in 2017 and 2018, something clicked for Lowry in 2019. He was able to put the pieces together that year and win the Open.
He followed that with a 12th place finish in 2021 and was 21st last year. Lowry has finished inside the Top 30 in 3 straight events and is coming off a 12th place finish at the Scottish Open.
