Open Championship Betting Tips Guide

Updated: 5713 Golf

The Open Championship staged usually in mid July is the oldest of golf's four majors and like the US Open is hosted annually at alternative venues. We preview past stats and trends for betting pointers.

Open Championship Betting Tips Guide
James Banting Tipster Competition Assistant

James has worked for the jockey club and has 20 years sports betting experience he utilises his skills in our tipster competitions and writes sports betting content.

Open Championship Betting Tips Guide Information

The Open Championship Blog Content

How can I bet on the Golf ?

If you have not tried golf betting previously then before you start placing golf bets have a read of our golf betting advice guide which contains information to acquire a better understanding of how golf betting works. Our best bookmaker for golf guide contains the latest bookie offers and promotions which may enhance your golf betting experience. There are a variety of golf markets to bet on including Tournament Winner, First Round Leader, 72 Hole Match Betting, 72 Hole Group Betting, Top GB&IRE, Top European, Top American, Hole-In-One and many more.

If you are a successful golf bettor and would like to play the OLBG monthly golf tipster competition then why not add your golf betting tips, it is FREE to enter and there is £135 in monthly cash prizes up for grabs!

Who will win the 2024 Open Championship ?

Brian Harman is the defending Open Champion having registered his first major success at Royal Liverpool in 2023 at the age of 36. OLBG's golf tipsters provide Open Championship tips with analysis on the Outright Open Championship Winner market, plus selections on the various Open Championship golf markets including First Round Leader, Top European, Top GB & Ireland and Top American so check out the Open Championship golf tips before placing your Open golf bets.

Is the Open Championship Live on TV ?

The 152nd Open Championship is scheduled to be shown live on the dedicated Sky Sports Golf Channel in the U.K, tbc.

Open Championship Betting Preview

When is the 2024 Open Championship ?

The 2024 and 152nd Open Championship commences Thursday 18th July and concludes on Sunday 21st July.

Where is the 2024 Open Championship ?

The 2024 and 152nd Open Championship takes place at Royal Troon in South Ayrshire, Scotland.

Who are the favourites to win the 2024 Open Championship ?

The defending Open Champion is Brian Harman who also won his first major in the process at Royal Liverpool in 2023. Before deciding on your Open Championship selections, don't forget to check the Open Championship golf tips from OLBG's best performing golf tipsters over on the Best Golf Tipsters page.

Open Championship Venue

Similar to the US Open and US PGA Championship, the Open Championship is hosted annually at a different venue. The current roster includes ten links golf courses in the UK which are used in rotation, the only course to stage an Open Championship outside of England and Scotland is Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. 

The 152nd Open Championship returns to Royal Troon in Scotland for the 10th time and first since 2016 when Henrik Stenson lifted the 'claret jug' beating Phil Mickelson by a three stroke margin.

Royal Troon, Old Course

Distance: 7208 yards

Par: 71

Front 9, 3456 yards, Par 36:

  • Hole 1 'Seal'- 370 yards, Par 4
  • Hole 2 'Black Rock'- 391 yards, Par 4
  • Hole 3 'Gyaws' - 379 yards, Par 4
  • Hole 4 'Dunure' - 555 yards, Par 5
  • Hole 5 'Greenan' - 210 yards, Par 3
  • Hole 6 'Turnberry' - 601 yards, Par 5
  • Hole 7 'Tel-El-Kebir'- 405 yards, Par 4
  • Hole 8 'Postage Stamp' - 123 yards, Par 3
  • Hole 9 'The Monk' - 422 yards, Par 4

Back 9, 3752 yards, Par 35:

  • Hole 10 'Sandhills' - 452 yards, Par 4
  • Hole 11 'The Railway' - 483 yards, Par 4
  • Hole 12 - 429 yards, Par 4
  • Hole 13 'Burmah'- 473 yards, Par 4
  • Hole 14 'Alton' - 178 yards, Par 3
  • Hole 15 'Crosbie' - 502 yards, Par 4
  • Hole 16 'Well' - 553 yards, Par 5
  • Hole 17 'Rabbit' - 218 yards, Par 3
  • Hole 18 'Craigend' - 464 yards, Par 4

Hole 11 named 'The Railway' plays the most difficult on the Old Course at Royal Troon with a stroke index of 1. For a more detailed look at the course layout with a hole by hole description and visual tour head over to the official Royal Troon website.

