This year’s British Open is taking place at Royal Portrush Golf Club July 17-20. British Open odds for the 2025 golf major will be in constant flux throughout the week. Scottie Scheffler opened as the favorite at +500, while Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele have 2025 Open Championship pre-tournament odds ranging from +800 to +1200.
Schauffe will be looking to defend his Open Championship title. He won last year’s British Open with +1100 pre-tournament odds.
British Open odds
Live British Open odds for the 2025 tournament are now available to wager on at top betting sites and sports betting apps.
British Open odds movement
Here we will take a look at the movement for British Open odds for the 2025 tournament, as well as how the prices change in the days during the tournament.
Odds to win the British Open: Course Preview
Here is a course preview for Royal Troon with golf betting information.
Established in 1878, Royal Troon Golf Club is hosting The Open Championship for the 10th time since 1923, and has consistently had its name called on the Open rota every 10 or so years. After granting membership to Women in 2016, Royal Troon hosted the 2020 Women’s Open Championship, where Sophia Popov emerged as the unlikely winner. Swede Henrik Stenson won the 2016 British Open, the last time it took place at Royal Troon. Other past winners here include Todd Hamilton, Justin Leonard, Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Watson, Tom Weiskopf, Arnold Palmer, Bobby Locke, and Arthur Hayes.
Royal Troon was originally designed as a five-hole course by George Strath and Willie Fernie some 146 years ago. In 1923, James Braid led the effort to construct the Old Course, and it’s the same 18-hole layout that is still played today. In 1978, Troon was granted “Royal” status to commemorate its centennial anniversary.
What is The Open Championship golf tournament?
The Open Championship boasts itself as the most international of the four Majors. Over 150 golfers will be competing for the Claret Jug in mid-July, headlined by reigning champion Brian Harman along with favorites Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
There are 28 categories to determine exemption from qualifying, while 46 spots will be awarded out of The Open Qualifying Series, which covers 16 events in 11 countries.
The 150-plus player field will be shrunk to the top 70 and ties following the conclusion of Round 2. If there’s a tie after 72 holes, there will be a four-hole aggregate playoff followed by sudden death, should the tie persist.
Betting strategy
The last true longshot to win the Open Championship came in 2019. Irishman Shane Lowry (+7000) won in Northern Ireland by 6-shots, proving that fairy tales come true when he lifted the Claret Jug in front or a roaring grandstand at Royal Portrush.
Will another longshot emerge at Royal Liverpool to capture the Claret Jug? If so, bettors who cash in will join the Open winner in celebration as the 2023 Open champion will also haul in more than $2 million.
Since the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR) started in 1996, there have been four Open Championship winners ranked outside the top-100. Two of them won at Royal St. George’s, as Ben Curtis pulled off the most improbable win of all. Curtis was ranked 396 in the world at greater than 300-1 odds when he won in 2003.
The average age of the Champion Golfer of the Year is 35.7 – higher than the US PGA Championship (27.7), US Open (27.8), and Masters (34.7), according to Today’s Golfer.
Top favorites have not delivered since 2007 and second favorites have only won the Open Championship once. The average odds of an Open winner since 2011 is near +6000. So put some longshots in your bag, and lean on experienced players who are patient with some proven performances.
Expect the unexpected as weird things happen in links golf. There are strange bounces, pot bunker problems, players bothered by the weather and whacked by the wind.
Controlling ball flight and trajectory is more significant in windy conditions. Direction and distance control are crucial skills, particularly with the scoring clubs.
And before you think that bombers like Bryson DeChambeau have a major advantage, look at the moderate hitters who have won the Open more recently: Shane Lowry (2019), Francesco Molinari (2018), Jordan Spieth (2017), Henrik Stenson (2016) and Zach Johnson (2015).
British Open betting history
When looking through the British Open winners over the last 10 years, there is room for slightly more volatility from its champions compared to the other Majors, with two of the last nine champions posting at 70-1 odds or longer. With that said, the other seven winners over that span have posted at 40-1 odds or shorter, so despite the volatility that severe weather can bring, it’s best for British Open bettors to back elite talents who are well-rounded from tee to green.
The table below tracks consensus pre-tournament outright odds at the best golf betting sites for the last 12 winners of the British Open.
| Year | Winner | British Open odds |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Xander Schauffele | +1100 |
| 2023 | Brian Harman | +12000 |
| 2022 | Cam Smith | +2000 |
| 2021 | Collin Morikawa | +4000 |
| 2020 | N/A | N/A |
| 2019 | Shane Lowry | +7000 |
| 2018 | Francesco Molinari | +3300 |
| 2017 | Jordan Spieth | +1600 |
| 2016 | Henrik Stenson | +3300 |
| 2015 | Zach Johnson | +11000 |
| 2014 | Rory McIlroy | +1800 |
| 2013 | Phil Mickelson | +2000 |
How to watch the British Open on TV
The 2025 Open Championship will be the seventh year of a 12-year deal for NBC and Peacock to broadcast the event. The first two rounds will air on Peacock, with the weekend moving over to the more widely-accessible NBC.
