Who will win the 152nd Open Championship?: Best bets and predictions from Royal Troon

If the first three Majors across the Pond are a reliable benchmark, then the first page of the leaderboard should once again be dominated by the world’s top-ranked players, although, as ever, there is bound to be room for a few surprise candidates putting their name into the mix come Sunday afternoon.

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With that in mind, we’re exploring the prospects of some of the usual suspects, as well as a healthy sprinkling of less-fancied candidates, who might just be primed to enjoy their weekend on the Ayrshire coast.

Scottie Scheffler (11/2)  

Scottie Scheffler’s domination of world golf has been relentless this year, and only an uncharacteristic blip at the US Open has interrupted 12 straight top ten finishes, which have included six wins and two runner-up spots.

His wins at the Arnold Palmer, the Players, the Masters, the RBC Heritage, the Memorial, and last time out at the Travelers, make up a high-profile honours board that most players cannot match in an entire career, never mind in the space of four months.

The world number one swerved his chance to warm up at the Scottish Open last week, but is clearly a worthy short-priced favourite to add another Major to his two Green Jackets from Augusta.

Rory McIlroy (15/2)  

Rory McIlroy won his first Major 13 years ago, but it is a decade since his fourth and most recent title, and he now has to to cope with the additional self-inflicted damage caused by the two short putts he missed in the closing holes at Pinehurst, which gifted the US Open title to Bryson DeChambeau last month.

That said, his overall game is clearly in great shape, as he bounced back to secure a very creditable fourth at last weekend’s Scottish Open, which sits well with his back-to-back successes at the Zurich Classic pairs and the Wells Fargo in May, while his record of six top-six finishes from his last eight Open Championships is second to none. 

Suggested best bet: Rory McIlroy each-way in the 2024 Open Championship

Ludvig Aberg (14/1)  

Having shone when coming second on his Major debut at the Masters in April, the blossoming talent of Ludvig Aberg has continued to delight golfing galleries on both sides of the Atlantic..

Apart from missing the cut at the PGA in May, the Swedish sensation has never been far from the business end of the leaderboard this term, and although he was unable to hold on to his third-round lead at The Renaissance Club last weekend, his fourth-placed finish proved that his game can adapt easily to the demands of links golf.

Xander Schauffele (12/1)  

Xander Schauffele finally landed his maiden Major success at this year’s PGA Championship (and his first win anywhere in two years), and the way he toughed it out to finish seventh at the US Open last month suggests that win might just have opened the floodgates for more Major success.

The reigning Olympic champion’s game is in as good shape as it was when he finished runner-up behind Francesco Molinari in his second Open at Carnoustie six years ago, and although unable to make the top ten since, his top-15 12-under-par performance at the Scottish Open suggests he is ready for a serious assault on Troon’s links test.

Bryson DeChambeau (16/1)  

Love him or loathe him, Bryson DeChambeau has been pure golfing box office at this year’s Majors, in which he has been by far the most consistent performer, emerging as the leading flagbearer for the LIV Tour.

Sixth at the Masters and runner-up at the PGA Championship, his prodigious ball-striking power and silky touch around the green earned him his second US Open at Pinehurst last month, albeit with a little help from Rory McIlroy’s putting woes in the final few holes.

He has been in top form all season, and he arrives in good shape after coming ninth in LIV’s Andalucia event last weekend, his sixth top-ten finish in ten 2024 outings on the breakaway Tour.

Collin Morikawa (16/1)  

Since memorably winning this tournament at the first attempt at Royal St George’s in 2021, Collin Morikawa failed to make it to the weekend on his two subsequent appearances, but all the signs are that he is ready to make his presence known again at Royal Troon.

After struggling for early-season form, Morikawa has become a consistent contender without winning this season, kicking off with a third-place finish at Augusta, fourth at the PGA and another four top-10 finishes, including last weekend when he almost forced his way to the top of the leaderboard before eventually tying for fourth at the Scottish Open.

