2026 The Open Championship Odds Report: Best Future Bets To Consider One Week Out
The 2026 Open Championship is now only one week away. With the Genesis Scottish Open standing as the final event of consequence before British Open week, this is the perfect time to analyze the Futures markets and identify betting value before The Open odds inevitably adjust on the Monday of tournament week.
Current 2026 The Open Championship To Win Odds
Considerations for The Open Championship Futures
How do we assess fair value in Open Championship Futures odds? Outrights in any given week are always a formula of recent form, long-term pedigree, and course history. Each event just weights those three factors a bit differently.
At The Open, event history and current form have proven to be incredibly predictive, regardless of which course on the rotation is played. That is due, in large part, to the consistent influence of the elements on this event. The Open has established its identity as a mastery of the unpredictable. Proper links golf is plaid on flat terrain, with few trees obstructing its gusting winds and rain. Scattered fairway pot bunkers and sloping fairways can cause usual fairway-finder tee shots to require lateral punch outs. Deep fescue grass lining the fairways eliminates the bomb-and-gouge approach that has become so reliable for longer hitters on the PGA Tour.
With this combination, we’ve seen disciplined veterans with a reliable short game and precise ball-striking litter the tops of leaderboards over the years at The Open . The top-5 in terms of total strokes gained in Open Championshipss over the last 10 years includes no surprises: Jordan Spieth, Tommy Fleetwood, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele.
And yet, long shots have had their day in recent Open Championships too. Brian Harman won the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool well beyond 100/1 pre-tournament odds. Shane Lowry’s hometown victory at Royal Portrush in 2019 came as a surprise as well, closing at 75/1 consensus pre-tournament odds.
Looking at the task at hand this week, Royal Birkdale is poised to host an excellent major championship. Jordan Spieth introduced us to every square inch of the property in his adrenaline-filled 2017 triumph at 12-under-par. With some concerted efforts made since then to modernize the course 9 years later, it would not surprise me if we see a winning score at single digits under par. That, however, will ultimately be decided by the extent of weather that hits Royal Birkdale next week.
In this article, we’ll explore the best values in the British Open Futures markets at present. Whose stock is rising, whose is falling, and who offers the greatest betting value as of today.
2026 The Open Championship Biggest Risers
These players are peaking now and trending now and will be popular considerations as they ride the hot hand into the US Open.
Viktor Hovland
Current Odds:
The European Ryder Cup standout star may be peaking at the right time, as he continues his quest for his first career major victory. Hovland has had a long history of excelling in windy conditions, a skill set he credits to his upbringing in Norway and his collegiate days in Oklahoma. Navigating the wind will be crucial at Royal Birkdale, and that’s a skill set I believe Hovland will have a distinct edge in next week; he ranks top-10 in the field in SG: APP over the last 36 rounds and has really turned a corner with his total driving over the last month.
Hovland broke a 15-month winless drought at the Travelers Championship, going toe-to-toe with Scottie Scheffler to prevail in a playoff. That marked his second top-3 finish over his last three starts, as he also contended at the RBC Canadian Open earlier in June. Hovland’s track record at The Open has been excellent, with three top-15 finishes over five career appearances. That includes a T4 finish at St. Andrews in 2022, where he entered Sunday in the final pairing alongside Rory McIlroy.
Chris Gotterup
Current Odds:
It has been an incredible but perhaps under-appreciated 2026 season for Chris Gotterup. His three wins this season at the Sony Open, WM Phoenix Open, and John Deere Classic have been a bit lost in a sea of other great seasons from the PGA Tour’s best. Already a 5-time winner on the PGA Tour, the next thing missing from Gotterup’s resume is a major championship.
In my opinion, it’s The Open that caters best to Gotterup’s game, and it would not surprise me to see him hoist the Claret Jug next week. Gotterup excelled on the Links Swing last year, finishing 1st at the Genesis Scottish Open and 3rd at The Open at Royal Portrush. Wailae CC, with its exposure to the wind and similar course yardage, is a more than fair comp course for what the field will face at Royal Birkdale. A dominant winner at the Sony Open earlier this year, Gotterup has proven he can use his driver as a weapon on short courses that reward playing from the fairway.
2026 The Open Championship Biggest Fallers
These players have bottomed out in the weeks leading up to the US Open, and will enter with question marks that have been priced into their depreciating odds.
Jon Rahm
Current Odds:
Jon Rahm drifted to a place on the odds board I simply could not ignore at the US Open last month, which apparently ended up being for good reason. It was an embarrassing early exit for the Spaniard at Shinnecock Hills, who struggled to break 80 on Friday. With the cancellation of LIV’s June New Orleans event, Rahm has not been able to get many competitive reps in since that poor showing.
Things have not looked much better for Rahm at the Genesis Scottish Open either, firing an opening round 73 to rank T137 on the leaderboard. There is no denying his talent and history on the links, but his current form, particularly in comparable links conditions at Shinnecock Hills and the Renaissance Club, gives me pause before backing him at Royal Birkdale.
Bryson DeChambeau
Current Odds:
It seems inconceivable that Bryson DeChambeau could face a clean sweep of four missed cuts in majors this season, but that is what he’s up against heading into Royal Birkdale. The Scientist’s game of raw power has always made The Open Championship feel like the worst fit of all the majors for his skill sets, and the results have mostly backed that up. While he has finished T10 and T8 at this event within the last four years, he’s failed to crack the top-30 in any of his other six Open Championship appearances.
Like Rahm, Bryson was a major disappointment at the US Open, missing the cut after showing great promise in his two preceding starts on LIV. Unlike Rahm, however, Bryson is not in the Genesis Scottish Open field and will not have played a competitive round since his missed cut at the US Open. I will continue to be bearish on Bryson on the links until he’s proven his game is in better all-around shape.
2026 The Open Championship Best Future Bets
These players still offer present-day value, with reason to believe their odds will worsen between now and British Open week.
Tom Kim
Current Odds:
Tom Kim seems to be on his way to another good week at the Genesis Scottish Open, sitting T1 through the first round as of Thursday evening. He is chasing his fifth consecutive top-20 finish at the Genesis Scottish Open this week, and he achieves that, I expect we’ll see these odds worsen by Monday of Open Championship week. 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.
Sahith Theegala
Current Odds:
There are plenty of Spiethian qualities to Sahith Theegala’s game, and if you’re looking for a longshot future to hitch your wagon to, it’s conceivable to me that Theegala could follow in Jordan Spieth’s footsteps to claim victory at Royal Birkdale.
Like Spieth, it is always an exciting journey from tee-to-green for Theegala, but he prides himself on being an escape artist. With these fairways proving difficult to hold for even the most accurate players on Tour, I’m drawn to a player like Theegala, who can scramble his way to par when caught in nefarious positions. It was that escape artistry which propelled him to a T11 finish last month at Shinnecock Hills, and with five top-11 finishes and just one missed cut this season, Theegala has shown that his game is better than these odds suggest.
2026 The Open Championship Futures Market Board
Photo Credit: REUTERS
