The 2026 Open Championship tees off on Thursday, July 16, at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Rory McIlroy (Masters), Aaron Rai (PGA Championship) and Wyndham Clark (U.S. Open) were the year's first three major winners, and they're all in the 2026 Open Championship field. Scottie Scheffler is the defending Open Championship champion, while Jordan Spieth won this event the last time it was at Royal Birkdale in 2017.
Scheffler is the +500 favorite (risk $100 to win $500) in the latest 2026 Open Championship odds, followed by McIlroy at +800. Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood (+1400) and Matt Fitzpatrick (+2000) are among the favorites as well, with Spaniard Jon Rahm (+1800) between them on the odds board. Before locking in any 2026 Open Championship picks, be sure to see the 2026 British Open predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
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SportsLine's proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, simulated every PGA Tour event 10,000 times and reveals golf betting picks that have a history of being extremely profitable.
This same model has also nailed a whopping 17 majors entering the weekend, including the 2026 Masters -- its fifth Masters in a row -- as well as last year's PGA Championship and Open Championship. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting sites.
Now that the 2026 Open Championship field is finalizing, the model simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.
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2026 Open Championship predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the Open Championship 2026: Fleetwood, the third favorite and the lowest English golfer on the board at +1400, stumbles and barely finishes inside top 5. He's a golfer to fade in Open Championship best bets. Fleetwood has a pair of top-5 finishes at the Open Championship, but also missed the cut in 2024 and finished outside the top 10 last year. He finished 27th the last time this event was at the Royal Birkdale. With no finishes better than T11 in any major this year, the model has found better values on the board. See who else to fade here.
Another surprise: Ludvig Aberg is a top-3 contender on the projected leaderboard despite never having won a major and having slightly longer odds at +2700. This will be just his third British Open, but he finished in the top 25 in this event last year. He's also been steady at the majors this year, which was highlighted by a T4 finish at the PGA Championship. He's one of the best drivers in both distance and accuracy on tour right now, and that quality alone makes him a top contender at Royal Birkdale. See who else to pick here.
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How to make 2026 Open Championship picks
The model is also targeting several longshots, including one shocking pick who is going off around 35-1. You can only see the model's picks here.
Who will win the 2026 Open Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the 2026 Open Championship odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that's nailed 17 golf majors, including three in 2025.
2026 Open Championship odds, favorites
Get full 2026 Open Championship picks, best bets and predictions here. (odds via FanDuel and subject to change)
Scottie Scheffler +500 Rory McIlroy +800 Tommy Fleetwood +1400 Jon Rahm +1800 Matt Fitzpatrick +2000 Xander Schauffele +2200 Tyrrell Hatton +2700 Collin Morikawa +2700 Ludvig Aberg +2700 Cameron Young +2700 Wyndham Clark +2700 Justin Rose +2700 Robert MacIntyre +3000 Sam Burns +3500 Viktor Hovland +3500 Joaquin Niemann +3500 Hideki Matsuyama +3500 Chris Gotterup +3500 Shane Lowry +4000 Patrick Cantlay +4000 Bryson Dechambeau +4000 Jordan Spieth +4500 Harris English +5000 Brian Harman +5000 Brooks Koepka +5000 Aaron Rai +5000 Maverick McNealy +5000 Russell Henley +5500 Patrick Reed +5500 Sepp Straka +5500 Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +5500 Justin Thomas +5500 Keegan Bradley +6500 Si Woo Kim +6500 Tony Finau +6500 Will Zalatoris +6500 Sungjae Im +6500 Cameron Smith +6500 Dustin Johnson +6500 Corey Conners +6500 Daniel Berger +6500 Jason Day +6500 Marco Penge +6500 Akshay Bhatia +8000 Tom Kim +8000 Minwoo Lee +8000 Jacob Bridgeman +8000 Sahith Theegala +10000 Rickie Fowler +10000 Denny McCarthy +10000 Rasmus Hojgaard +10000 Adam Scott +10000 Nicolai Hojgaard +10000 David Puig +10000 J.J. Spaun +10000 Haotong Li +10000
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