The 152nd Open Championship comes to us from Royal Troon on the Ayrshire Coast with the fabulously difficult course set to play a leading role in crowning this year’s champion golfer.
Best Bet
Hatton has long threatened to win a major and as arguably one of the best links golfers on the planet, this is the tournament he is most likely to do it in. This is his 12th Open Championship and he has started to figure it out with four Top 20s, three coming in the last four. Hatton has thrived since moving to LIV, winning in Nashville, and posting five more Top 10s. The key here is Hatton’s elite touch around the greens and on them. He ticks most boxes here and looks a sublime bet.
Mid-Tier Bet
Matsuyama ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Around The Green and 2nd in Scrambling and that is enough to make him a play at Royal Troon. Matsuyama also ranks 4th in Strokes Gained: Tee To Green and 12th in Bogey Avoidance. His recent form is not qite there but he has won this year, has performed well in recent majors and has form here. Lovely play.
Value Bet
South African Louis Oosthuizen won the Open Championship on the Old Course in 2010 and since that win has posted five more Top 25s including a T-2 in 2015 and a T-3 in 2021. He really turned his form around at the back end of last year when winning in South Africa and Mauritius and it has translated to this season with four Top 4 finishes. Well suited and big odds.
Longshot Bet
Burns is being shown zero respect here. Ranked 25th in the Data Golf rankings, Burns has four Top 15 finishes in his last six starts, including a T-9 on the US Open. He ranks 5th in Total Driving, 10th in Putting Average and 13th in Sand Saves. Expecting a big tournament.
