An Early Look At British Open Futures Odds & Picks
The oldest championship event on the PGA Tour schedule will run from July 18th through the 21st when the best in the world compete in The Open Championship at Royal Portrush. This year's tournament will mark the 148th Open, with $10.5 million in prize money as well as the prestigious Claret Jug on the line.
Let's take a look at the early futures to narrow down a few favorites and a few long-shots that might be worth a bet:
The Favorites
Brooks Koepka
Odds To Win British Open: +800 at PointsBet
At this point, it's simply impossible to overlook Koepka in majors. The veteran produced back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Masters and the US Open. Now he has a chance to chase his third victory of the season and second major championship win of 2019.
He's played well at British Opens in the past, finishing in a tie for sixth in 2017 and in a tie for 10th in 2015. Overall, he's now finished first or second five of the last six majors and finished 13th or better in 13 of his last 15 majors. He figures to be in the running for another win at Portrush.
Dustin Johnson
Odds To Win British Open: +1200 at PointsBet
Johnson has never won the British Open but there are still plenty of reasons to expect him to contend at this year's tournament. The 35-year-old is in the prime of his career and playing some of his best golf ever. While he has yet to win a major this season, he was the runner-up at both the Masters and the PGA Championship. He's been close plenty of times, though, with Top 10s in eight of his 13 starts, including the win at the WGC-Mexico Championship.
Justin Rose
Odds To Win British Open: +1600 at PointsBet
Rose should be brimming with confidence following a third-place finish at the US Open in June. The South African has six Top 10 finishes in 12 events this year, including a win at the Farmers Insurance Open. Another talented golfer chasing his first ever win at the British Open, Rose is perhaps the best value of the betting favorites at +1600 odds to win outright. If you feel it's a bit risky, a Top 10 prop is obviously a safer play but one that should payout.
The Longshots
Xander Schauffele
Odds To Win British Open: +2500 at PointsBet
Schauffele is a player that's on the rise on the PGA Tour and he could be ready to make his mark at The Open this year. Taking a look at his current season, he has just five Top 10s but two came at the majors with a second-place result at The Masters and a third-place finish at the U.S. Open. And while he only has five Top 10s, if you expand those to Top 16, he's finished in that range in 10 of his last 14 starts, so he hasn't been too far off the pace.
I really like how he performs at the majors as he's now placed in the Top 6 in five of his 10 major appearances. That includes a second-place finish at The Open last year.
Hideki Matsuyama
Odds To Win British Open: +3500 at PointsBet
Matsuyama's price tag ranges depending on the sportsbook that you are looking at. However, you can get him as high as +4200 to win the British Open right now. That is outstanding value for a golfer that has started to show signs of life, including a sixth-place finish at the Memorial. I don't think he's a guy who wins this outright but you're going to get decent value on Top 10 and matchup props with him.
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Dave Golokhov is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Dave, check out his archive and follow him @davegolokhov.