The final major championship of the year, The Open Championship, is set at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, England.
There are 32 major champions in the field, including Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, and Wyndham Clark, the three major champions this season.
In last year’s 150th Open Championship, Cameron Smith, placed in the penultimate group, overcame a 4-shot deficit, winning his first major championship by one shot over Cameron Young with a score of 268 (-20).
Royal Liverpool last hosted the British Open in 2014, where current co-favorite Rory McIlroy hoisted the trophy for his third major title. However, it’s a different course, including a new 17th hole.
Along with McIlory, Scottie Scheffler is the co-favorite at +750, which would bring him halfway to the career grand slam.
As mentioned in the U.S. Open article, I see Viktor Hovland winning his first career major championship this year. He’s tied for the fifth-best odds with Brooks Koepka at +2000 and finished tied for fourth in last year’s tournament, where he was in the final group pairing. He’s due.
I like a lot of players in this tournament. However, great putting is the key to winning on a links course, and Cameron Smith is the best putter in golf. He could go back to back, but the competition is fierce.
Scheffler is due for a win. He’s only won two events since his Masters win last year: the 2023 WM Phoenix Open and The 2023 Players Championship. He leads the PGA Tour in scoring average (68.473), strokes gained: total (2.638), strokes gained: approach the green (1.257), greens in regulation (73.94%), strokes gained: tee-to-green (2.805), strokes gained: off-the-tee (1.088), top 10 finishes (15), and has finished in the top 15 the last 17 tournaments he’s played in. He didn’t finish strong in the Genesis Scottish Open, especially in putting.
McIlroy won the Genesis Scottish Open last week, his first win since the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January. The last time McIlroy won a major, he also won the week before (2014: WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, PGA Championship). His drives are unreal, with an average distance of 327.6 (leads PGA Tour). He ranks third in scoring average behind Scheffler and Rahm (68.948). He’s done everything well except putting. He needs to get the putting on fire this week if he wants to close out what would be his fifth major championship.
I’ll take Hovland, but I won’t be surprised if McIlroy, Scheffler, or Cameron Smith is holding the Claret Jug on Sunday.
The 151st Open Championship odds (via bet365)
- Rory McIlroy* +750
- Scottie Scheffler* +750
- Jon Rahm* +1200
- Cameron Smith* +1600
- Brooks Koepka* +2000
- Viktor Hovland +2000
- Rickie Fowler +2200
- Tommy Fleetwood +2200
- Tyrrell Hatton +2200
- Patrick Cantlay +2200
- Xander Schauffele +2500
- Shane Lowry* +2800
- Collin Morikawa* +3000
- Jordan Spieth* +3000
- Dustin Johnson* +3000
- Matt Fitzpatrick* +4000
- Tom Kim +4500
- Justin Rose* +5000
- Max Homa +5000
- Wyndham Clark* +5000
- Tony Finau +5500
- Sam Burns +5500
- Cameron Young +5500
- Bryson DeChambeau* +5500
- Justin Thomas* +6000
- Min Woo Lee +6000
- Robert MacIntyre +6000
- Hideki Matsuyama* +6600
- Patrick Reed* +7000
- Talor Gooch +7000
- Adam Scott* +7500
- Jason Day* +8000
- Corey Conners +8000
- Ryan Fox +9000
- Russell Henley +10000
- Sung-Jae Im +10000
* major champion
See the rest of the odds here.
How to watch (all times ET)
Thursday (first round):
1:30-4 a.m.: Peacock
4 a.m.-3 p.m.: USA Network
3-4 p.m.: Peacock
Friday (second round):
1:30-4 a.m.: Peacock
4 a.m.-3 p.m.: USA Network
3-4 p.m.: Peacock
Saturday (third round):
5-7 a.m.: USA Network
7 a.m.-3 p.m.: NBC/Peacock
Sunday (final round):
4-7 a.m.: USA Network
7 a.m.-2 p.m.: NBC/Peacock
Calhoun's Corner 