2026 British Open First-Round Leader Pick and Score Prediction at Royal Birkdale

You can find my best bets to win this week's British Open in my full betting preview, but it's always good to have some bets locked in that are only for the opening round. It will help us wake up and put on a cup of coffee early Thursday morning while the best golfers in the world are teeing it up across the pond.

In this article, I'm going to break down two golfers I'm betting on to be the first-round leader at the end of Thursday's action. Not only does this make the opening round more exciting, but this is a great chance to bet on golfers that you like this week, but not enough to bet on them to win at the end of all 72 holes. Let's dive into them.

British Open First Round Leader Bets

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Cameron Young +4700

One name not being talked about enough is Cameron Young. I'm not ready to bet on him to win the entire tournament, but Young has been on fire in the opening round of tournaments this year. In the past six months, he's seventh in the field in total strokes gained in opening rounds of events.

He didn't tee it up at last week's Scottish Open, but he has a strong history at the British Open. He finished runner-up here in 2022, and then followed that up with a T8 finish in 2023. He's worth a look at 47-1 to be leading after the opening round.

Nick Taylor +11500

You likely wouldn't guess it, but Nick Taylor has been one of the best golfers in the world this season, but only in the opening round. Across the past six months, he's fourth in the field in total strokes gained in opening rounds of events, behind only Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, and Matt Fitzpatrick.

He doesn't admittedly doesn't have a strong history at the British Open, but a decent T26 finish at last week's Scottish Open is a promising sign coming into this week. I can't resist taking a chance on him at 115-1.

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