The 2018 Open Championship Odds and Preview

The 2018 Open Championship takes place this week at Carnoustie Golf Links at Carnoustie, Scotland. Formerly the British Open, The Open Championship is the third major golf championship this year. For years now, the British Open has been the third major championship on the PGA and European Tour’s golf’s annual calendars. This week will be the last time for the foreseeable future that’s the case. Starting in 2019, the Grand Slam season will wrap up in mid-July with the British Open because the PGA Championship is moving from August to May as part of a few big changes on the Tour schedule. An American, Dustin Johnson, is the favorite. Check out the 2018 Open Championship odds and picks for our 3 categories:  the Favorites, the Second Choices, and the Underdogs.

The 2018 Open Championship Odds and Preview

It’s #TheOpen Championship week!

Welcome to Carnoustie Golf Links. ⛳ pic.twitter.com/R78WgqL1Sb — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 16, 2018

• Location: Angus, Scotland
• Course: Carnoustie Golf Links/Championship Course
• Tours: European, PGA, Japan Golf
• Par: 71
• Field: 156 players
• Prize fund: $10,500,000
• Streaming: The Open Live
• TV: Thursday-Friday, 1:30 a.m.-4 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 4:30-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-3 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 4:30-7 a.m. (GC); 7 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (NBC)

Favorites

• Dustin Johnson                    +1100
• Justin Rose                            +1600
• Rickie Fowler                        +1600
• Jordan Spieth                       +1600

DJ should be favored. He goes to Carnoustie having played great golf in his recent tournaments. But, it’s difficult to back Johnson at low odds because he hasn’t yet faced the strong winds at Carnoustie. When the winds pick up at Carnoustie, it spells trouble for every golfer. That’s why Justin Rose is the pick from the Favorites category. Because he’s English, Rose should have a better handle on Carnoustie’s links course than any of the Americans. He should play his best. If he does, it could lead to a Claret Jug win. Favorites Pick: Justin Rose

The Second Choices

• Tommy Fleetwood             +1800
• Jon Rahm                              +1800
• Justin Thomas                     +1800
• Brooks Koepka                    +2200
• Sergio Garcia                       +2500
• Jason Day                              +2500
• Tiger Woods                              +2500

Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood will get plenty of support. And, why not? He finished second at the U.S. Open after shooting a 75-66-78-63. What’s so impressive about the score is that Fleetwood shot a 63 a day after bombing with a 78. That proves he’s got the mental fortitude to become one of the best golfers in the world. But, as impressive as Fleetwood was at the U.S. Open, the pick in the Second Choices category is Justin Thomas. Thomas isn’t spectacular. He is ultra-consistent, though. Consistency could be the key word this week due to how Carnoustie roughs up every golfer that attempts to beat it. Thomas will play it safe. Playing it safe at The Open Championship might just be the way to win it. Carnoustie was a bit more kind when it hosted in 2007 as Padraig Harrington and Sergio Garcia finished at 7 under, with Harrington winning in a playoff. Tiger Woods has said Carnoustie is the toughest course in the British Open rotation. This year, it has been very dry and hot in Scotland so the fairways are completely browned out and rock hard – guys are driving the ball more than 400 yards in practice rounds. It’s like if you took a ball and hit it down a long road. It’s going to roll forever. Since World War II, two of the four toughest Opens have been played at Carnoustie. “Right now the fairways are faster than the greens. I am sure they will probably speed the greens up a touch, but I’m sure this will be one of those weeks where the fairways are a little quicker than the greens,” Woods said following a practice round. The last player to repeat at the British Open was Woods in 2006. Jordan Spieth is the defending champion, winning by three shots last year at 12 under from Royal Birkdale. Spieth is not having a particularly good 2018 season and hasn’t won since last year’s British Open. He’s +1600. Spieth delivered the claret jug to the R&A on Monday at Carnoustie. He will begin his title defense at 4:58 a.m. ET on Thursday, playing with world No. 2 Justin Rose and Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Woods, who has not played in the Open since missing the cut at St Andrews in 2015, is +2500. Woods will begin his first round Thursday in the 147th edition at Carnoustie at 10:21 a.m. ET, playing alongside Hideki Matsuyama and Russell Knox. Woods does not have a top 10 at a major championship since July 2013 when he finished T6 at the British Open. Second Choices Pick: Justin Thomas

The Underdogs

• Henrik Stenson                      +2800
• Francesco Molinari              +2800
• Patrick Reed                            +2800
• Alex Noren                               +3300
• Paul Casey                                +3300
• Hideki Mastuyama                +3500

Henrick Stenson won the 2016 Open Championship by shooting a 68-65-68-63 = 264 at Royal Troon. Royal Troon is a tough course. It wasn’t in 2016, but usually it is. Stenson faces a much tougher climb to dominate Carnoustie this week. I like Patrick Reed. The 27-year-old American missed the cut at the Travelers Championship in his last. But before that, he finished fourth at the U.S. Open after shooting a 68 Round 4. Reed won the Masters Tournament at Augusta in April. That means he’s stepping up his game at major championships this year. He offers decent odds and should be in the Top 5 going into Sunday. That will give him a huge shot. Underdogs Pick: Patrick Reed

Round Schedule

Here’s a look at the full list of times for Rounds 1 and 2 (all times ET):

