Golf may be one of the hardest sports to predict. Scottie Scheffler is in the middle of one of the most dominant stretches fans have ever seen. Still, despite his incredible play, he’s only won one of the three golf majors this year. While calling Xander Schauffele and Bryson DeChambeau underdogs when they won the PGA Championship and U.S. Open respectively would be doing them an disservice, their victories were still far from certain. Very few bettors likely bet on either to win their tournaments.
When it comes to betting on golf, the most fun comes from either betting on the favorite, or betting on a huge sleeper with virtually zero shot at the title. Sure, that latter group might not win, but if they did, that’s generational wealth headed your way. Why bet on someone with +1200 odds who probably won’t win when you can bet on someone with +25000 odds who probably won’t win, right?
That’s not to say that betting on long shots always fails. It doesn’t. There have been numerous underdog stories to emerge from major tournaments over the years. So why can’t the 2024 British Open add another name to that illustrious list? Here are some of the internet’s favorite sleeper picks for the 2024 Open Championship. All odds via BetMGM.
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Patrick McDonald, CBS Sports: Louis Oosthuizen (+10000)
McDonald writes, “Oosthuizen will be making his first major start of the season after turning down an invitation into the PGA Championship and choosing not to qualify for the U.S. Open. The South African has been stellar on LIV Golf with a handful of top fives and enters this week very much as a forgotten man. The 2010 champion has connected on four top 30s in his last five Opens including a podium finish in 2021.”
Greg Waddell, Action Network: Sepp Straka (+10000)
Waddell writes, “Sepp Straka has been phenomenal for much of the 2024 PGA Tour season. Prior to a missed cut last week at the Genesis Scottish Open, Straka had made the cut in nine of his last 10 events, with three top-five finishes in that span. The Ox is no master on links courses by any means, but he tied for second last year at The Open Championship in just his second appearance at this major championship. Straka’s biggest strengths are Driving Accuracy and Approach play, and those advantages should be magnified this week. He ranks second on the PGA Tour in Driving Accuracy this season while hitting just over 72% of fairways and is 32nd in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green. At 125-1, Straka bettors received a boost following his missed cut last week as he previously 90-1 to win The Open Championship. This is great value for a great golfer in a bounce-back spot.”
James Colgan, Golf.com: Sahith Theegala (+5000)
Colgan writes, “Strange that a guy who’s been right in the mix at a few majors over the past 12 months would be so far down the betting cards. Sure, his game gets a little topsy-turvy, which generally doesn’t jive with the Open, but he played one of the best rounds of his yearon Friday at Hoylake last year, and he played really well at the Scottish. I like him a lot.”
Iain MacMillan, Sports Illustrated: Viktor Hovland (+2500)
MacMillan writes, “He hasn’t exactly played his best golf of late, but I’m still going to go with Viktor Hovland. When his ball striking is on, he’s one of the best golfers in the world and he has already shown he can compete at Open Championships, finishing T13 in better each of his three appearances including a T4 finish in 2022. The form isn’t there, but if he can figure something out this week, watch out.”
British Open News: Tiger Woods roasts Colin Montgomerie over retirement talk
Thursday, July 18
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