2024 British Open Picks: Sleepers & Longshot Bets

by Bo McBrayer |
Jul 16, 2024

The 2024 PGA Tour season started off with an onslaught of longshot winners. It has since turned into a relentless chalk-fest of Scottie Scheffler and a gaggle of other favorites owning Sundays. Those betting favorites have a strong chance to hoist the Claret Jug this week at Royal Troon, but itâ€™s hardly a foregone conclusion. The Open Championship crowns the â€œChampion Golfer of the Year.â€ It meant glory for longshot Brian Harman last year and many times over in 151 iterations of the oldest major in golf.

Royal Troon is a tricky devil, especially when the Scottish squalls lurk from the North Atlanticâ€™s summery waters. The preferred golfer to win here is a wizard on and around the green, while remaining collected as a ball striker in varying conditions. Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson dueled here in 2016, trading masterful displays of short game to the end. There are quite a few such tacticians teeing it up at odds at 100-1 or greater. The ones I am favoring on my personal betting slips are featured below.

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2024 Open Championship Odds & Picks: Sleepers & Longshot Bets

(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)

Akshay Bhatia

I canâ€™t stress it enough. Akshay Bhatia is a golf prodigy. To have the ability to cash in on a blossoming star in his Open debut at 90-1 odds is stealing. Iâ€™m also very confident that his fit with the layout at Royal Troon is too good to be true. Add in his incredible form on approach and around the green in difficult scoring conditions and Bhatia is an overwhelming value this week. He is a shot-shaping savant, savvy enough to navigate daunting changes in wind. He has won us a lot of money already this season (and last). Donâ€™t be late to the party.

Sam Burns

I really like the fit between Sam Burnsâ€™ style of play and the layout at Royal Troon. Burns is a really good wind player whose only moderate weakness has been on approach this season. He has an outstanding short game and is among the best in the field at avoiding bogeys and converting birdies or better. How someone of Burnsâ€™ ilk slips to 110-1 to win outright is beyond me. I am also tempted to try his top-10 (+900) and top-20 (+360) lines.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout

There arenâ€™t many golfers on this planet better at getting up and down for par than Christiaan Bezuidenhout. The South African is in the top half of this field in every single metric that composes my weighted statistical model. His elite short game is matched by very strong form in making birdies and avoiding bogeys in difficult scoring conditions. Bez has five top-10 finishes in 2024 and was 32nd at the US Open with similar stressors on chipping and putting around Pinehurst. He is 120-1 to win outright, but his market is very favorable on placement bets as well.

Victor Perez

Vive la France. Victor Perez was outstanding at the Renaissance Club last week, firing a final round 65 to finish 10th. Even though the Frenchman has missed the weekend in both major starts in 2024, the Open Championship grind fits his play style well. He has no weaknesses in any stat, but his acumen on approach and around the green is exemplary. Royal Troon is very much a second and third shot course. Perez is a steal at 200-1 outright with a healthy payout for top 20 (+500), top 30 (+280), and top 40 (+160).

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