2026 Open Championship Odds, Picks, Predictions: Final Bets, Betting Card, OAD
The final major of 2026 is just about here. Royal Birkdale Golf Club takes center stage to host the 2026 Open Championship this Thursday. Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy, and Matt Fitzpatrick headline among The Open bets this week. John Haslbauer provides his favorite PGA picks from the available golf odds. Below, you’ll find each player’s best odds at legal betting sites.
It’s the most wonderful time of the year. After a week of over-analyzing every trend, data point, driving range shot, and press quote, golf’s best have finally come to tee it up. The 2026 Open Championship is just about underway.
Whenever the PGA and LIV tours converge, we must look beyond the model and insert some subjectivity. Not many players have what it takes to withstand the challenge and pressure that a major championship presents. That is especially the case at Royal Birkdale, which features perhaps the most decorated cast of past champions of any course on the Open rota.
The player who is most capable of beating the elements should enter with no questions surrounding their all-around form, and be capable of separating with their precise ball striking.
Ahead, we’ll go through every bet I’ve placed at the 2026 Open Championship.
Click on any of The Open odds below for the best available prices at sportsbooks in your state. Navigate to my longshots post for more golf DFS picks and considerations.
HOW I BUILT MY OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP BETTING CARD
The Open truly does feel open this year. In contrast to 2025, where the World No. 1 dominated the field to win his second major of the season, the elites have looked mortal in recent weeks. Scheffler is coming off of a missed cut, McIlroy has lost strokes on approach in each of his last two starts, and Rahm has missed the cut in two of the first three majors.
The Open, while known to be weather-impacted and volatile, still tends to reward the best all-around players who are most capable of adapting to changing conditions and unpredictable bounces. As such, I’ve built a diversified betting card that prioritizes players who are proven on the links, in excellent form, and lean on Driving Accuracy and SG: APP as the strengths of their games.
With all of that in mind, I’ve upped the ante just a bit with my betting card exposure to match the significance of a major championship sweat at the 2026 Open Championship:
- Outrights — 4.2U in to pay 30U each
- FRL — 1U in to pay out 15U+ each
- Props — 2.6U in to pay out 4U+ each
THE OPEN BETS: OUTRIGHTS (4.2 UNITS)
Check out my golf sleepers for The Open golf DFS picks and longshot bet considerations.
Matt Fitzpatrick
My bet: +2100
Best available odds:
It’s been a near-perfect season for Fitzpatrick, who has already picked up three PGA Tour wins and another three top-5 finishes within his last four starts. The Englishman will head to friendlier confines with this links leg of the PGA Tour season, hot off a T3 finish at the Genesis Scottish Open, so there is no question whether his game can translate outside of the United States.
Fitzpatrick’s game seems to travel regardless of the venue these days, but he is especially well-equipped to handle a proper links setup like Royal Birkdale. He’s finished in the top 6 in four of his last six appearances at the Genesis Scottish Open and posted a career-best T4 finish at The Open last year. There is nothing not to like about Fitzpatrick’s game at the moment, and his odds come at a fair price, thanks to Scheffler and McIlroy’s presence.
Collin Morikawa
My bet: +3400
Best available odds:
The comparisons between 2026 Collin Morikawa and 2017 Jordan Spieth run deep. Like Spieth, Collin will enter this week as an OWGR top-10 player with two major championships under his belt and a win earlier this season at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The forecast in northern England is an ideal one for Collin, as relatively calm winds and a firm and fast setup will diminish the value of distance in favor of the most accurate players in the field.
That was the formula for success at Royal St. George’s in 2021 when Morikawa claimed the Claret Jug for the first time, and his game looks major-caliber yet again in 2026. With six top-10 finishes over his last 10 starts, Morikawa’s game looks ready to content at Royal Birkdale.
Chris Gotterup
My bet: +3700
Best available odds:
Not exactly a player we’re used to seeing amongst the favorites in a major, Gotterup is charging full steam ahead into Royal Birkdale and has proven to be worthy of this short price at The Open. The New Jersey native appears to be a natural in links conditions, finishing T11, 3rd, and 1st in his last three starts between the Scottish Open and the Open Championship.
The 26-year-old has quickly amassed five career PGA Tour wins just 2.5 years into his professional career. The most recent of which came just two starts ago at the John Deere Classic. Having already won three times on Tour this season, Gotterup would secure PGA Tour Player of the Year honors with a win at The Open this week.
Russell Henley
My bet: +5500
Best available odds:
Royal Birkdale is a short course that rewards a straight ball flight. It keeps everything right in front of you, and simply asks players to execute accurate drives and consistent iron play from inside 200 yards over and over again. That is Russell Henley’s game in a nutshell, and especially with calm conditions in the forecast, this may be his best opportunity yet to claim a major championship.