How to bet the British Open in the US
Futures odds have been available for the 2023 Open Championship for well over a year. The British Open golf odds have been regularly updated based on golfer performance, health, and public favor. Several different players have held the honor as outright favorite over the last year, with Rory McIlroy now at the top of British Open odds boards.
The outright odds will fluctuate more over the run-up to the tournament, as more public betting money pours in. Closer to the date of the event, the books will release more Open Championship odds, including leaders after each round, and Top 5, Top 10 and Top 20 probabilities.
Golfers will also be placed in pools, usually in the week of the tournament, based on world ranking, general popularity, country of origin, or first- and second-round tee times, where bettors can back a single golfer out of head-to-head or group matchups. Prop bets will be set for things such as hole-in-ones or low score for the tournament.
Best British Open golf betting sites
Get $50
The Open Championship Fun Facts
- Most wins: Harold Vardon won his record six Open titles from 1896-1914. Four players have won the event five times, including Tom Watson, who just missed out on his sixth championship in 2009 at the age of 59.
- Oldest winner: “Old” Tom Morris won The Open in 1867 at the age of 46 years, 99 days.
- Youngest winner: The following year, Morris’ son, “Young” Tom Morris, took the crown at the age of 17 years and 156 days. He also won the following three Open Championships for a record four in a row.
- Highest score on one hole: Herman Tissies, a German amateur, owns the dishonor of carding the highest score on a single hole in the history of The Open Championship. He fired a 15 on the 8th hole at Royal Troon in 1950. The hole played as a 120-yard par-3.
- Best comeback: Paul Lawrie completed a 10-stroke comeback in the final round to win the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie. The feat is much better known as Jean Van de Velde’s collapse, which included a triple-bogey on his 72nd hole.
Five of the biggest long shots in British Open history
Ben Curtis (2003)
Curtis entered the 2003 Open Championship at Royal St. George’s ranked No. 393 in the world. His win came by one stroke over runner-ups Vijay Singh and Thomas Bjorn, as the only player to finish under par. He went on to win three other PGA events and picked up three more top 10s in Majors.
Paul Lawrie (1999)
Lawrie was ranked 158th in the world when he was handed his Major title from Van de Velde. The Scotsman won a total of eight times on the European Tour but never again on the PGA circuit.
Darren Clarke (2011)
Clarke arrived at Royal St. George’s – a common venue for longshot winners – ranked 111th in 2011, after ranking as high as eighth in 2001. He finally captured his lone Major at the age of 41.
Todd Hamilton (2004)
Hamilton followed up Curtis’ surprise victory with another the following year at Royal Troon. He was ranked 56th in the world the previous week and vaulted to No. 16 after beating world No. 2 Ernie Els in a playoff.
Tom Kidd (1873)
Kidd’s lone career victory came in his debut at The Open Championship in 1873. He ended Tom Morris Jr.’s record streak of four straight Claret Jugs.
The Open Championship FAQ
Scottie Scheffler (+500), Rory McIlroy (+800), Xander Schauffele (+1000), Jon Rahm (+1400), and Ludwig Aberg (+1400) are at the top of British Open odds boards.
Scottie Scheffler is the British Open odds favorite with betting odds of +500.
Roughly 65 percent of the 156-player Open field is composed of exemptions based on 28 categories, such as former champions of select tournaments and those meeting certain cutoffs in the OWGR by certain dates. Another 46 spots come from The Open Qualifying Series – a selection of tournaments leading up to the event. The final spots are awarded to those who advance from Final Qualifying in the UK.
The Open returns to Royal Portrush Golf Club in Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is the first Open Championship at Royal Portrush since 2019 when Shane Lowry was the winner.
Xander Schauffele won the 2024 British Open.
The Open returns to Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake, Merseyside, England. It is the first Open Championship at Royal Liverpool since 2014 when Rory McIlroy was the winner.
The British Open winner now wins over $2.5 million.
Padraig Harrington (2007-2008) is the most recent golfer to go back-to-back at The Open Championship. Tiger Woods accomplished the feat the two previous years, and nine others did so before him. Three players have won three in a row, and “Young” Tom Morris holds the all-time record of four straight titles.