2023 British Open: Live Odds & Best Bets

The 151st Open Championship will take place from July 20-23 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in England. Also known as Hoylake, the town where the course is located, Royal Liverpool has hosted 12 previous Open Championships.

Past champions at this venue include Walter Hagen (1924), Bobby Jones (1930), Tiger Woods (2006), and Rory McIlroy (2014). McIlroy’s victory was the last time Hoylake hosted The Open.

The layout has changed since 2014; the most noticeable difference is the par 3-17th. The hole will play in the opposite direction compared to McIlroy’s 2014 victory, and players tee shots into the infinity green overlooking the ocean will be vulnerable for their 140-yard flight.

According to the Open’s official website, “…it is absolutely essential to hit the green, as any miss will leave a devilishly difficult up and down.”

The odds are already posted for this championship, which is the last one of Major season. We’ll recap the 2022 Open before previewing the favorites and long shots to win in 2023 and wrap up with some early best bets to lift the Claret Jug.

Recapping the 2022 British Open

Australian Cameron Smith captured his first Major victory at the Old Course last year. He won by a stroke after carding a final round 64 to edge out rookie Cameron Young, who finished solo second, and Rory McElroy, who couldn’t get a putt to fall that Sunday.

The win was Smith’s first top ten at the event in five attempts, and he did it by leading the field in strokes gained putting with a modest performance from tee to green. The 2022 Open Championship will also be remembered as Tiger Woods’ competitive farewell to St. Andrews.

Crowds lined the fairway of the 18th hole as the three-time Champion Golfer of the Year traversed Swilcan Bridge and tipped his cap to a roaring gallery. 2022 marked the 30th time the Old Course had hosted this championship, the most among all venues in the tournament’s history.

2023 Betting Favorites

Three players seem to have established their claim to the top tier of golf performance in 2023, and that trio sits atop the odds sheet with about 90 days until the first tee shot is hit at Hoylake. Rory McIlroy is among the favorites coming off two victories in six worldwide starts during the 2022-23 season.

His solo third-place finish at The Open in 2022 was his fifth top-5 in his last seven starts at the championship. McIlroy has some positive history with Royal Liverpool, the site of the 2014 Open Championship, where he won by two shots over Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia.

Jon Rahm and Scottie Scheffler are both neck-and-neck with McIlroy. They are inarguably the two hottest players in the world this season. Rahm withdrew at TPC Sawgrass due to an illness but has three wins, and seven top tens across nine starts this season.

Scheffler reclaimed the #1 spot in the OWGR after his win at The Players. He also tied for 4th at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and defended his title at the WM Phoenix Open. Rahm and Scheffler have one top-ten finish at The Open in their careers from the 2021 edition at Royal St. George’s.

Two-time PGA Champion Justin Thomas, 2022 Open Champion Cameron Smith, and three-time Major winner Jordan Spieth trail behind the top three by a reasonable margin. Thomas’ history at this event is less than stellar, and his best finish this season is a solo fourth place at the Phoenix Open.

Smith’s victory last year was his first top-ten at this championship. His previous best was a tie for 20th in 2019 at Royal Portrush. Spieth won the 2017 Open at Royal Birkdale and finished inside the top ten in the last two Open Championships.

Other names that jump off the page near the top of the odds are 2021 Open champion, Collin Morikawa, defending US Open champ Matthew Fitzpatrick, 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry, and 2021 Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele.

2023 Long Shots

2022 runner-up Cameron Young is among a strong group of players further down the sheet. 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, Sam Burns, and Tom Kim are in that pack, though they have not played well in recent Open Championships.

Sungjae Im, who himself hasn’t fared well in two Open Championship appearances, is coming off five top-ten finishes in 13 starts this season. We’ll see if he can translate his game to a links-style course on the third attempt.

Two former Major winners are experiencing a career renaissance this season. Justin Rose won at Pebble Beach in February, his first victory in over three years. He finished tied for second at the 2018 Open Championship played at Carnoustie and has found some game after struggling for a few seasons.

Jason Day has risen back into the top 40 in the world rankings after five top tens in 12 starts since September. Aside from two missed cuts at the Fortinet Championship and the RSM Classic, Day has finished no worse than tied for 21st.

LIV players Brooks Koepka, Joaquin Niemann, and Louis Oosthuizen will have played in multiple Majors this season by the time The Open rolls around in July. Given the difference in schedule, competition, and format between LIV and the PGA Tour, it's difficult to estimate how they'll perform.

However, for bettors that think the oddsmakers are underestimating how well LIV players will fare, there could be some value to lock in before the final major championship of 2023.

Best Bets to Win the 2023 British Open

When betting on a golf tournament that's a few weeks away, we're looking to capture some equity by betting on numbers that we think won't be available once July rolls around. Here are two players that we've invested in so far.

Jordan Spieth +2000

Spieth’s propensity for saving par or better from seemingly impossible situations has helped him build an impressive resume at previous Opens. After consecutive top tens in the last two editions, we see him as a strong candidate to win his second Claret Jug. Nobody can chip like Spieth if he's dialed in!

Viktor Hovland +2800

Vik continues to be plagued by short-game woes but has been pounding the ball this season and needs a good week to be dangerous at Hoylake. He’s ninth in total strokes gained in the world this season, fifth in strokes gained off the tee and ninth in approach to the green.

Hovland tied for fourth in 2022 and finished T12 at the 2021 Open. He’s a threat to break through for his first Major at this championship, especially after winning The Memorial earlier this year.

July 18th Update

The final Major of the year is mere days away, and all of the early risers in the US have to be excited for this week. After all Sunday tee times were moved up in the Scottish Open to before 4 am ET, it will be interesting to see how the conditions factor into play in Liverpool this weekend.

Rory McIlroy remains the favorite (+650) to claim his second Open Championship following his birdie-birdie finish in brutal conditions at Renaissance Club to beat Robert MacIntyre by a shot. He and Scottie Scheffler (+700) have separated themselves among the favorites to win at Hoylake and are the top two players in the world at the moment.

According to DataGolf, Scheffler and McIlroy are one and two in total strokes gained over the last three months, with Scheffler posting a mind-boggling 3.42 strokes gained per round from tee to green.

Jon Rahm (+1300) has faded over the past few months and ranks just 14th in strokes gained over his last 20 rounds played. He joins PGA Champion Brooks Koepka and defending Open champion Cameron Smith as the other three players with odds better than +2000 to prevail.

Among our previously posted bets, Viktor Hovland has fared better since the first version of this article. The Norwegian is +2200 to win his first Major after finishing T7 at Augusta, T2 at the PGA, and winning the Memorial Tournament.

Meanwhile, Jordan Spieth is 43rd in total strokes gained over the last three months and has dropped to +3000 odds to win this championship. He’s missed his previous two cuts at the US and Scottish Opens.

Past Winners of the British Open

Want a quick history lesson about the British Open (AKA: The Open Championship)? Here are the winners of this prestigious tournament from 2008 to 2022.