British Open Picks & Odds: Who the Experts are Picking to Win at Royal Troon

The British Open. The Open Championship. The Open. 

There are nearly as many names for the tournament as there are different expert picks on who will win it all at Royal Troon. Play gets on Thursday morning, with the earliest tee times going off at 6:35 a.m. local.

If you’re in Eastern Time and want to watch all the action, you’ll need to rise at 1:35 a.m. to take it all in; if you’re on the West Coast you might as well not even bother going to bed.

Brian Harman is the reigning “champion golfer of the year”, winning the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool last year. Royal Troon requires a different skill set to be successful, so he’ll have to prove he can master a very different course if he wants to repeat. 

The last time the Open was at Royal Troon was in 2016, when Henrik Stenson won at -20, finishing three strokes ahead of Phil Mickelson, who was a whopping 11 strokes ahead of third-place finisher J.B. Holmes. Shooting even par over the four days was enough to cash a top-20 wager.

British Open odds

(British Open odds from our best golf betting sites as of Wednesday at 6 a.m. ET | 🔥 = best odds | ❄️ = worst odds)

See Esten McLaren’s full breakdown of the British Open odds here, and don’t miss Topher Smith’s Open Championship best bets.

Open Championship picks roundtable

Best picks for The Open

Stephen Hennessey (Golf Digest), Collin Morikawa

Trends can be very useful for identifying major winners. Sixteen of the past 23 winners of The Open have won earlier that season. There’s usually a prerequisite for success at past Opens as well. Of course, in 2021, Morikawa bucked that trend by besting Jordan Spieth in 2021 at Royal St. George’s. He’s been as good as you can be without winning. His accuracy and elite iron play combination, plus an improved short game, should lead to another chance at a major.

Best odds: +1700 via bet365 | Implied probability: 5.56%

James Colgan (Golf.com), Scottie Scheffler

Sure, it’s lame to pick the favorite, but those are the best odds Scottie has gotten in three months. After the year he’s had, a win at Troon to get to three majors — and halfway to the grand slam — feels only fitting.

Best odds: +550 via bet365 | Implied probability: 15.38%

Ryan Barath (Golf.com), Rory McIlroy

Beyond Rory’s obvious skill and his record at the Open Championship, I feel that with this pick I’m channeling my inner Ben Crenshaw by saying. “I’m a big believer in fate. I have a good feeling about this.” I can only begin to imagine the amount of motivation Rory will bring to Troon, so with that, he’s my guy.

Best odds: +850 via Caesars | Implied probability: 10.53%

Will Gray (PGATour.com), Tony Finau

Is this his week? Open champions are often older than the other three majors, and Finau’s game fits the bill. A versatile ball striker who hasn’t finished worse than T-18 since early May.

Best odds: +5000 via FanDuel | Implied probability: 1.96%

Dan Rapaport (Barstool Sports), Collin Morikawa

He’s back with swing coach Rick Sessinghaus and he’s playing the best golf we’ve seen out of him since those major-winning days of 2020 and 2021. Iron play remains elite but it’s the short game that has keyed this surge of excellent play; he’s sneakily one of the better chippers on tour and he’s gained ground putting in seven of his last eight starts. If he putts well, he has a good chance of winning any tournament he plays in. Looked great at the Scottish Open and has gone T-3, T-4, T-14 in the majors so far this year. He’ll love his chances and I do, too. He gets major No. 3 and breaks free from the two-major club, which includes Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, and Dustin Johnson. 

Best odds: +1700 via bet365 | Implied probability: 5.56%

Riley Hamel (Golfweek), Rory McIlroy

Rory. Major championship. I’m ready to be hurt again. In his last seven starts, he hasn’t finished worse than T-15. In his last four starts, he has three top-five finishes. Over his last eight Open starts, McIlroy has six top-six finishes including a T-5 performance at Troon in 2016. Not overly complicated. Let’s do this.

Best odds: +850 via Caesars | Implied probability: 10.53%

SBR’s Open Championship picks

British Open FAQ

Who is the British Open favorite?

Scottie Scheffler is the consensus favorite for The Open with odds as low as +450 representing an implied win probability of 18.18%.

Who won The Open Championship last year?

Brian Harman is the reigning Champion Golfer of the Year. Harman won by a six-stroke margin at Royal Liverpool in 2023.

When is the 2024 British Open?

The 2024 Open Championship will be played from Thursday, July 18 through Sunday, July 21.

Where is the 2024 British Open?

The 2024 Open Championship will be played at Royal Troon in Troon, Scotland for the first time since Henrik Stenson’s victory in 2016.

What is the British Open trophy called?

The Claret Jug is awarded to the winner of the British Open, also referred to as the Champion Golfer of the Year.

How can you watch the Open Championship?

NBC has the U.S. broadcasting rights for The Open Championship. Parts of the tournament will be streamed on Peacock.

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