Suggested best bet: Collin Morikawa each-way in the 2024 Open Championship

Robert Macintyre (28/1) 

After struggling to adjust to life on the USPGA Tour, Robert Macintyre’s win at the Canadian Open appears to have opened the floodgates, and he confirmed his emergence as a world golfing force when birdie-ing the last to land Scottish Open at the weekend.

That home-soil victory must have tasted all the sweeter after seeing last year’s title snatched away by Rory McIlroy doing the same at the last, and Bobby Mac won’t be unaware that the only other golfer to lift the Claret Jug after also winning the Scottish Open was another left-hander, Phil Mickelson, back in 2013.

His odds have been slashed since winning at The Renaissance Club, but the popular Scot is in the kind of form that could give locals more to cheer about on Sunday afternoon. 

Tommy Fleetwood (20/1)  

Tommy Fleetwood is in the midst of one of the most consistent campaigns of his career, despite failing to add to the Dubai Invitational that he won on season debut back in January.

His third place in the Masters gave an indication of his readiness to land a first Major, and although his Scottish Open challenge faded with a disappointing one-over-par final round, he has made the top 12 in four of his last five Open Championships, and there wouldn't be a more popular winner of the Claret Jug than Tommy Lad.

Jon Rahm (25/1)  

Since his contentious winter move to the breakaway LIV Tour, Jon Rahm has become something of golf’s forgotten man, with poor showings at this year’s Masters title defence (45th) and the PGA (missed cut), while a foot injury prevented him from lining up at the US Open.

Those performances belie the fact that he has made the top ten in all nine of his LIV events so far this season, putting him second in the overall LIV rankings (behind Joaquin Niemann), and the Spaniard will relish this tilt at winning his first Claret Jug, having come third in 2021 and a distant runner-up behind Brian Harman 12 months ago.

Suggested best bet: Jon Rahm each-way in the 2024 Open Championship

Tyrrell Hatton (22/1)  

Tyrrell Hatton’s on-course antics are always an entertaining watch, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that behind the occasional expletive outbursts is a very consistent golfer who is sitting fourth in the LIV Tour rankings after finishing third in Andalucia last weekend, just three weeks after winning the Nashville event.

Hatton has been equally solid in his Major outings without putting himself in the frame (closest was ninth at the Masters), and he has finished in the top 20 in three of his last four Open Championship outings.

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Others to watch  

We’ve also added a handful of less obvious contenders, all of whom are perfectly capable of keeping pace with the golfing elite listed above:

• Viktor Hovland (28/1) - All is still not quite right in the Norwegian’s camp, but he has been making enough headway over the last few months to suggest his A-game is not far away from clicking into gear.
• Shane Lowry (35/1) - Ninth at the Travelers last time out and there or thereabouts all season, the 2019 Open champion loves links golf and will be keen to make up for missing the cut a year ago.
• Tom Kim (40/1) - Just missed out to Scottie Scheffler in a play-off at the Travelers three weeks ago, and after coming runner-up at Liverpool last year, he looked equally at home on the Scottish links with a score of 12-under last weekend.
• Sahith Theegala (45/1) - Missed the cut here a year ago, but has been on his game all season, and he won’t be far away if he can keep up with the likes of Morikawa, Aberg and McIlroy at the Scottish Open, with whom he tied for fourth at the Scottish Open. 
• Adam Scott (55/1) - Has struggled to feature often on the first page of leaderboards, but his game was spot on when coming runner-up at the Renaissance Club at the weekend, with only Macintyre’s last-hole birdie depriving the Aussie of a play-off after a stellar four days.
• Matt Fitzpatrick (50/1) - Not at his best so far this season, occasional flashes when coming fifth at the Players and the Memorial have shown that the spark is still there, and he certainly has the game to do better than his previous Open record would suggest. 

Suggested best bet: Tom Kim each-way in the 2024 Open Championship

The above shortlist of 18 high-profile contenders has still barely made a dent in the number of potential winners among this stellar line-up, but it would be quite literally a Major surprise if at least half of them were not still in contention on Sunday. 

All listed prices are from Planet Sport Bet and are correct at time of article publication, but could be subject to change