The Open Championship Odds: Picks To Win The 2025 British Open at Royal Troon

By Thomas Leary

@thelearythomas

May 6, 2025 05:27pm

This July, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Xander Schauffele headline the Open Championship field at the Royal Portrush Golf Club, live from Portrush, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This will be the 153rd edition of the British Open and the third time it has taken place at Royal Portrush. Previously, Royal Portrush hosted the events in 1951 and 2019. This edition will take place from July 13 to 20, 2025.  

BetCarolina, your home to all North Carolina sports betting news, has you covered on the latest odds just over a week out from the slam. 

Can Scheffler capture his second major of the season? Can McIlroy recover from his crushing U.S. Open loss just last month? Read on to find out, and remember to bookmark BetCarolina's golf betting guide ahead of the opening tee shot.

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Who Has the Best Odds to Win The 2025 Open Championship?

Scottie Scheffler (+500) is currently the favorite at Portrush, County Antrim across NC betting apps, as he looks to win the British Open after falling short last season, placing seventh after finishing with a total score of 283. He was a contender until the ninth round, where he needed three strokes from about 6 1/2 feet, which decreased his chances of winning the tournament 

Xander Schauffele won the 2024 British Open and will now attempt to become the first golfer to repeat as champion since Padraig Harrington did it in 2008. 

Favorites To Win The Open Championship

Aside from Scheffler, there are plenty more bold-faced names to consider with a BetMGM North Carolina bonus code next week, among them McIlroy, DeChambeau, and PGA champion Xander Schauffele. 

Rory McIlroy (+500)

McIllroy has had a great 2025, and the year is only five months in. Amazingly, he has already won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, The Players Championship, and secured his first Masters Tournament championship. Now, he has his eyes set on the British Open after missing the cut at last year's tournament. 

Strength: Open Championship history. 

McIlroy has been the most consistent Open Championship player of the last decade, a stretch that includes his previous win at Royal Liverpool in 2014. To back up that victory, Rory has five other Top 10s at the Open, including a T2 in 2018 at Carnoustie, a 3rd place finish at St. Andrews in 2022, and a sixth place last year back at Royal Liverpool. McIlroy has been circling another Claret Jug for some time. And the last time The Open was played at Troon? McIlroy fired a final round 67 to tie for 5th. 

Weaknesses: Closing the door. 

Until this year, McIlroy has not won a major since 2014, despite routinely collecting PGA Tour and DP World Tour wins, Ryder Cups, FedEx Cups, and Player of the Year awards. He finally got over the hump, and secured a major with a Masters Tournament victory. Now, he has his eyes on the next big prize. While he has had some success this year, he still needs to win the British Open to show he can close things out consistently. 

Xander Schauffele (+1000)

Schauffele is the reigning and defending British Open champion and is looking to join an elite class of golfers who have repeated as tournament champions, including Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, and Tiger Woods. Can he do it? 

Strength: Consistency

Schauffele is one of the most consistent golfers on the face of the earth. However, he has yet to win a tournament in 2025, and will look to get himself back on track this July. But don't underestimate him, as he has proven in the past that he can win big majors. In addition to last year's British Open, Schauffele also won the 2022 Scottish Open. 

Weakness: Few

Few, if any. The only thing Schauffele backers want to remember would be 2018 at Carnoustie, where the then-24-year-old was among the 54-hole leaders, only to be run down by Francesco Molinari. Schauffele has not threatened for the Claret Jug since.

Jon Rahm (+1400)

The Big Golfer returned last year and feasted on the majors, capturing his second U.S. Open after a runner-up at the PGA Championship and a T6 at The Masters. Rahm did not win the 2024 British Open. However, he finished in a seventh-place tie at Royal Troon, ending up with a final tally of 1 under par (283). So far, he has the fourth-best odds to win the tournament, and oddsmakers believe he can surprise. 