Royal Troon, Best Open Championship Score 

  • 264 (-20) - Henrik Stenson (2016)

Open Championship Winners and Scores at Royal Troon (since 2000)

YearChampionScore
2004Todd Hamilton (USA)274 (-10)
2016Henrik Stenson (SWE)264 (-20)

2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon (Top Ten)

PositionGolferScore
1stHenrik Stenson (SWe)264 (-20)
2ndPhil Mickelson (USA)267 (-17)
3rdJ B Holmes (USA)278 (-6)
4thSteve Stricker (USA)279 (-5)
T5Sergio Garcia (ESP)280 (-4)
T5Tyrrell Hatton (ENG)280 (-4)
T5Rory McIlroy (NIR)280 (-4)
8thAndrew Johnston (ENG)281 (-3)
T9Bill Haas (USA)282 (-2)
T9Dustin Johnson (USA)282 (-2)
T9Soren Kjeldsen (DEN)282 (-2)

The Open Championship Last Ten Winners

As already mentioned the Open Championship is annually hosted by a roster of ten links golf courses so the tournament travels around the United Kingdom meaning recent previous course form may be sparse. However, it is still worth noting the previous winners roll of honour as this highlights players who generally perform well on links courses and are proven major winners.

Here is a table showing the last ten Open Championship winners, their nationality and world ranking at the time of winning:

YearChampionVenue
2023Brian Harman (USA) (26)Royal Liverpool, England
2022Cameron Smith (AUS) (6)St Andrews, Scotland
2021Collin Morikawa (USA) (4)Royal St Georges, England
2019Shane Lowry (IRE) (33)Royal Portrush, N. Ireland
2018Francesco Molinari (ITA) (15)Carnoustie, Scotland
2017Jordan Spieth (USA) (3)Royal Birkdale, England
2016Henrik Stenson (SWE) (6)Royal Troon, Scotland
2015Zach Johnson (USA) (25)St Andrews, Scotland
2014Rory McIlroy (NIR) (8)Royal Liverpool, England
2013Phil Mickelson (USA) (5)Muirfield, Scotland

*2020 There was no Open Championship staged due to the covid pandemic.

Nationality

Europe

  • Scotland have been the most successful European nation with 41 wins however it's only two since 1920 (Sandy Lyle 1985 & Paul Lawrie 1999).
  • 82 of the 151 Open Championships have been won by a European golfer, that's a 54% success rate.

USA 

  • The winning most single nation, also providing five of the last ten Open Championship winners.
  • 46/151 (30%) have been won by a player from the USA.

Rest of The World

  • South Africa have provided ten wins in this category.
  • 23/151 (15%) have been won by a player from a continent excluding North America and Europe.

World Ranking

  • 10/10 were ranked in the world's top 35 heading into the Open
  • 8/10 were ranked inside the world's top 25
  • 6/10 were ranked inside the world's top 10

Current Form

  • All ten winners had a top 5 finish within their last 7 tour events, 8 of the last 9 winners had a top 5 within their last 3 events.
  • Eight of the last ten winners had won a tour event earlier in the year, the two exceptions were Zach Johnson (2015) and Brian Harman (2023).
  • Five of the last nine winners finished in the top 8 at the US PGA Championship, the 2nd, 3rd & T4 in 2022 finished in the Top 8 at the PGA Champ.
  • Four winners since 2000 have won the US PGA Championship in the same season (Woods x 2, McIlroy & Harrington), 2021 Open Championship winner Collin Morikawa won the PGA Championship in 2020.

2023 US PGA Championship Result

Here are the top 8 finishers and scores including ties at the 2023 PGA Championship which took place between the 18th and 21st May at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York. The number in brackets after the player is their world ranking prior to the PGA Championship:

RankPlayerScore
1stBrooks Koepka (44)271 (-9)
T2Viktor Hovland (11)273 (-7)
T2Scottie Scheffler (2)273 (-7)
T4Cameron Davis (68)277 (-3)
T4Bryson DeChambeau (214)277 (-3)
T4Kurt Kitayama (21)277 (-3)
T7Rory McIlroy (3)278 (-2)
T7Sepp Straka (40)278 (-2)

Major Record

  • Eight of the last ten winners had all finished in the top 9 at a previous Open Championship, the exceptions being Cameron Smith in 2022 and the 2021 winner Collin Morikawa was making his Open debut.
  • Six winners since 2016 were winning their first major, Colin Morikawa being the exception.
  • No defending champion has won since Padraig Harrington (2008)

Head over to the official Open Championship website for more historical stats on the Open Championship.

Official World Golf Rankings - Top 30

Nine of the last ten Open Championship winners were ranked inside the world's top 30 in the Official World Golf Rankings and the 2019 winner Shane Lowry was just outside at number 33. 

