The 152nd Open Championship is this week at Royal Troon, marking the final major tournament of 2024.
When the Open was last held at Royal Troon, Henrik Stenson provided a record-breaking 20-under 264 in 2016.
Can anyone be able to top that, let alone reach that?
Action begins Thursday morning in Scotland as 156 players fight to be the one that hoists the Claret Jug on Sunday.
Also read: Open Championship FAQ: Everything You Need To Know
Odds to win the Open Championship
According to Vegas Insider, only two players – Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy – have odds better than +1000 to hoist the Claret Jug. Scheffler is as low as +400 on Caesars Sportsbook and as high as +550 on BetMGM and New Jersey Bet Rivers. McIlroy is as low as +750 on bet365, DraftKings, NJ Bet Rivers and FanDuel. He is as high as +900 on ESPN Bet.
Bryson DeChambeau is going +900 on Caesars and as high as +1800 on NJ Bet Rivers. Xander Schauffele, the other major winner of 2024, is going as low as +1100 on FanDuel and DraftKings and as high as +1400 on ESPN Bet, Caesars, bet365 and BetMGM.
Ludvig Aberg is also among the top five favorites he is +1200 to win on bet365 and as high as +1600 on FanDuel.
Other notble Open Championship favorites
The five players who round out the top 10 of the favorites include Collin Morikawa, Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre.
MacIntyre won last week’s Genesis Scottish Open as well as the RBC Canadian Open. Morikawa has five, top five finishes in his last 10 starts, dating back to the Masters, including being the Memorial Tournament runner-up.
Hatton won recently in Nashville in LIV Golf while Rahm has yet to finish outside the top 10 in nine LIV events this year. However, Rahm does not have a favorable major resume with a T45 at the Masters, a missed cut at the PGA and a withdrawal from the U.S. Open this year.
Fleetwood falls in the middle as he has only missed one cut. However, he has two top 10s, which came in consecutive starts in April. Since his T3 at the Masters, Fleetwood has a couple of top 15s, including a 15th place finish at the Travelers.
Also read: 10 best Open Championship performances of all-time
The long shots
Every player can make a case to win to win the Open Championship on Sunday.
The favorites do not necessarily translate into an automatic win. Brian Harman opened last year at +12000 before going on to win.
Furthermore, it has been more of the older players that have hoisted the Claret Jug as of late. Seven of the last 12 winners were 35 years or older and eight of the last 12 were age 32 or older.
In addition, 15 of the last 18 winners had finished T9 or better in a previous Open Championship.
However, Sungjae Im makes a case that goes against that. Despite missing the cut at all three majors, Im has been playing well outside of the majors. He has six top 10s, including a T3 and a T4 in his last three starts. Furthermore, Im has four top 10s in his last six starts and five of seven. He is going as high as +6600 on ESPN Bet.
More longshots that can win the Open Championship
Corey Conners is going as high as +7500 and a sleeper heading into the final major of the year. Conners is eighth in the Presidents Cup standings and would love to get into the top six by the next month’s BMW Championship. He would also get the opportunity to compete in his home country of Canada for the International team. Conners has not missed the cut since the 2023 U.S. Open, including 19 starts in 2024.
All three of Conners’ top 10 finishes have come within his last five starts, including a T9 at the U.S. Open. In addition, Conners has not missed the cut in each of his last three Open Championship. As a result, being +7500 to win is one to look into before Thursday’s opening round.
One more sleeper is another player having a solid season in Sepp Straka. The Austrian was one of four runners-up in last year’s Open Championship. Three of his four top 10s came in a four-start stretch in May. His runner-up finish last year was also his best in any major championship start. Most betting sites have him at +10000 while Caesars is at +7000 and FanDuel is +11000.
Related: Open Championship winners: The list of championship dating back to 1860