The 4th and final major of the year is here, and it brings a different flavor of golf than the previous 3. The 2022 Open Championship challenges the best players in the world at St. Andrews, the home of golf, on a links-style course with wide-open fairways, huge greens and likely blistery conditions.
Below, we look at the 2022 Open Championship odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
The field of 156 includes 4 players who punched their ticket Sunday to The 150th Open Championship with top-3 finishes at the Scottish Open and Trey Mullinax winning the Barbasol Championship to earn a spot. After taking last week off, Rory McIlroy will attempt to win the 2nd Open Championship of his career. Scottie Scheffler remains the No. 1 player in the world, with McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele rounding out the top 5. Schauffele has won his last 2 starts.
The Old Course at St. Andrews is 7,313 yards and a par 72, but the length is subject to Mother Nature. With winds always being a factor, players will be hitting their 9-irons between 130 yards and 200, depending on the direction of the breeze. Fairways are vast and wide, and the greens are massive, but players will need to be creative when it comes to hitting these greens, often running shots up under the wind.
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Open Championship – Expert picks
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 10:44 a.m. ET.
Rory McIlroy (+900)
McIlroy didn’t play in the Scottish Open, but he was in Ireland playing with Tiger Woods last week, so he stayed fresh ahead of The Open. McIlroy has had a terrific season with 2 wins already, in addition to a rock-solid showing in the majors: 2nd at the Masters, 8th at the PGA Championship and T-5 at the U.S. Open.
In the 2010 Open Championship at St. Andrews, McIlroy tied for 3rd after going 63-80 in his first 2 rounds.
Shane Lowry (+2000)
Lowry won The Open in 2019 and tied for 12th last year, erasing memories of 4 consecutive missed cuts from 2015-18. His game is tailor-made for links golf, showing he can flight the ball low in high winds and use a penetrating draw to cut through the breeze.
He tied for 3rd at the Masters and posted a T-23 at the PGA before missing the U.S. Open cut, but this should be the major he’s most comfortable in.
Matt Fitzpatrick (+2000)
The U.S. Open champion followed up that victory with a T-6 at the Scottish Open last week, his third consecutive top-10 finish. His record at The Open isn’t as great as you’d expect, with nothing better than a T-20, but he’s never played this well in his career.
Everything is firing for Fitz right now.
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Open Championship picks – Contenders
Tony Finau (+4000)
I would like to get Finau at longer odds than +4000, but even here he’s too enticing to pass up. Aside from his missed cut at the U.S. Open, he’s gotten hot at the right time, with 8 made cuts in his last 9 starts and 3 top-15 finishes in his last 4 – including T-4 at the Charles Schwab Challenge and 2nd-place finish at the RBC Canadian Open.
Incredibly, he’s never finished worse than T-27 in 5 Open Championship starts and has a solo 3rd on his resume from 2019.
Max Homa (+5000)
In his debut last year, Home finished tied for 40th at 1-under. He tied for 16th at the Scottish Open last week with three rounds of 71 and a third-round 66, showing he’s more than capable of competing in a links tournament.
He tied for 13th at the PGA Championship, his best major finish, and I think he’ll be in contention again this weekend.
Joaquin Niemann (+5000)
For the simple fact that Niemann hits a low, penetrating ball, he should play nicely at St. Andrews. He tied for 16th last week and has 9 top-25 finishes in 20 starts this season, so he’s on the verge of breaking through with a big victory.
Open Championship picks – Long shots
Robert MacIntyre (+10000)
MacIntyre has made 2 starts in the Open Championship and finished in the top 10 both times: T-6 in 2019 and T-8 last year. Whether that trend continues this week is a mystery, but when it comes to long-shot picks, MacIntyre is the perfect guy to go with.
Oh, and he’s never missed a cut in 9 major starts.
Joo-hyung Kim (+10000)
The 20-year-old Kim finished alone in 3rd last week and 23rd at the U.S. Open, showing some moxie in big events. The stage won’t be too big for him this week and while expecting him to win is a bit unrealistic, there’s good value on Kim coming in the top 20.
Even his outright odds are worth a small wager at +10000.
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Golfweek:
- Xander Schauffele turns ‘average day’ into Genesis Scottish Open win
- Four players secure last-minute spots in 2022 Open Championship at St. Andrews
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