Here are the top 30 players in the OWGR (correct at 18th July 2023):

1. Scottie Scheffler (Age 26)

  • Major Titles: 1
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T8 (2021)T2 PGA Champ (May 23)Players Champ (Mar 23)T2

2. Rory McIlroy (Age 33) 

  • Major Titles: 4
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
Won (2014)Won Scottish Open (Jul 23)Scottish Open (Jul 23)T7

3. Jon Rahm (Age 28) 

  • Major Titles: 2
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T3 (2021)Won Masters (Apr 23)Masters (Apr 23)T50

4. Patrick Cantlay (Age 30) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T8 (2022)3rd RBC Heritage (Apr 23)BMW Champ (Aug 22)T9

5. Viktor Hovland (Age 25) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T4 (2022)Won Memorial (Jun 23)Memorial (Jun 23)T2

6. Xander Schauffele (Age 29) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T2 (2018)2nd Wells Fargo (May 23)Scottish Open (Jul 22)T18

7. Cameron Smith (Age 29)

  • Major Titles: 1
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
Won (2022)Won LIV London (Jul 23)LIV London (Jul 23)T9

8. Max Homa (Age 32) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T10 (2023)T8 Wells Fargo (May 23)Farmers Ins Open (Jan 23)T55

9. Matt Fitzpatrick (Age 28) 

  • Major Titles: 1
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T20 (2019)T9 Memorial (Jun 23)RBC Heritage (Apr 23)MC

10. Wyndham Clark (Age 29)

  • Major Titles: 1
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T33 (2023)Won US Open (Jun 23)US Open (Jun 23)MC
60% from the Top 10 in the world rankings

6 of the last 10 Open Championship winners were ranked in the top ten in world (OWGR).

11. Jordan Spieth (Age 29) 

  • Major Titles: 3
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
Won (2017)2nd RBC Heritage (Apr 23)RBC Heritage (Apr 22)T29

12. Brooks Koepka (Age 33)

  • Major Titles: 5
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T4 (2019)Won PGA Champ (May 23)PGA Champ (May 23)Won

13. Tyrrell Hatton (Age 31)

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T5 (2016)T3 Canadian Open (Jun 23)Abu Dhabi Champ (Jan 21)T15

14. Will Zalatoris (Age 26) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T28 (2022)4th Genesis Inv (Feb 23)St Jude Champ (Aug 22)DNP

15. Keegan Bradley (Age 36) 

  • Major Titles: 1
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T15 (2013)Won Travelers Champ (Jun 23)Travelers Champ (Jun 23)T29

16. Tony Finau (Age 32) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
3rd (2019)Won Mexico Open (Apr 23)Mexico Open (Apr 23)T72

17. Sam Burns (Age 26)

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T42 (2022)T6 Charles Schwab (May 23)WGC Match Play (Mar 23)MC

18. Cameron Young (Age 25) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
2nd (2022)T6 John Deere (Jul 23)Evans Scholars Inv (May 21)MC

19. Collin Morikawa (Age 26) 

  • Major Titles: 2
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
Won (2021)T2 Rocket Mortgage (Jul 23)DP World Tour Champ (Nov 21)T26

20. Justin Thomas (Age 29)

  • Major Titles: 2
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T11 (2019)T9 Travelers Champ (Jun 23)PGA Champ (May 22)T65
80% came from the Top 25 players in the world rankings

8 of the last 10 Open Championship winners were ranked in the top 25 in the world (OWGR).

21. Tommy Fleetwood (Age 32) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
2nd (2019)2nd Canadian Open (Jun 23)Nedbank Challenge (Nov 22)T18

22. Rickie Fowler (Age 34) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T2 (2014)Won Rocket Mortgage (Jul 23)Rocket Mortgage (Jul 23)MC

23. Sungjae Im (Age 24) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T20 (2023)T24 Rocket Mortgage (Jul 23)Woori Champ (May 23)MC

24. Tom Kim (Age 20)

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T2 (2023)T6 Scottish Open (Jul 23)Shriners Children's Open (Oct 22)MC

25. Kurt Kitayama (Age 30)

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T60 (2023)T4 PGA Champ (May 23)Arnold Palmer (Mar 23)T4

26. Brian Harman (Age 36)

  • Major Titles: 1
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
Won (2023)T2 Travelers Champ (Jun 23)Open Champ (Jul 23)MC

27. Jason Day (Age 35) 

  • Major Titles: 1
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T2 (2023)Won Byron Nelson (May 23)Byron Nelson (May 23)MC

28. Sepp Straka (Age 30) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T2 (2023)Won John Deere (Jul 23)Jon Deere (Jul 23)T7

29. Shane Lowry (Age 35) 

  • Major Titles: 1
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
Won (2019)T12 Scottish Open (Jul 23)BMW PGA Champ (Sep 22)T12

30. Corey Conners (Age 31) 

  • Major Titles: 0
Open BestLast 7 EventsLast Win2023 PGA
T15 (2021)T8 Wells Fargo (May 23)Texas Open (Apr 23)T12

Author Information

James Banting writes the words and maintains the data for this Open Championship Betting Tips Guide. As Tipster Competition assistant James works closely with our Golf Tipsters, settling bets and ensuring accuracy in all results which are also utilised in the updates for all the Golf Previews on OLBG

James Banting

James Banting

Tipster competition assistant

James is a knowledgeable sports betting specialist with over 20 years of experience in the sports betting industry. Today James focuses on producing informative betting content on the major sporting events throughout the year in Horse Racing and Tennis, as well as contributing to our Cricket and Golf Content.

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