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Thomas Leary is a senior editor for BetCarolina.com. He previously worked at Sports Business Journal.
Next week, Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau headline the Open Championship field at Royal Troon, with the oldest golf major returning to South Ayrshire for the first time since Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson's classic duel in 2016.
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.
Scottie Scheffler (+450) will enter the week as the favorite at Royal Troon across NC betting apps, as he looks to become the first player to win the Masters and British Open in the same year since Tiger Woods in 2005. Scheffler has already won six times in 2024, including his win at Augusta National in April. He can also become the first player since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win multiple majors in the same year.
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.
The only word to describe McIlroy's U.S. Open was heartbreak. Scuffling a late lead at Pinehurst No. 2 to DeChambeau will follow the Irishman for the rest of his career, especially if he fails to add another major to his CV. Fortunately for McIlroy, the sportsbooks still believe that is a matter of when, not if.
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.
The elephant in the room. McIlroy has not won a major since 2014, despite routinely collecting PGA Tour and DP World Tour wins, Ryder Cups, FedEx Cups, Player of the Year awards. You name it, he's won it. Except the slams. Everyone saw what happened when McIlroy got a taste of the lead late at the U.S. Open last month. Troon will be more of a mental test for him than a physical one.
The Big Golfer is back, and has feasted on the majors this year, capturing his second U.S. Open after a runner-up at the PGA Championship and a T6 at The Masters. But can DeChambeau really win consecutive slams?
Strength: Driving distance and greens in regulation.
DeChambeau led the U.S. Open field in driving distance last month in route to victory, and was seventh in greens in regulation. That, combined with being top 10 in putting, gives him the tools to compete anywhere, week-in, week-out.
Weakness: Poor Open Championship history.
Flying across the pond has not been great to DeChambeau so far in his career. He's posted only one top 10 (T8 at St. Andrews in 2022) in six starts. He's missed two cuts as well, and finished a distant T60 last summer at Royal Liverpool. The Big Golfer has been a force in the majors so far this year, but he's yet to figure out links-style play in The Open Championship.
Similar to Bryson, Schauffele has more than shown up for every major so far this season, winning the PGA Championship at Valhalla in between top 10s at The Masters and U.S. Open. But is he the man to beat at Royal Troon?
Strength: Schauffele is the most consistent golfer on the face of the earth, a comforting thought as you prepare your card for Troon. In 16 starts this season, he's posted 11 Top 10s, 2 runner-ups and has yet to miss a cut. Not to mention his major breakthrough in Kentucky. Keep a close eye on his odds throughout the weekend at the Scottish Open, which he won in 2022. Xander could catch Rory as the second-favorite behind Scheffler with yet another good week. Schauffele is also 12th in strokes gained putting on the PGA Tour this season, and with Troon's layout likely allowing shorter-hitters to contend, that will count for more than say, DeChambeau's distance off the tee.
Weakness: 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.
Odds provided by DraftKings North Carolina; updated on July 10.
The Open Championship has also provided its fair share of longshot winners (look no further than Brian Harman last summer). Ben Curtis and Todd Hamilton would also like a word. Who else deserves consideration?
"The Prince Who Was Promised" is no longshot here, as young Aberg has the fifth shortest odds as of now. The 24-year-old Swede has never actually teed it up in the Open, but that didn't stop him at the Masters, where he finished second only to Scheffler in his debut. Aberg is as close to a can't-miss future major winner in golf as one can get, and this could easily be his week at Troon.
The 2021 Open Champion has been knocking on the door all season-long, playing in the final group on Sunday at both the Masters and PGA. Morikawa would be a fitting champion at Troon following Henrik Stenson, another elite iron-player in his prime.
The 22-year-old from North Carolina is under-valued at +8000, coming off finishes of T2, T5 and T16 (at the U.S. Open) in his last three starts. While Bhatia has never played the Open Championship, he's no stranger to the winner's circle, winning twice already on the PGA Tour in his young career. Bhatia is also in-line to make his first Presidents Cup team for the U.S. A strong major week should punch his ticket for Jim Furyk's squad.
It's been a nice 2024 for "Mean Dean" Burmester, who has settled into life on the LIV Tour and got himself in the mix at the PGA Championship. Burmester won LIV Miami in a playoff over Sergio Garcia back in April, then captured a T12 at Valhalla after briefly flirting with the lead in the third round in Kentucky. Burmester has 2 other top-7's on LIV this year, and is fourth in their season-long overall standings. He also made it through open qualifying for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, where a rough weekend saw him fade to 69th.
Avid DP World Tour fans know McKibbin well, as the young Irishman has shown great form in his most recent starts. Just 21-years-old, McKibbin acquitted himself well enough in his first major at Pinehurst No. 2 with a T41. That seems to have provided a confidence boost as he returned to the DPWT, where he has gone solo second and 6th in his last two starts. A likely practice round with his mentor Rory McIlroy could further boost his confidence at Troon.
As much as the common golf fan would like to see Tiger (+15000) and/or Phil Mickelson (+17000) get into the mix late on Sunday, there's a million reasons why sportsbooks have them behind the likes of players like Abraham Ancer (+11000), Billy Horschel (+12000) and Tom Hoge (+13000).
Woods has yet to prove he can play four full rounds pain-free following his 2021 car crash and various surgeries. Other than a 60th place finish at this year's Masters, he has missed the cut or withdrew from every major since the 2022 Masters. His last made cut at the Open Championship was in 2018.
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.
Don't count on a storybook ending for either Woods or Mickelson next week.
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.
Last year's Open Championship was a stark reminder to do one's research for longshots, as lefty Brian Harman won by 6 strokes at Royal Liverpool over the likes of Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Jason Day and Tom Kim.
Harman, who had won only twice on the PGA Tour in his career, was +12500 heading into Round 1. 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.
Year | Champion | Odds |
2023 | Brian Harman | +12500 |
2022 | Cameron Smith | +2000 |
2021 | Collin Morikawa | +3000 |
2019 | Shane Lowry | +8000 |
2018 | Francesco Molinari | +2500 |
*No 2020 Open Championship due to the COVID pandemic.
USA Today photo by Adam Hagy.
Scottie Scheffler (+450) is the current favorite to win the Open Championship ahead of Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and more. Scheffler won the Masters in April, and has won 6 times total this calendar year.
The 2024 Open Championship is at Royal Troon Golf Club in Troon, South Ayrshire, Scotland. It will be the first time the course has hosted the championship since Henrik Stenson defeated Phil Mickelson in 2016.
Brian Harman won the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool by six strokes over Jon Rahm, Jason Day, Sepp Straka and Tom Kim.
Yes, the British Open and the Open Championship are one in the same. Across the pond, Open Championship is traditionally used, whereas in the United States, the tournament is often referred to as The British Open.
The Open Championship will air across NBC networks. Check back closer to the tournament for a full TV schedule.
Author
Thomas Leary is a senior editor for BetCarolina.com. He previously worked at Sports Business Journal.
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