It’s the oldest and best week in major golf. Another big four-year cycle comes to an end with The Open at Royal Birkdale, and it’s our last chance to pick a winner.
Course form doesn’t quite go out the window this week, but Birkdale is a very different beast in 2026 to the layout where Branden Grace broke the men’s major scoring record and Jordan Spieth went on the most electric six-hole stretch in Open history in 2017.
There’s a new par 3 15th and the previous 15th has been redesigned as a new 14th hole. The 5th has been completely redesigned, while the 7th has also been radically altered to become a short par 3 with a raised green.
It’s 67 yards longer, weighing in this time at 7,223 yards, but the changes to the inward stretch mean the destination of the Claret Jug will be decided in new surroundings on Sunday.
So who are the main contenders? Who’s the most likely to be adding a major title to their resume? Let’s look at our Open betting tips for 2026…
The Open Betting 2026
Venue: Royal Birkdale, Southport, England
Date: July 16-19, 2026
Course stats: Par 70, 7,223 yards
Defending champion: Scottie Scheffler (-17)
XANDER SCHAUFFELE @ 18/1
The 2025 PGA Championship must have been a difficult week for Xander Schauffele. That’s if you call tied-28th difficult. But if you layer it into the American’s major performances, it’s sticks out like a sore thumb – because it was the only time since the 2022 Masters that he failed to post a top 20 finish in one of golf’s big four competitions.
Schauffele is every golfer’s idea of an each-way banker and with terms at these tournaments sometimes going down to as low as 10th, you can see why. You’d already have cashed in at the Masters (T9) and the PGA Championship (T7) this year, and only just missed out at the US Open (T11).
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Having won The Open at Royal Troon in 2024 and putting together a very creditable defence when tied 7th at Royal Portrush last year, Schauffele was tied 20th when The Open visited Royal Birkdale nearly a decade ago.
Tied 17th at Royal Liverpool, Schauffele is a now very different golfer to the player who was in the frame for so many years before winning two majors in 2024.
While he has not won in 2026 so far, two top 5s, five top 10s and 9 top 25s show a consistency of performance that suggest that drought must end soon. Maybe it will come at Royal Birkdale.
WYNDHAM CLARK @ 33/1
Here’s a question for you. Who was the last player to win back-to-back major championships? No, it’s not Rory McIlroy – though he did manage it in 2014. It’s not Scottie Scheffler, either.
It is Jordan Spieth, who claimed the 2015 Masters and then won the US Open at Chambers Bay as he threatened a single year Grand Slam (he was a pitch shot away from getting into a playoff at St Andrews at The Open).
Perhaps this is why you can find Wyndham Clark widely available at 33/1 with the oddsmakers. It’s a big price for a player who led wire-to-wire at Shinnecock Hills.
It looks even bigger if you go back 12 months to Royal Portrush, where Clark was tied 4th – the first time he had really shown any Open form (2022 T76; 2023 T33; 2024 CUT).
Clark’s second US Open title was his second win of 2026, following the Byron Nelson in May, and is also sandwiched between a 3rd place finish at The Memorial and tied-5th at the Travelers Championship.
This is a player bang in form and while it’s a big ask to claim two majors on the bounce, the current odds look a bit on the big side. It’s a small each-way bet for me, but it is some Open betting I will be doing.
VIKTOR HOVLAND @ 28/1
Also sitting at double carpet with the bookies is a player who surged back into the winner’s circle when taking down Scottie Scheffler at the Travelers Championship.
Viktor Hovland has been the nearly man in majors – back-to-back top 3s at the PGA Championship in 2023 and 2024 the nearest the Norwegian has come.
Tied 18th at the Masters is his best finish this year in the elite events and missed cuts at the PGA Championship and the US Open don’t necessarily inspire huge confidence.
But he does have some Open form in the locker, having tied for 4th when Cameron Smith ran past Rory at St Andrews in 2022 and recording a top 20 at Royal Liverpool the following year.
And in between some patchy form on the PGA Tour was that Travelers success and a third placed finish at the RBC Canadian Open. If he brings that swing to Birkdale, his brand of ball-striking could pay dividends.
Any bigger priced suggestions?
As I write this, Tom Kim is busy ripping up Renaissance and this price might disappear. He also may fade in the Scottish Open but that won’t influence my decision here. At prices around 66/1 for a player who has very finished third in the US Open, he is on my list. Kim has played in one Open in England – at Hoylake in 2023 – and finished tied 2nd.
There will be plenty of money for his brother, but Alex Fitzpatrick (50/1) has had a breakout year – winning on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour – and could reward a small each-way investment. He finished 17th in his only appearance at The Open at Hoylake in 2023.
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Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour hasn’t been without its difficulties. He’s managed only one top 10 since coming back from LIV and that will be much of the reason why you can find prices above 40/1 in the markets.
Form is temporary, so they say, and this is a five-time major champion we are talking about. Go back far enough and you’ll find tied 4th and tied 6th finishes in The Open in 2019 and 2021.
Open betting tips: What about the home hopes?
Tommy Fleetwood was perhaps overawed by the hometown hero tag nine years ago. His Royal Birkdale homecoming was punctured by an opening 76. But a third round 66 showed what was possible and the Southport native was in much better shape at Royal Liverpool in 2023.
He couldn’t hunt down winner Brian Harman that day but the pressures of being the one the crowd want to win – expect lots of shouts of ‘come on Tommy lad’ – are now something we know he can handle.
That’s priced into his odds, and 14/1 may be on the short side for some of you, but five top 20s in his last six starts on the PGA Tour will encourage many of you to believe that his time is coming.
Justin Rose returns to the place it all began. Who can forget that miraculous chip in at the 18th in 1998 when he finished tied 4th and the low amateur?
The Open has probably been the major he’s found the most difficult but he’s still had his chances to win the Claret Jug (T6 2015; T2 2018; T2 2024). Rose will turn 46 at the end of this month but shows no sign of slowing down and could have won the Masters in April.
On the back of an emotional TV documentary (if you haven’t watched it, do so) there will be plenty of you willing him on to add to the US Open title he won in 2013. He’s 25/1.
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It wasn’t quite a midlife crisis, but Rory McIlroy reassessed his priorities following his career Grand Slam success at the Masters in 2025. Only three players had ever successfully kept hold of the green jacket before the Northern Irishman joined that illustrious group of Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods in April.
He was in the frame for a while at The PGA Championship too, before fading over the weekend at Shinnecock Hills.
The Masters remains his only victory of the year but I wonder if the 37-year-old is starting to focus all his attention now on adding to the six major titles already in his possession.
I’m not too worried about the weather now – I think Rory has got the game to cope with the winds and vagaries of links golf. While 7/1 is on the short side, three top 10s in the last four Claret Jugs mean you can never rule him out of Open betting considerations.
Visit Betway for the latest odds on the Open Championship
Now have your say
Who do you think is going to have a big week at The Open? Who will you be backing? Let us know your Open betting tips in the comments, or get in touch on X. If you are having a flutter, please remember to gamble responsibly.
- NOW READ: Can Royal Birkdale still stand up to modern power ahead of the Open Championship?
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