The golfing world is in for a treat this week as the 149th Open Championship is scheduled to be played between Thursday, July 15 to Sunday, July 18. Also known as the 2021 British Open, the Open Championship is one of golf’s four major tournaments and will be played at the Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent, England for the first time since 2011.
According to BetOnline, Jon Rahm is favored to win this year’s Open Championship at +800 odds. Rahm has been one of the best golfers in the world as of late, having proved that by winning the 2021 U.S. Open back on June 20. Out of the 18 events that he’s competed in this season, he’s finished top-10 in 11 of them, which demonstrates his ability to come up big when the pressure is at its highest.
Rahm has also competed at the British Open four times in the past. While he’s yet to win he did finish T-11th the last time the tournament was held in 2019. Considering how that’s been his best performance at the event yet, look for Rahm to try and lost even longer as he heads to England this week to capture his second major championship of the year.
2021 Open Championship Odds
Odds via BetOnline as of Monday, July 12
- Jon Rahm (+800)
- Brooks Koepka (+1600)
- Rory McIlroy (+1600)
- Jordan Spieth (+1800)
- Justin Thomas (+1800)
- Xander Schauffele (+1800)
- Dustin Johnson (+2000)
- Bryson DeChambeau (+2800)
- Louis Oosthuizen (+2800)
- Tyrrell Hatton (+2800)
- Viktor Hovland (+2800)
Full odds list available at BetOnline.ag.
Koepka, McIlroy Have Second-Best Odds to Win British Open
When it comes to the Open Championship, both Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy shared the second-best odds to win it at +1600. For Koepka, this would be his first time winning the British Open. While he’s never won it in the past, he does have three top-10 performances in his last four times competing at the tournament, including when he finished T-4th in 2019 and T-6th in 2017. Koepka has also finished top-5 in three of his last four tournaments this tour, which is why he should be a name to watch this week.
On the other hand, McIlroy actually is someone who has won the Open Championship before. He defeated both Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia by two strokes to capture the championship back in 2014. He’s finished T-5th, T-4th and T-2nd in the British Open tournaments that he’s competed since his championship victory, which shows that McIlroy typically performs well at the event. If he’s successful, this will be McIlroy’s first tournament victory since winning the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship back in May.
Can Lowry Pull Off Another Shocking Victory?
Not a lot of people expected Irishman Shane Lowry to win the 2019 Open Championship, however, that’s exactly what he did. After defeated Tommy Fleetwood by six strokes to win two years ago, Lowry’s odds to do it again in 2021 sit at +4000. Those are far from favorable odds, but nothing is impossible in the world of golf. Nevertheless, it’s tough to predict how he’ll perform this week. Before winning last year’s British Open, Lowry failed to make the cut in four straight appearances at the event. Prior to that, he finished T-9th in 2014.
In terms of the current tour, he does have some solid performances under his belt. While Lowry hasn’t won in 2021, he does have three top-10 performances in his last five outings. Nevertheless, he also has two T-65th performances in that span, so it truly is hard to predict how he’ll do this week.
