This week we head to Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake for the 151st Open Championship where SportsLens’ resident golf experts Joe Lyons and Paul Kelly are offering up some of our very own betting tips and predictions.
The Open Championship has been played 12 times at Royal Liverpool Golf Club and returns for a 13th time this year as golf’s oldest and one of the most prestigious tournaments gets underway this Thursday.
Our tips will be split into two sections with two picks each from Joe Lyons and Paul Kelly ahead of golf’s fourth and final major of the season.
Best Open Championship Betting Offers
The 151st Open Championship Preview
This year’s defending champion is world number seven Cameron Smith, who beat Cameron Young by one shot with a score of -20 in 2022. The 29-year-old is available at a price of 16/1 this time around with golf betting sites, winning at 20/1 odds at St Andrews in Scotland.
As always with any links course, it provides a different challenge that players face only on occasion throughout the season. The unpredictability of the weather including wet and windy conditions can throw up a stunning spectacle for fans.
The last Open Championship at Royal Liverpool was won by none other than Rory McIlroy in 2014, who recently lifted his 24th PGA Tour title at the Genesis Scottish Open, a similar course and one that will hand him a huge deal of confidence heading into this week.
It will take a consistent ball-striker off-the-tee and impeccable short game around the huge and slow greens to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday, which should prove to be one of the most difficult challenges the field of 156 will face in their careers.
A good round can be flipped upside down by finding yourself in a pot bunker or veering wide off-the-tee into the brutal native areas. Those who can gain distance with their driver and consistently avoid the long grass will find life at Royal Liverpool much easier.
Many players may choose to leave their driver in the bag however, as Tiger Woods famously did in his 2006 win – but the course has since been lengthened to combat this and steer players away from a safe layup, encouraging high risk, high reward tee shots.
The 151st Open Championship Betting Tips
Odds are correct at time of publishing and are subject to chance
Joe Lyons The Open Tip 1: Cameron Smith To Win And Each-Way (5 Places) @ 16/1 with BetUK
Cameron Smith is up against history this week in Hoylake. Since Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington each won back-to-back titles at The Open from 2005-2008, seven of the last 12 Champion Golfers missed the cut the year before their win.
None of the last 12 Open winners managed better than tied-30th the year prior but records are there to be broken and the Australian looks to have a solid chance of being in the mix once again, this time around at Royal Liverpool.
Smith shot a final-round 64 to come from four stokes off the lead at St Andrews to win his first major and the 150th Open Championship last year. He’s widely regarded as the best on the greens in the game and gained +2.82 strokes with his putter in Scotland on his way to victory.
The 29-year-old is a links expert and across every single round (36 total) played on this style of course, he has gained a total of 46.08 strokes and an average of 1.28 per round. Since joining the LIV tour last year with more free time on his hands to develop his game, he recently stated he believes he is a better golfer than ever.
He admitted he struggled at times with his driver at St Andrews last year but has made significant strides in that area and after watching some of the golf from Hoylake, he said there doesn’t look like a lot of drivers anyways which could play into his hands.
Smith has already posted two strong results in major championships this year, finishing tied-ninth at the PGA Championship outright fourth at the US Open – he’s been a household name in these calibre events for quite some time now.
He brings the form from the LIV tour also, having not finished outside the top 12 in any of the last six events – including picking up a win in his most recent start in London and being inside the top seven of three others.
I’m willing to take a chance on Cameron Smith to win The Open for a second year running and place his name alongside some of the greatest links players to ever do it and defy history in the process, priced at 16/1 with the best golf betting sites.
Joe Lyons The Open Tip 2: Louis Oosthuizen To Win And Each-Way (10 Places) @ 125/1 with BetUK
Perhaps a selection out of left field, at the huge price of 125/1 I think there’s value to be had with Louis Oosthuizen this week – a big player in the majors and former winner of The Open at St Andrews in 2010.
The 40-year-old’s game is not where it once was but he can still pose a huge threat in this events, finishing tied-second at the PGA Championship and US Open in 2021. Like Smith, he has also joined the LIV tour who have owned a strong contingent in the majors this season – such as Brooks Koepka winning the PGA.
