British Open 2024: Betting odds, tips, insights for Royal Troon

There are less than 24 hours until the start of the Open Championship, perhaps the most unpredictable major of all. It is also the last major of the season after the 2019 PGA Championship was postponed from August to May.

This will be the last event where players from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf will compete side-by-side at Augusta National – unless an agreement is reached between the two sides beforehand. That could happen, but there is still a lot of work to be done by all parties involved. However, in his press conference ahead of the Open Championships on Tuesday, Tiger Woods noted that progress continues to be made between the Tour and the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) – the beneficiary of LIV Golf.

Still, the Open at Royal Troon has a strong field again this year, so hopefully golf fans will get to see some drama – unlike last year when Brian Harman ran away from everyone else to win by six strokes. But nobody expected Harman’s performance last year. Nor did anyone expect Henrik Stenson to decimate Royal Troon in 2016 by shooting 20 under par and beating Phil Mickelson by three strokes in one of the greatest duels of all time. Nor do I think anyone would have predicted Todd Hamilton winning a playoff against Ernie Els at Troon in 2004.

Photo by Bill Murray/Getty Images

The odds for the Open Championship:

Here are the latest odds for players to win the 2024 Open Championship, courtesy of DraftKings:

Scottie Scheffler +450

Rory McIlroy +850

Xander Schauffele +1100

Ludvig Aeberg +1600

Collin Morikawa +1600

Bryson DeChambeau +1800

Tommy Fleetwood +2200

Jon Rahm +2500

Tyrrell Hatton +2800

Viktor Hovland +3000

Brooks Koepka +3000

Shane Lowry +4000

Robert MacIntyre +4000

Patrick Cantlay +4000

Tony Finau +4500

Tom Kim +4500

Hideki Matsuyama +4500

Cameron Smith +4500

Joaquin Niemann +5500

Wyndham Clark +6000

Sahith Theegala +6000

Matt Fitzpatrick +6000

Louis Oosthuizen +6000

Jordan Spieth +6000

Corey Conners +6000

Cameron Young +600

Sungjae Im +6500

Brian Harman +6500

Adam Scott +6500

Aaron Rai +6500

Justin Thomas +7000

Min Woo Lee +7500

Alex Noren +9000

Akshay Bhatia +9000

Kim Hyun-soo +10000

Sepp Straka +10000

Jason Day +10000

Davis Thompson +10000

Sam Burns +11000

Russell Henley +11000

Max Homa +11000

Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A via Getty Images

Tips, predictions, insights

Avoid Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland

Jordan Spieth has an impressive track record at this championship, winning the Claret Jug in 2017 and finishing 30th in his last eight appearances. But Spieth has struggled this year, having not recorded a top-10 finish since the Valero Texas Open. Poor iron play is one explanation. He missed the cut at the Masters and was unable to compete at Valhalla or Pinehurst. The Texan also failed to make the weekend at the Genesis Scottish Open, proving his game is in a serious crisis.

Similarly, Viktor Hovland has nothing in common with the player who won the 2023 FedEx Cup. His short game is completely failing him and his approach game has noticeably deteriorated.

After finishing alone in third place at the PGA Championship, Hovland seemed to have turned things around. He had shot two 69s at the start of the Memorial Tournament, but a bad weekend set him back and left him tied for 15th. The young Norwegian then missed the cut at the US Open and most recently finished tied for 46th at the Scottish Open.

It is necessary to avoid Spieth and Hovland this week.

Photo by Steve Welsh/Getty Images

A trio of top 10 tips we love

This is Sungjae Im’s week, as he makes his first major appearance of the season. Im has had a remarkable season, recording six top-10 finishes, five of them since April. But inexplicably, Im has missed the cut at all three majors.

Since shooting 77-74 at Augusta, Im has finished T-12, T-4, MC, T-9, T-8, MC, T-3, T-12 and most recently tied for fourth at the Scottish Open. However, we believe Im has even more motivation this week to play well and finish in the top 10 at +550.