Henley has proven his game can translate on the Open links, regardless of weather conditions, finishing top-10 in each of his last two starts at The Open. He is just four starts removed from beating a strong field at the Charles Schwab Challenge, which demands a similar premium on accuracy. With six top-15 finishes in the 2026 season, his game looks ready to chase his third consecutive top-10 finish at The Open this week.
Tom Kim
My bet: +10000
Best available odds:
Tom Kim will ride a wave of confidence into Open Championship week, fresh off of a decisive victory at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open. Kim spoke after his victory about his love for links golf because of its forced attention to detail. The results back up that love for the links too, as Kim has now finished inside the top-20 in all five of his career Scottish Open appearances. Kim’s resumé at The Open is less perfect, but it does include the high-water mark of a T2 finish at Royal Liverpool in 2023.
Royal Birkdale, similar to most venues on The Open rota, is on the short side and favors precision off the tee and on approach. That is where Kim truly excels, as he ranks top-5 in both Driving Accuracy and SG: Approach over the last 36 rounds. The putter is the final piece of the puzzle Kim needs to figure out before he’s ready to claim his first major, but a 3rd place finish at Shinnecock Hills, in which he ranked 17th in SG: Putting, proves he is capable of dialing it in on the biggest stages.
Akshay Bhatia
My bet: +13000
Best available odds:
Just add wind, and Akshay Bhatia suddenly becomes one of the fiercest competitors on the PGA Tour. His two most recent wins have come when battling difficult conditions in high winds at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Valero Texas Open. The results have not quite materialized yet for Bhatia on the links, but he’s improved with each year of experience, posting a career-best T30 finish at Royal Portrush last year.
Bhatia has been excellent at U.S. comp courses that reward creative shot-shaping, accurate ball-striking, and managing the wind. He finished T5 in his most recent start at the Travelers Championship. The same event Jordan Spieth won in his last start before triumphing at Royal Birkdale. He’s also finished in the top 15 in each of his last two appearances at THE PLAYERS Championship. A T17 finisher at the U.S. Open last month, Bhatia seems to be rounding into the peak form he displayed at the top of this season, which culminated in a huge Signature Event victory at Bay Hill.
Sepp Straka
My bet: +24000
Best available odds:
If Sepp Straka had demonstrated the form we expect from him over the last month, he would be one of the most talked-about sleepers in this field, and priced at roughly one-fifth of these odds. Instead, a concerned run of MC-72nd-MC has rendered him unplayable by the golf betting community. Everyone has a price, however, and at 240/1 odds, I’ll take the bait with the hopes that a detour to proper links golf is the change of pace Straka needs to return to the hyper-accurate player we know he is capable of being.
A two-time winner on the PGA Tour in 2025 and once an automatic ball-striker has become much more volatile in 2026. The high points for Straka in 2026 have been great, though: He’s played his best golf on comparable short, positional courses that demand accuracy and creativity around the greens, finishing T2 at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and 8th at THE PLAYERS Championship.
Bernd Wiesberger
My bet: +45000
Best available odds:
The former European Ryder Cupper is having a true renaissance season on the DP World Tour. The 40-year-old Austrian ranks 8th in the Race To Dubai rankings and looks to be on an inside track to secure a PGA Tour card for next season. His 2026 was highlighted by a decisive victory at the Volvo China Open, which emphasized a similar game plan of precise ball striking that is needed at Royal Birkdale.
Wiesberger has proven links experience, winning the Scottish Open back in 2019. He held a share of the first-round lead at the Scottish Open last week, and will come to Royal Birkdale in very promising form with six top-20 finishes over his last nine starts.
THE OPEN BETS: FIRST-ROUND LEADER (1.0 UNITS)
Russell Henley
My bet: +5000
Best available odds:
Henley is no stranger to hot starts in the opening round, and he’ll have another great opportunity to do so this Thursday with a favorable morning tee time. Royal Birkdale in its current condition is a perfect fit for Henley’s game, as he’ll be able to generate ample birdie by leaning on his elite driving accuracy.
Justin Thomas
My bet: +6600
Best available odds:
Justin Thomas has a long history of prevailing through difficult, windy conditions, as evidenced by his most recent wins at Southern Hills and TPC Sawgrass. It’s clear that Thomas has the shots in his bag to score at a links setup like Royal Birkdale; the question is whether he can avoid derailing his round with any blowup holes on Thursday.
Aaron Rai
My bet: +8000
Best available odds:
Rai is an accomplished wind player, which proved to be the x-factor in his maiden major championship win at Aronimink. He’ll lean on his elite accuracy to position himself well for the sparse birdie opportunities that Royal Birkdale offers to those who play from the fairway.