• 1:35AM/6:36 AM: Sandy Lyle, Martin Kaymer, Andy Sullivan
• 1:46AM/6:47 AM: Erik Van Rooyen, Brady Schnell, Matthew Southgate
• 1:57AM/6:58 AM: Danny Willett, Emiliano Grillo, Luke List
• 2:08AM/7:09 AM: Mark Calcavecchia, Danthai Boonma, Shaun Norris
• 2:19AM/7:20 AM: Kevin Chappell, Oliver Wilson, Eddie Pepperell
• 2:30AM/7:31 AM: Ross Fisher, Paul Dunne, Austin Cook
• 2:41AM/7:42 AM: Tyrrell Hatton, Patrick Cantlay, Shane Lowry
• 2:52AM/7:53 AM: Thomas Pieters, Kevin Kisner, Marcus Kinhult
• 3:03AM/8:04 AM: Phil Mickelson, Satoshi Kodaira, Rafa Cabrera Bello
• 3:14AM/8:15 AM: Brian Harman, Yuta Ikeda, Andrew Landry
• 3:25AM/8:26 AM: Si Woo Kim, Webb Simpson, Nicolai Hojgaard (a)
• 3:36AM/8:37 AM: Stewart Cink, Brandon Stone, Hideto Tanihara
• 3:47AM/8:48 AM: Gary Woodland, Yusaku Miyazato, Sung Kang
• 4:03AM/9:04 AM: Ernie Els, Adam Hadwin, Chesson Hadley
• 4:14AM/9:15 AM: Pat Perez, Julian Suri, George Coetzee
• 4:25AM/9:26 AM: David Duval, Scott Jamieson, Kevin Na
• 4:36AM/9:37 AM: Darren Clarke, Bernhard Langer, Retief Goosen
• 4:47AM/9:48 AM: Matt Kuchar, Anirban Lahiri, Peter Uihlein
• 4:58AM/9:59 AM: Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Kiradech Aphibarnrat
• 5:09AM/10:10 AM: Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler, Chris Wood
• 5:20AM/10:21 AM: Louis Oosthuizen, Paul Casey, Patrick Reed
• 5:31AM/10:32 AM: Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Jhonattan Vegas
• 5:42AM/10:43 AM: Yuxin Lin (a), Alexander Bjork, Sang Hyun Park
• 5:53AM/10:54 AM: James Robinson, Haraldur Magnus, Zander Lombard
• 6:04AM/11:05 AM: Kodai Ichihara, Rhys Enoch, Marcus Armitage
• 6:15AM/11:16 AM: Sean Crocker, Gavin Green, Ash Turner
• 6:36AM/1:35 AM: Brandt Snedeker, Sam Locke (a), Cameron Davis
• 6:47AM/1:46 AM: Patton Kizzire, Jonas Blixt, Charles Howell III
• 6:58AM/1:57 AM: Charl Schwartzel, Daniel Berger, Tom Lewis
• 7:09AM/2:08 AM: Alex Levy, Ryan Moore, Byeong Hun An
• 7:20AM/2:19 AM: Michael Hendry, Kelly Kraft, Lee Westwood
• 7:31AM/2:30 AM: Henrik Stenson, Tommy Fleetwood, Jimmy Walker
• 7:42AM/2:41 AM: Matthew Fitzpatrick, Russell Henley, Jovan Rebula (a)
• 7:53AM/2:52 AM: Rory McIlroy, Marc Leishman, Thorbjorn Olesen
• 8:04AM/3:03 AM: Dustin Johnson, Alex Noren, Charley Hoffman
• 8:15AM/3:14 AM: Zach Johnson, Adam Scott, Brendan Steele
• 8:26AM/3:25 AM: Justin Thomas, Francesco Molinari, Branden Grace
• 8:37AM/3:36 AM: Jason Day, Shota Akiyoshi, Haotong Li
• 8:48AM/3:47 AM: Todd Hamilton, Beau Hossler, Jorge Campillo
• 9:04AM/4:03 AM: Ryuko Tokimatsu, Chez Reavie, Michael Kim
• 9:15AM/4:14 AM: Kyle Stanley, Nicolas Colsaerts, Jens Dantorp
• 9:26AM/4:25 AM: Tom Lehman, Dylan Frittelli, Grant Forrest
• 9:37AM/4:36 AM: Lucas Herbert, Min Chel Choi, Jason Kokrak
• 9:48AM/4:47 AM: Padraig Harrington, Bubba Watson, Matt Wallace
• 9:59AM/4:58 AM: Ian Poulter, Cameron Smith, Brooks Koepka
• 10:10AM/5:09 AM: Sergio Garcia, Bryson DeChambeau, Shubhankar Sharma
• 10:21AM/5:20 AM: Tiger Woods, Hideki Matsuyama, Russell Knox
• 10:32AM/5:31 AM: Jason Dufner, Ryan Fox, Keegan Bradley
• 10:43AM/5:42 AM: Ryan Armour, Abraham Ander, Masahiro Kawamura
• 10:54AM/5:53 AM: Jazz Janewattananond, Fabrizio Zanotti, Jordan Smith
• 11:05AM/6:04 AM: Brett Rumford, Masanori Kobayashi, Jack Senior
• 11:16AM/6:15 AM: Matt Jones, Thomas Curtis, Bronson Burgoon