Strength: Ball striking and short game  

Rahm is incredibly consistent at ball striking, especially regarding his driver and irons. Notably, his tee-to-green game is elite, and this skill constantly puts him among the top statistical golf leaderboards. Rahm is also outstanding at leveling up for his short game. Because of his abilities to chip and put, it helps him recover when his initial shots are tough. 

Weakness: Inconsistent Putting:

While he has a solid short game, his putting is inconsistent. Slower or trickier greens can cause him issues. This issue likely contributed to his seventh-place finish last year. He will need to overcome this issue to improve on that mark. 

Odds provided by DraftKings North Carolina; updated on July 10.

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Other Notables and British Open Longshots

The Open Championship has also provided its fair share of longshot winners (look no further than Brian Harman in 2023). Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton would also like a word. Who else deserves consideration? 

More Favorites

Collin Morikawa (+1600)

Collin Morikawa had his best British Open performance last year, placing 16th after generating a total score of 2 over par (286). Now, he looks to take the next step, and could surprise many people as he shoots for his second British Open championship. However, 

Ludvig Aberg (also +1600)

Ludvig Åberg debuted at the 2024 Open Championship, with high hopes and many believed he would be a good long shot to win it. However, he missed the cut, falling short of expectations. Aberg finished with rounds of 75 and 76, and it was not enough to advance in the tournament. He will get another chance to take that next step in his career. 

Longshots

Bryson DeChambeau (+1800)

Bryson DeChambeau was another popular longshot pick. Yet, like Aberg, he missed the cut, finishing with a mark of 9-over-par (76-75), which fell just short of the line. The windy conditions caused some disarray, and it affected DeChambeau. 

Tyrell Hatton (+2000)

Tyrell Hatton, like many other long shots, missed the cut. His unfortunate setback came during the second round, when he endured a bogey over three consecutive holes. Hutton hopes to have a better start to give himself a better chance of making the cut this time around. 

Viktor Hovland (+2000)

Viktor Hovland missed the cut for the second consecutive year. Like DeChambeau, he labored through the winds and the gusty conditions. Additionally, Hovland also converted one birdie over two rounds, showing all the issues he endured. Hovland seeks a better showing this time, and hopes to increase his odds of winning it.

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Can Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson Contend at Open Championship?

As much as the common golf fan would like to see Tiger (+20000) and/or Phil Mickelson (+20000) get into the mix, there's a million reasons why sportsbooks have them near the bottom of the odds. 

Woods has not been the same over the last few years, and last year was no exception, as he finished 149th out of 154 golfers. It was the fifth time he had missed the cut at the British Open. 

Mickelson, after admittedly turning back the clock with a T2 at the 2023 Masters, is also searching for anything resembling good form. The six-time major champion more often than not has more similar odds to Anthony Kim than Cam Smith and Jon Rahm when he tees it up on the LIV Tour, and he shockingly has only made one Open Championship cut since his duel with Stenson at Troon. He did not do much better last year, placing 60th. 

Don't count on a storybook ending for either Woods or Mickelson next week.

History Of The Open Championship

The Open Championship is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and rotates among a list of the most impressive and historic links venues across the United Kingdom. 

Harry Vardon holds the record with 6 total victories, while Tom Watson and Peter Thomson (5 wins each), Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Nick Faldo, Seve Ballesteros and Tiger Woods (3 wins each), Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Greg Norman, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington (2 wins each) are among those to capture the Claret Jug multiple times. 

Recent Winners

Last year's Open Championship was a great reminder that sometimes, the winner emerges out of the top favorites, but isn't always the most popular. It was Schaufffele's first British Open victory, and he beat out the favorites, Scheffler and McIllroy to win it all.  

Schauffele is +1000 going into this year's British Open. Hovering around that same price for this year's Open currently? The likes of Ryan Fox, Davis Thompson, 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen, newly announced Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and of course, Tiger Woods. All wagers currently available at FanDuel North Carolina.

Last 5 Open Championship Winners and Pre-Tournament Odds

*No 2020 Open Championship due to the COVID pandemic.

USA Today photo by Adam Hagy.