The South African is also a links expert and a co-designer of La Reserve Golf Links, the only contemporary links experience in the Indian Ocean. He has made it no secret he loves playing this type of golf and it’s special to him.
In 60 links rounds, Oosthuizen has gained a total of 84.30 strokes and an average of 1.41 per round. Whilst the LIV tour doesn’t present the same challenges or difficult fields as the PGA, he is still playing some solid golf with two top-seven finishes in his last three starts.
He finished tied-third at The Open in 2021 and tied-20th in 2019, but a missed cut last year contributes to his long odds which I am more than happy to take this week at a price of 125/1 with the best golf betting sites.
Paul Kelly The Open Tip 1: Scottie Scheffler To Win @ 8/1 with BetUK
Scottie Scheffler comes into the fourth and final major championship of the year priced as the 8/1 second favourite with the best golf betting sites. The current world number one is in tremendous form, and comes to Royal Liverpool fresh off the back of a third place finish last week at the Scottish Open.
Conditions were incredibly tough last week in Scotland, but Scheffler showed why he is the best player in the world and proved he has the game to perform to the highest level in the tough, inclement weather conditions that links golf often provides.
In Scheffler’s last 11 events, he has been in the top three tee-to-green rankings. He is undoubtedly the most consistent player off the tee in the world of golf, as well as being one of the best players from the fairway too. Simply put, if the 27-year-old’s putter is hot this week at Hoylake, he has a huge chance of winning.
Scheffler’s one and only major championship came last year at the Masters. Since then, he has finished inside the top ten in four of the next six majors. This year, Scheffler’s worst finish in a major was 10th at the Masters. He finished second at the PGA Championship, as well as finished third last time out at the US Open last month.
The numbers and sheer domination from the American from tee-to-green this year is mesmerising. He has gained 2.81 strokes from tee-to-green on average this season, behind only Tiger Woods (2006, +2.98) and ahead of Rory McIlroy (2012, +2.35) since tracking began in 2004.
Scheffler is also ranked as the best ball-striker (SG off-the-tee and approach) in golf since the beginning of 2023 (min 15 measured rounds) by quite some distance at +2.7 strokes gained ahead of the likes of Jon Rahm and McIlroy (+1.8) and Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay (+1.7).
Priced at 8/1, Scottie Scheffler is my outright pick to win the 151st Open Championship from Royal Liverpool and claim his second major championship in the process.
Paul Kelly The Open Tip 2: Shane Lowry To Win And Each-Way (8 Places) @ 28/1 with BetUK
Shane Lowry is a former Open Championship winner, having claimed victory back in 2019 at Royal Portrush. Links golf is where the Irishman feels at home and do not be surprised to see him in contention again this week on a course that on paper should suit his game.
Lowry has every shot in the locker when it comes to links golf. Links golf is a test like no other with gusting winds and often heavy rain. This doesn’t phase Lowry one bit. In fact, the tough conditions often bring out the best in the 36-year-old.
Lowry has had a pretty decent season so far this year. Last week at the Scottish Open, the Irishman was well in contention after three rounds, but had a poor +3 final round, finishing in a tie for 12th place. This may have come as a surprise to many, given how at home Lowry is in tough conditions.
However, he won’t let that phase him and will be looking to put that right this week at Hoylake. When Lowry won at Royal Portrush four years ago, he completely dominated the field. In the end, he won by six strokes to Tommy Fleetwood on a score of -15.
If the wind is gusting and there is some heavy rain this week at Royal Liverpool, Shane Lowry will be licking his lips. Do not be surprised if he pulls out another mesmerising 72 holes of golf and wins his second Claret Jug this week, priced at 28/1 with the best golf betting sites.
The 151st Open Championship 2023 Odds
Take a look at the best UK sports betting sites and claim the best bookmaker free bets ahead of this week’s action in Liverpool.
- Rory McIlroy @ 7/1
- Scottie Scheffler @ 8/1
- Jon Rahm @ 11/1
- Cameron Smith @ 16/1
- Brooks Koepka @ 18/1
- Rickie Fowler @ 20/1
- Viktor Hovland @ 20/1
- Tommy Fleetwood @ 20/1
- Tyrrell Hatton @ 22/1
- Xander Schauffele @ 25/1
Odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change
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