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The 149th British Open begins Thursday morning at Royal St. George’s Golf Club in England. Golf fans and bettors will need to wake up early with the first tee shot being hit at 1:35 a.m. ET. Below, we look at the top 18- and 72-hole matchups for the 2021 British Open, with PGA Tour picks and predictions.
Jon Rahm, ranked No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings, will begin his quest for a second consecutive major at 4:58 a.m. ET. He’s paired with 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year Shane Lowry and 2010 champ Louis Oosthuizen for the first two rounds.
Royal St. George’s last hosted the British Open in 2011, with Darren Clarke being crowned Champion Golfer of the Year. The venue measures just over 7,200 yards and plays to a par of 70.
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2021 British Open first-round matchups (18 holes)
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 7:30 a.m. ET.
Andy Sullivan vs. Richard Bland vs. Marcus Armitage (+210)
Get a piece of the action with the first group to tee off. Sullivan is the top-ranked golfer of the three in the Golfweek rankings and Bland was in contention through 54 holes at the 2021 US Open but ARMITAGE (+210) is the most recent winner in this group.
The 33-year-old claimed his first career European Tour win at the Porsche European Open in early June. He missed the cut at the 2018 British Open but received a boost of confidence ahead of his second attempt.
Lucas Glover (+120) vs. Byeong Hun An vs. Brandt Snedeker
GLOVER (+120) ended a 10-year winless drought with victory at last week’s John Deere Classic. It was against a weak field but it came at the right time ahead of his return to Royal St. George’s. The 2009 US Open champ tied for 12th at the 2011 British Open as the third-best major finish of his career. His familiarity will help in Round 1.
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Brooks Koepka vs. Jason Kokrak (+200) vs. Garrick Higgo
KOKRAK (+200) is the top-ranked player in this group by the Golfweek rankings and he’s also second on the PGA Tour this season in Round 1 scoring average. He and Higgo can lean on their excellent putting with few having much meaningful experience at Royal St. George’s, but Kokrak has the edge in both driver and iron play.
2021 British Open tournament matchups (72 holes)
Collin Morikawa vs. Patrick Cantlay (-110)
Morikawa and Cantlay are evenly priced in this tournament matchup, but Cantlay is +3000 to win while Morikawa is just +3300. Trust those outright odds (which typically receive much more action) and take the value with CANTLAY (-110).
Dustin Johnson (-115) vs. Bryson DeChambeau
JOHNSON (-115) tied for second at the 2011 British Open as the top result of any true contender in this year’s field. He also moved back to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking despite not playing last week. DeChambeau has two missed cuts and a T-51 finish in three appearances at the British Open.
Viktor Hovland vs. Louis Oosthuizen (+100)
Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion, is an even-money underdog against Hovland, who’s making his first British Open appearance. Back the experienced OOSTHUIZEN (+100), especially off of back-to-back runner-up finishes at the PGA Championship and US Open.
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Golfweek:
- DeChambeau ‘trying to become better’ at dealing with controversy
- Photos: British Open 2021 at Royal St. George’s
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