Open Championship Betting Tips: Golf Betting Tips

The world’s oldest and most prestigious major returns to Royal Birkdale this weekend for the first time since Jordan Spieth’s memorable success in 2017.

Scottie Scheffler will be favoured to successfully defend the Open Championship that he won 12 months ago. The Open boasts a purse of $17 million, with the world-class field getting their first taste of the Merseyside course when the opening round gets underway on Thursday.

Scheffler will be hoping to hold off a strong European challenge, headed by Masters champ Rory McIlroy and FedEx Cup hero Tommy Fleetwood. You can find our golf tips for the 2026 Open Championship here.

It could be the 45th time lucky for Tommy Fleetwood this weekend, as the Englishman looks to finally break his major hoodoo. It is effectively a home game for Fleetwood this weekend, with The Open being staged in his backyard on Merseyside.

The 35-year-old has come agonisingly short in the events throughout his career, including runner-up finishes at the 2018 U.S. Open and 2019 Open Championship. His record in this weekend’s event is strong, making the cut in seven of eleven attempts, and finishing in the top ten on three of his previous six.

After being crowned FedEx Cup champion at the end of last season, Fleetwood has continued to thrive in 2019, achieving top-ten finishes in six of his 15 starts. Recent form also reads strong, taking T13 at last weekend’s Scottish Open after a T14 at the Travelers Championship and a T11 at the U.S. Open.

Viktor Hovland appears to be the value each-way play in the betting this weekend. The Norwegian has made the cut in 12 of his 15 starts this season, and has already won over $6 million in prize money.

Hovland has finished in the top ten on three starts, with his win at last month’s Travelers Championship still fresh in the memory. His consistency since missing the cut at the PGA Championship has been eye-catching, finishing third at the Canadian Open and following up his win in June with a solid T13 at the Scottish Open.

The 28-year-old’s best previous showing at The Open came in 2022 when he finished T4, but he has made the cut on four of his five starts at the world’s oldest major.

As is typically the case with the majors, there is always value across the board. Cameron Young to finish in the top 10 looks like a standout play. The American has made the cut on all 14 starts this season, and he has already racked up two victories along with six top-tens.

His recent form is the biggest concern, having finished outside of the top 20 on his last four efforts since claiming T10 at the Truist Championship. However, it is worth noting that between that event and the Genesis Invitational in February, Young finished inside the top 10 on six of seven attempts.

His performances in majors since the start of last season have also been reliable, finishing T4 at the 2025 U.S. Open and T3 at this year’s Masters.

• Rory McIlroy 8/1
• Scottie Scheffler 8/1
• Tommy Fleetwood 14/1
• Matt Fitzpatrick 14/1
• Jon Rahm 22/1
• Xander Schauffele 25/1
• Chris Gotterup 30/1
• Robert MacIntyre 30/1
• Justin Rose 30/1
• Collin Morikawa

A number of former champions will be available at bigger odds for The Open Championship this week, including Shane Lowry (50/1), Jordan Spieth (66/1), and Cameron Smith (125/1).