British Open Betting

The British Open, also known as the Open Championship, is the oldest of the four major golf championship tournaments. Traditionally held in the middle of July, the Open was first played all the way back in 1860 in Scotland. The British Open is always hosted in the U.K., making it the sole major golf championship contested outside of the United States.

Betting on the British Open requires a different mindset than the other majors. One of the biggest differentiators of the British Open is the fact that it is routinely hosted on "links-style" courses like St. Andrew's and Royal Troon. As Golfweek explains, playing on a links course requires a different approach, and thus may favor a different style of player than the other majors and PGA tournaments:

"Generally, the game is played closer to the ground. Since the terrain on a links course is naturally firm, players employ more bump-and-run shots. Putting from close off the green is also encouraged. And keeping your ball flight low helps to lessen the effects the usually brisk coastal winds have on your ball flight."


How to Read British Open Odds

When betting on the Open Championship, you'll usually find futures odds for several weeks or months leading up to the event, and head-to-head odds in the days leading up to the tournament.

British Open futures

The "futures" section of British Open odds shows the current odds for every potential entrant in the tournament to take home the famous Claret Jug as the winner. Below are the top 10 favorites to win the 2021 British Open. Click here for the most up-to-date odds.

According to the odds, as of Aug. 6, reigning British Open winner Jon Rahm is the favorite, at +900 odds, to defend his title.

This means that a bet of $100 on Rahm to prevail at the 2022 British Open, set for the Old Course at St Andrew's, would pay $900 if successful.

British Open head-to-head odds

Head-to-head betting odds for the British Open (not yet available at time of publication of this page) will usually feature a pair of golfers, with listed odds on who will perform best in an individual round, or over the course of the full tournament. Here is an example of what a head-to-head bet for a full golf tournament can look like:

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In the example, Rickie Fowler is listed at -120 odds. This means a wager of $120 would earn you $100 in winnings, if Fowler ends the tournament with a better overall score than his head-to-head competitor, Hideki Matsuyama.

Matsuyama is listed at -135 odds. That means a bet of $135 would win $100, if his tournament score is better than Fowler's.

Single round odds in head-to-head matchups appear the same way as tournament head-to-head odds:

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British Open Champions

Below is a complete table showing the winner of the Open Championship, what course the Open was played at, what nation the winning golfer represented, what the winning score was, and what the winning score was against par (if applicable). Note that the British Open was not played in 1871, from 1915 to 1919, from 1940 to 1945, or in 2020.

Year
Champion
Country
Course
Location
Total Score
Score to Par
1860
Willie Park Sr.
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
174
n/a
1861
Tom Morris Sr.
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
163
n/a
1862
Tom Morris Sr.
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
163
n/a
1863
Willie Park Sr.
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
168
n/a
1864
Tom Morris Sr.
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
167
n/a
1865
Andrew Strath
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
162
n/a
1866
Willie Park Sr.
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
169
n/a
1867
Tom Morris Sr.
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
170
n/a
1868
Tom Morris Jr.
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
154
n/a
1869
Tom Morris Jr.
Scotland
Prestwick Golf Club
Prestwick, Scotland
157
n/a