British Open 2023 odds, picks and best bets at Royal Liverpool

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The last time the British Open Championship was staged on the layout at Royal Liverpool, Rory McIlroy was a two-stroke winner. That was in 2014. As the final of golf’s four majors returns to this familiar course for the 13th time, oddsmakers are certain that this will prove to be a lucky number for the golfer from Northern Ireland.

McIlroy is set as the +650 favorite to win this week’s British Open. Beyond McIlroy, American Scottie Scheffler, the current No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings, is the second betting choice at +700. Then the odds jump all the way up to +1200 for Spaniard Jon Rahm. You can access a betting line of +1400 on defending champion Cameron Smith of Australia.

Several of the past British Opens held at Royal Liverpool have been won by luminaries of the golfing elite. Along with McIlroy, American golf icon Tiger Woods was the 2006 champion on this course.

Four-time British Open champion Walter Hagen won the second of his titles at Royal Liverpool in 1922. Bobby Jones won the third of his three titles there in 1930. England’s John Henry Taylor won the fifth of his five Open Championships at Royal Liverpool in 1913.

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If you believe if betting on omens, here’s one to consider: Australia’s Peter Thomson, a five-time winner of this event, won back-to-back British Open titles at St. Andrews in 1955 and Royal Liverpool in 1956. Fellow Aussie Smith was champion last year at St. Andrews.

McIlroy has never repeated as British Open champion since his 2014 victory. In fact, he hasn’t won any of golf’s majors since that triumph. However, the world’s No. 3-ranked player is arriving at Royal Liverpool fresh off a victory in the Scottish Open.

That victory made McIlroy the first golfer to have captured the Scottish Open, Irish Open and Open Championship. In fact, he’s now won seven national open championships during his golfing career.

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Only one player has turned the Scottish Open-British Open double in the same year. That was American Phil Mickelson in 2013. So the odds of McIlroy doing so would appear to be very long.

Getting a betting line of +1200 on the second-ranked golfer on the planet just might be too good to pass up. It certainly seems to be, especially when taking into consideration how well Rahm has been playing of late.

Already this year, Rahm has won the Masters. He recorded a top-10 finish at the U.S. Open. The Spanish golfer has seven wins through his past 29 tournaments. Rahm all rates second on the PGA Tour in total strokes gained and he’s third in tee-to-green numbers.

Tied for third in last week’s Scottish Open, World No. 1 Scheffler has hit the top five on the leaderboard in seven successive tournaments. Should he record a top-12 placing at Royal Liverpool, it will mark his 20th consecutive top-12 finish.

Even if you don’t bet him to win, Scheffler is almost a must play in any golfer top-10 finish prop wagers. FanDuel is offering -120 odds on Scheffler finishing among the top 10 at the Open Championship.

Not only did Thomson go back-to-back at St. Andrews and Royal Liverpool, Woods did likewise in 2005-06. He’s the most recent golfer to capture successive Open Championship titles on these two courses.

Supposedly, things happen in threes and certainly, Smith is worthy of consideration as a winner of this year’s British Open. He might just be the best putter in golf today and perhaps no major requires a player to hold the ability to save strokes on the green like the Open Championship.

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On top of that, Smith is a LIV golfer and that’s presenting you with the chance to double down. You can bet him to win the tournament and gain a potentially lucrative payday at odds of +1600. DraftKings Sportsbook is also offering a British Open prop featuring just LIV golfers. Smith is the +275 chalk to post the best Open Championship score among all the LIV players.

If it’s a major championship, then you can never count out Victor Hovland (+2000). The Norwegian golfer always seems to be in contention in golf’s biggest events. He was playing in the final group on Sunday at last year’s Open Championship prior to finishing tied for fourth. This year, he tied for second at the Masters and tied for seventh in the PGA Championship.

Jordan Spieth (+3500) knows his way around links courses. He won the 2017 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale and the 2015 U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.

British golfer Tommy Fleetwood (+2200) is another who’s been knocking on the door in the game’s majors. He was second in the 2019 British Open and 2018 U.S. Open and fifth in the 2022 PGA Championship.

British Open pick: Cameron Smith (+1600).

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