2021 Open Championship - PGA Picks, Odds & Betting Predictions
Last Updated: 07/13/2021 at 10:49 AM ET
The fourth and final golf major of the year will be played this week when the 149th Open Championship tees off Thursday at Royal St Georges in Sandwich, Kent, England. The last two times The Open, also known as the British Open, was played at this venue, longshots Darren Clark in 2011 and Ben Curtis in 2003 were the winners. Reigning US Open champion Jon Rahm (+750) is the betting favorite to lift the Claret Jug as the winner on Sunday.
This is the 15th time The Open has been played at Royal St. Georges but the first since Clarke won in 2011. The course is a 7,211-yard par 70. Located just north of Dover and sitting between the North Sea and English Channel, Royal St. Georges has difficult undulating terrain, deep bunkers and several dunes. Six of the course’s 12 par 4s are between 400 and 450 yards long, while two par 3 are more than 230 yards in length.
Many of the players at the top of the world rankings will tee off Thursday. Jordan Smith and Rory McIlroy are two of several elite players looking to break winning droughts in majors. McIlroy has not won a major in seven years and Spieth has not won a major since 2017. Rahm will look for his second straight major after winning the U.S. Open last month. Dustin Johnson won the Masters in April but has not been in good form since.
Top 20 Odds to win 2021 Open Championship
- Jon Rahm +750
- Rory McIlroy +1600
- Brooks Koepka +1600
- Justin Thomas +1800
- Jordan Spieth +1800
- Xander Schauffele +1800
- Dustin Johnson +2000
- Bryson DeChambeau +3000
- Louis Oosthuizen +3000
- Viktor Hovland +3000
- Patrick Cantlay +3300
- Collin Morikawa +3500
- Tyrrell Hatton +3500
- Patrick Reed +3500
- Shane Lowry +3500
- Tommy Fleetwood +3500
- Lee Westwood +4000
- Paul Casey +4000
- Matthew Fitzpatrick +4000
- Scottie Scheffler +4500
Louis Oosthuizen (+3000) finished 54th in 2011 at this venue, but is one of less than a handful of contenders this week that has major experience on this course. The South African also finished second at The Open in 2015. Oosthuizen, who is 38, was second at this year’s US Open and PGA Championship and has finished in the top 10 two other times this season, without missing any cuts in 10 stroke-play international events in 2021. Final Pick Prediction, Louis Oosthuizen +3000.