Joaquin Niemann
My bet: +8500
Best available odds:
I’m cautiously optimistic about Joaquin Niemann’s fit for Royal Birkdale, as he has proven in select moments to be a very dangerous player on short, windy, coastal venues that reward premier ball striking. Consistency has been the issue for Niemann throughout his career in majors; however, if there is a market worth backing him in, this is the one for me. Niemann shot the low round of the day not once, but twice at Shinnecock Hills in last month’s US Open. He’s remained hot since then, though, finishing 3rd and T7 and hus next two starts on the DP World Tour.
Akshay Bhatia
My bet: +8700
Best available odds:
One of the streakier players in this field, Akshay has a great opportunity in front of him to capitalize on a favorite morning tee time, where the wind is projected to be almost completely non-existent. He’s is trending at the right time now, with top-20 finishes in each of his last two starts, and has the shot-making artistry needed to thrive at Royal Birkdale.
THE OPEN BETS: PROPS (2.6 UNITS)
Top 20 Finish: Tom Kim
My bet: +230
Best available odds:
I am higher than the market appears to be on Tom Kim this week, so I’m happy to double-dip into the placement markets as well. Kim’s elite ball-striking consistency has led to a high floor of late, regardless if he is making putts or not. He’s now finished top-15 in three of his last four starts.
Top 20 Finish: Akshay Bhatia
My bet: +430
Best available odds:
Like Tom Kim, Akshay is peaking at the right time now. After a relatively quiet spring post-win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Akshay has rebounded nicely in the summer with finishes of T17 at the US Open and T5 at the Travelers Championship over his last two starts. His putting has been world class all season, and now the ball-striking appears to have returned for him as well.
Top Past Open Champion: Collin Morikawa
My bet: +850
Best available odds:
Of all the courses on the Open rota, I believe it’s Royal St. George’s that plays most similarly to Royal Birkdale. Each play to a similar, short yardage, virtually eliminates any advantage to be had for bombers, and features relatively flat fairways by links standards. In other words, they are both ideal venues for the best, most accurate ball strikers in the field to separate. In that regard, it’s no surprise that Collin Morikawa’s Open Championship victory came in his 2021 debut appearance at a venue that, in calm conditions, favored the best ball-strikers over the best scramblers. It is perhaps no coincidence, either, that the 2017 champion at Royal Birkdale, Jordan Spieth, finished runner-up at Royal St. George’s in 2021.
With winds not appearing to be too overbearing at Birkdale this week, this looks to be an ideal setup for Morikawa once again. If the elements do intervene, however, he’s proven he can handle that too. Morikawa picked up a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am at the top of this season, just as Spieth did in 2017. With six top-10 finishes over his last 10 starts, Morikawa is playing major champion-caliber golf right now and presents appealing value in this market.
Top Debutant: Michael Thorbjornsen
My bet: +1300
Best available odds:
Thorbjornsen was one of the last men outside of US Open qualifying last month and was nearly in the exact same position again at The Open before punching his ticket with a T7 finish at the Genesis Scottish Open. That marked the 24-year-old’s fifth top-15 finish of the season, in what has proven to be a very boom-or-bust 2026.
It’s that volatility that draws me to Thorbjornsen in this market in particular, as he’s proven he can get hot when all facets of his game are clicking. He also has an ace in the hole on his bag this week, as, unlike the other debutants, he’ll have the valuable guidance of JJ Jakovac, who helped Collin Morikawa win The Open in 2021.
ONE AND DONE
My pick: Tom Kim
This is one of the hardest weeks of the year for me to project ownership in OAD. The presence of LIV has changed the dynamic of OAD strategy as we know it, as there are only four weeks each year when we have the option to play Rahm, DeChambeau, and other LIV golfers. That should, in theory, inflate their ownership, so I’m expecting each to push beyond 25% owned.
The Open offers a high purse and the last chance to play for a significant purse before the FedEx Cup Playoffs begin. Logically, this is a moment you save a superstar player for. In my case, I don’t have many superstars left to choose from, but I do have Tom Kim, who is my official pick to win this week and go back-to-back overseas. Royal Birkdale is a perfect fit for his game, and he is peaking at the right time to capitalize.
I would also consider playing Collin Morikawa, Chris Gotterup, or Matt Fitzpatrick in OAD, if not Tom Kim.
THE OPEN BETS: FULL BETTING CARD
That’ll do it for this week’s PGA Tour golf bets. Best of luck this week with your Open Championship bets, and see you after each round with nightly daily fantasy and live betting analysis throughout the tournament.
2026 OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP SPORTSBOOKS
Compare odds before making your PGA Tour golf bets this week using the table below. Use the pulldown menu to browse different markets. Click the odds to bet.
Photo Credit: REUTERS
