The 149th Open Championship will get underway on Thursday, with favourite Jon Rahm aiming to take home the first championship since the coronavirus pandemic started last year. He and his contenders will be joined by as many as 32,000 spectators every day at Royal St Georges’ after almost a decade away.
Defending champion Shane Lowry is a massive underdog for this tournament, given it has been almost two years since he won his title in 2019. There will be a number of punters taking a look at Brooks Koepka as a potential winner, while Rory McIlroy is another player you can never rule out in a major competition.
Read on for all the details about this legendary golfing tournament, including the best Open Championship odds and betting advice from our expert tipsters.
How to Watch This Year’s Open Championship
This year’s Open Championship will be available to watch in the UK on Sky Sports Golf, with the big moments happening on Sky Sports Main Event.
The Open Championship TV Schedule:
Thursday 16th July
Sky Sports Golf / Main Event from 6:30am
Friday 17th July
Sky Sports Golf / Main Event from 6:30am
Saturday 18th July
Sky Sports Golf / Main Event from 9am
Sunday 18th July
Sky Sports Golf / Main Event from 8am
The Open Championship Betting Preview
Shane Lowry is not being given much of a chance to retain his British Open Championship, given the amount of time that has passed since his historic win. It’s the sport’s oldest major, but six have taken place since that fateful day in Royal Portrush as we prepare to finally go again in what will be a massive tournament. We actually think that he should be in the running – definitely looked at when you’re placing bets on the event.
It’s going to be fascinating as viewers to see how the action plays out on this course, which many have criticized as it prepares to host its first major in a decade. St Andrews is a much more sleek and posh venue, while the quality of somewhere like Muirfield or Lytham is much preferred, as are Birkdale and Portrush. But having this major back is all that really matters, and we are in for some incredible golf.
The great thing about this level of golf is that you don’t necessarily have to back the favourite, who in this case is Jon Rahm. He’s the number two ranked player in the world, while number one Dustin Johnson, who is number one, is considerably wider favoured. In terms of staunch outsiders, we’re going for the veteran Phil Mickelson.
Here are our British Open Golf betting tips for the returning 2021 tournament.
The Open Championship Betting Tips
There won’t be anyone taking Jon Rahm’s spot as the 10/1 favourite for the tournament – not even 14/1 second favourite Brooks Koepka. Shane Lowry is definitely worth a look as the reigning defending champion at 33/1, and he’s probably the best outsider to take a glance at in this year’s tournament. Rory McIlroy is 14/1, and we also would be loathe to ignore Dustin Johnson and Xander Schauffele at the same price. Perhaps one more look would be Tommy Fleetwood at 33/1, or Patrick Reed at 28/1.
The Open Championship Odds
Jon Rahm 7/1
Brooks Koepka 13/1
Jordan Spieth 14/1
Xander Schauffele 18/1
Dustin Johnson 18/1
Rory McIlroy 18/1
Justin Thomas 20/1
Tyrrell Hatton 25/1
Collin Morikawa 25/1
Louis Oosthuizen 25/1
Bryson DeChambeau 30/1
Viktor Hovland 30/1
Paul Casey 33/1
Patrick Cantlay 33/1
Patrick Reed 35/1
Shane Lowry 40/1
Tommy Fleetwood 40/1
Matthew Fitzpatrick 40/1
Tony Finau 45/1
Lee Westwood 45/1
Daniel Berger 45/1
Scottie Scheffler 50/1
Adam Scott 50/1
Webb Simpson 55/1
Branden Grace 59/1
Harris English 60/1
Cameron Smith 60/1
Marc Leishman 60/1
Justin Rose 60/1
Abraham Ancer 66/1
Robert MacIntyre 70/1
Jason Day 70/1
Christiaan Bezuidenhout 70/1
Sergio Garcia 70/1
Joaquin Niemann 70/1
Will Zalatoris 70/1
Garrick Higgo 80/1
Jason Kokrak 80/1
Rickie Fowler 80/1
Ian Poulter 80/1
Alex Noren 80/1
Phil Mickelson 80/1
Lucas Herbert 90/1
Russell Henley 100/1
Charley Hoffman 100/1
Brian Harman 100/1
Corey Conners 100/1
How to bet on the Open Championship
Perhaps one more look would be Tommy Fleetwood at 33/1, who NetBet are offering a special boost on as part of our newsletter, or Patrick Reed at 28/1.
**Odds are correct at time of publication and are subject to change**
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