2022 British Open: Latest Betting Odds, Favorites and Sleeper Picks for The Old Course
At +2500, Cameron Smith arrives to St. Andrews with something to prove.
Golffile | Mateo Villalba
We’d like to think Xander Schauffele texted Scottie Scheffler on Sunday night saying, “so this is what it feels like, huh?” Or, maybe he bumped into Tiger Woods during Open Championship preparation and tipped his cap on what it must have been like for a decade.
Schauffele continued the heater he’s currently on at the Genesis Scottish Open by clawing back from an 11-shot deficit after the first round. He followed that with rounds of 65 and 66 and ultimately grinded out a final-round 70 to secure his second win in a row on Tour, including the J.P. McManus Pro-Am in between, from both sides of the pond.
As for the picks, favorite Will Zalatoris and sleeper Aaron Rai could not translate their current form to links golf quite yet, but the ever-reliable Jordan Spieth recorded yet another top 10 in the U.K.
We now hop across the North Sea and head to “The Home of Golf” for the highly anticipated 150th Open at St. Andrews. The season’s final major is no ordinary ordeal. It will be a party and historic moment for whoever lifts the Claret Jug, so the significance of this stage will not be lost on anyone. The Old Course has offered drama whenever it plays host, including most recently in 2015 when Zach Johnson won in a playoff. The famous layout has been previewed to be burnt out and fast at the moment, so those who dial in their approach and short game should have the upper hand.
According to SI Sportsbook, the favorite is 2014 Open champion Rory McIlroy at +1000. Right behind is the red-hot Xander Schauffele at +1400. Next up are Jon Rahm and 2017 winner Jordan Spieth at +1600. To close out the notables are Masters champion Scottie Scheffler and U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick at +1800.
For a favorite, we’re going with a guy some people might have forgotten about recently in Cameron Smith at +2500. Ever since his run in Hawaii to begin the year, we eyed Smith for The Masters because of how much he personally loves Augusta National, but as far as course fits go, we were thinking about the Old Course even prior. For his high standards, The Players champion had some middling results in May and June, which led to a missed cut at the U.S. Open. However, a change of scenery was needed and he got back to his consistent play last week with a T10 at the Scottish Open. With the conditions likely to balance out driving distance and accuracy this week, it will be all about short game and there are few better than Smith. One key statistic for the week will be three-putt avoidance and Smith ranks 10th in the field in that category. Smith should contend for his first major championship yet again.
With the value taken for our favorite, we’re going to follow the steam for our midrange pick and tab Tommy Fleetwood at +3300. Fleetwood’s claim to fame has been his heroics in the Ryder Cup, but he wants to finally make a breakthrough on the individual stage. Fleetwood has not recorded a win since 2019, but he has rounded back into form this season with three top 20s and four top 10s, including a T4 just last week at the Scottish Open. Also, we mentioned short game, correct? Well, Fleetwood ranks 10th in strokes gained: around the green and sand save percentage, two crucial areas for success around the original links of Fife. In 2019, Shane Lowry ran away with it at Portrush, but look for Fleetwood to glean on his past success that year for this week.
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For a sleeper, we’re going to have fun with this pick and take rising star Brandon Wu at +35000. Similar to Chris Gotterup at the John Deere Classic, many golf fans are not aware of Wu, but might be after this week. He arrived on Tour after winning the Korn Ferry Tour Championship series in 2020 and is now enjoying his first full season in the top flight. The campaign was not kind to Wu through the end of February as he only made one cut, but since then, he’s shown promise with a T3 at the Puerto Rico Open, T2 at the Mexico Open and a T6 at last week’s Scottish Open. With only three missed cuts since the beginning of that run, he’s found his footing and should be able to capitalize on his last-minute qualification for The Open, the second appearance of his career (2019). Look for Wu to be relaxed on a course he can take advantage of and in a setting where the pressure is on everyone else.
2021-22 picks scoreboard:
Events: 34
Winners: 4
Top 5s: 10
Top 10s: 6
Top 20s: 3
Here are some notable odds, according to SI Sportsbook:
Rory McIlroy +1000
Xander Schauffele +1400
Jon Rahm +1600
Jordan Spieth +1600
Scottie Scheffler +1800
Matthew Fitzpatrick +1800
Justin Thomas +2000
Shane Lowry +2500
Collin Morikawa +2500
Will Zalatoris +2500
Cameron Smith +2500
Patrick Cantlay +2800
Dustin Johnson +3300
Tommy Fleetwood +3300
Tyrrell Hatton +3500
Sam Burns +4000
Brooks Koepka +4500
Louis Oosthuizen +4500
Viktor Hovland +4500
Joaquin Niemann +4500
Hideki Matsuyama +5000
Tony Finau +5000
Max Homa +5500
Justin Rose +6600
Sungjae Im +7500
Tiger Woods +8000
Ryan Fox +8000
Corey Conners +8000
Marc Leishman +8000
Bryson DeChambeau +9000
Paul Casey +9000
Seamus Power +9000
Abraham Ancer +10000
Billy Horschel +10000
Cameron Tringale +10000
Gary Woodland +10000
Mito Pereira +10000
Patrick Reed +10000
Robert MacIntyre +10000
Sergio Garcia +10000
Thomas Pieters +10000
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