All eyes will be on the Old Course at St Andrews on July 14th as the 150th edition of The Open Championship gets underway.
It’s been an unsettling period for the sport but the success of Matthew Fitzpatrick at the U.S Open last month has fuelled the hunger for golf across the United Kingdom.
While the ongoing issues relating to the LIV Golf tournament continue to draw attention, the race for the Claret Jug is well and truly on…
As one of the top golf betting events of the year, The Open Championship deserves the full support of the media and sport fans around the world.
Without further ado, it’s time to take a closer look at five of the top contenders ahead of The Open 2022 – who will emerge victorious on Championship Sunday?
Rory McIlroy
A worthy favourite. McIlroy hasn’t been afraid to speak his mind in recent months but his outbursts are not impacting his golf in any way, shape or form.
In fact, McIlroy is enjoying one of the best spells of his career – competing at the business end of almost every single tournament.
While 9/1 may be skinny for some sports betting enthusiasts, it is hard to envision McIlroy collapsing at St Andrews – especially after performing so well there in 2010.
Cast your minds back to the 21-year-old hitting a first-round nine-under-par. It was a joy to behold and we can expect more McIlroy magic in the 2022 event.
Odds: 9/1
Jon Rahm
Rahm hasn’t sparkled quite like McIlroy in recent months but he excelled when winning the Mexico Championship just two months ago.
He missed out on a top 10 finish at the U.S Open but Rahm played reasonably well, making a couple of costly errors at crucial moments to put himself out of contention.
Even then, he finished just seven shots off the lead and a cleaner approach at St Andrews may well swing the tournament in his favour.
Still ranked as the third best player on the planet, Rahm isn’t without a chance. He wouldn’t be my pick but he did tie for third in this event last year…
Odds: 12/1
Scottie Scheffler
He is the world number one for a reason and the American is the one that they all have to beat. 12/1 could turn out to be a fantastic price…
The 2022 U.S Masters winner has been in supreme form this term, cementing his status as the top ranked player in the world of golf.
While he has been helped by the departure of some high profile names, Scheffler has hit a new level this year and is now consistently competing at every tournament.
He finished in the top 10 at The Open Championship last year and narrowly missed out on backing up his Masters win with the U.S Open title. I’m backing Scheffler to prevail.
Odds: 12/1
Justin Thomas
Thomas been a pillar of consistency over the last year or so, missing the cut just once in every appearance since the previous Open Championship.
While he finished down the field at the U.S Open, Thomas has generally been battling for prize money on Championship Sunday and he should be bang there at St Andrews.
14/1 isn’t a bad price for a player of his stature and if he brings his A-game – as he did at the PGA Championship – then he could be hard to peg back, especially if he leads early.
St Andrews isn’t the most forgiving course and his consistency at the highest level could give Thomas the edge when push comes to shove.
Odds: 14/1
Collin Morikawa
It would be unfair to call Morikawa a dark horse as he deserves a spot on merit and his form at major tournaments has been sensational over the past 12 months.
In fact, Morikawa has finished inside the top 10 in five of the last six majors – including when winning The Open Championship at Royal St George’s Golf Club in 2021.
The Open Championship rotation may hinder Morikawa this time around but he is certainly worthy of a spot in the top five in the betting. Write him off at your peril.
Keep an eye on the young American as we head into the weekend. If he is in the chasing pack, we could see Morikawa on the charge for back-to-back Open titles.
Odds: 18/1
*Credit for all the photo in this article belongs to AP Photo*