We also hope to see two LIV golfers – both of whom have won Claret Jugs – finish in the top 10.

Cameron Smith, who has one of the best short games in the world, will be back in Open contention this week. The same goes for Louis Oosthuizen, who hasn’t played a major this season. Oosthuizen, who won twice on the DP World Tour last December, has seen such a dramatic drop in his Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) due to his status on LIV that he hasn’t qualified for any other majors. That should motivate him to play well this week.

Smith has a top-10 price of +400, while Oosthuizen is listed at +550.

Two major champions land in the top 5

Jon Rahm is fighting back with a vengeance this week and is in the top 5 at +500.

One of the big talking points of the 2024 season has been Rahm’s struggles in major championships, perhaps because of his decision to join LIV Golf in December. He played poorly in his title defense at the Masters and then missed the cut at Valhalla. Then a foot infection forced him to withdraw from the US Open, and Rahm was able to watch from his bed at home. Thankfully, Rahm’s wound has healed and he will play this week.

His form at Troon reportedly looks solid and he’s confident too. Rahm even said he feels close to replicating the form he had when he won the 2023 Masters. He also has a strong track record at The Open, recording two top-five finishes in his last three starts. We believe another one is coming this week and who knows, maybe he’ll lift the Claret Jug, taking a cue from his hero Seve Ballesteros, who won it three times.

Photo by Oisin Keniry/R&A via Getty Images

Another big champion we believe will finish in the top five is Xander Schauffele, who had a terrific 2024 season.

Schauffele edged Bryson DeChambeau by one stroke at Valhalla to win his first major title. Since then, he has finished in the top 15 four times in a row, including a T-7 at No. 2 Pinehurst, where he shot just one round over par this week. The former San Diego State Aztech has no weaknesses in his game, as his strong iron play and refined short game should once again earn him a spot in a major. He always seems to be at the top of the leaderboard. Last year, he finished 15th at Royal Liverpool, and his best finish at The Open came in 2018, when he finished second at Carnoustie.

Give us Schauffele to finish in the top five at +260.

Possible winners, including an outsider

We have four winning picks for this week’s Open Championship.

First up is Tyrrell Hatton, who at +2800 is ready to break through and win a major. Hatton’s trend is in the right direction and his game is a good fit for Royal Troon. The three-time Ryder Cupper has long been one of the game’s best ball-strikers, but his short game is also underrated.

Photo by Pedro Salado/Getty Images

Another player with a similar pedigree is Collin Morikawa, who has already won The Open. At +1600, Morikawa comes to Royal Troon as one of the favorites and will certainly be on the leaderboard on Sunday. But the question for him is whether he can complete a final round, something he struggled to do in 2024.

Tommy Fleetwood is another winner we like this week at +2200. The Englishman hasn’t missed a cut since an 80 at Bay Hill, although he hasn’t played in a major since the Masters. However, his last four finishes at the Open are solo second, T-33, T-4 and a T-10 a year ago. Fleetwood loves links golf and his inventive short and wedge game bodes well for Royal Troon. This could be his week.

And finally, our underdog winner that we like is a man who made it into the field on Sunday night: England’s Aaron Rai.

Rai is trending in the right direction, having finished in the top 20 five times in a row, including a tied second place in Detroit. But this recent run is far from a fluke. Rai ranks fourth on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained. He has played flawlessly, ranking first in driver accuracy at 72.97% and third in greens accuracy at 72.47%. In the rare event that he misses the green, Rai can also get up and down, ranking 10th on Tour in scrambling percentage. Putting has not been his strong suit, but he still ranks 54th in strokes gained on the green.

Anyone who hits the ball well and has a solid short game wins the Open Championships, and Rai fits those requirements, so why not back him at +6500?

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Jack Milko is the golf editor at SB Nations Playing Through. Be sure to check out: @_Playthrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well as.