The Open Championship will put a bow on the 2024 men's major season.
The latest: Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm my two picks to win at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. Boring, I know. But I'm also backing a trio of players, including a former champion, to finish inside the top 20 at plus money.
Check out our Open Championship best bets and picks to win for the tournament beginning on July 18.
Open Championship best bets
Scheffler to win (+500)
I'm not even sure this pick needs a write-up. After all, what can I say about Scheffler that hasn't already been said?
The 28-year-old picked up his sixth win of the season three weeks ago at the Travelers Championship, becoming the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1962 to reach that number before July.
It was also his sixth win in 10 starts, with two runner-up finishes mixed in.
The talent pool of modern golf has never been deeper but Scheffler has still lifted and separated from the pack.
The gap between him (+2.723) and second-place Xander Schauffele (+1.621) in strokes gained: tee-to-green is greater than the gap between Schauffele and No. 42-ranked Jose Campillo (0.523).
Scheffler has only played in three Open Championships and finished T8, T21 and T3. Barring another arrest, I like his chances this week.
Rahm to win (+2,500) & top-20 finish (+110): This has been a disasterous season for Rahm ... you know, outside of getting paid a reported $350 million to defect to LIV Golf.
The two-time major champion finished T45 in his Masters title defence, missed the cut at the PGA Championship and was forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open with a foot injury.
But there is one opportunity left for the Spaniard and I say he jumps at it.
Rahm has been in better form than one would think. He sits second on LIV's season standings despite having not won an event. That's thanks to five top-five finishes and a T10 and T3 in his last two starts.
He's also finished inside the top three in two of the last three Open Championships and was runner-up to Brian Harman last year.
The recent form at majors is a tad concerning but I'm willing to look past it at this number.
Quick picks
Cantlay top-20 finish (+175): The last time we saw Patrick Cantlay play, he netted a T5 at the Travelers Championship the week after finishing T3 at the U.S. Open.
He was forced to withdraw from the John Deere Classic with an undisclosed injury and didn't play in Scotland as a tune-up, which is worth monitoring.
But he'll be playing at Troon and I am fine to assume some injury risk.
Cantlay has made the cut in nine straight majors and sneakily finished inside the top 20 in nine of those. His most recent effort at Pinehurst was his best yet and is something to build off.
Smith top-20 finish (+200): Cameron Smith has the cunning around-the-green game needed to become an Open champion.
He leaned on that heavily when he won at St. Andrews back in 2022 and I expect him to put forth another strong effort in Troon.
The Aussie has logged consecutive top 10s on LIV and finished T6 at the Masters earlier this season. If Smith can dial in some uncharacteristically shaky iron play, he should contend.
Rai top-20 finish (+225): Aaron Rai is on an incredible heater.
The Englishman has five straight top-20 finishes and is coming off a T4 at the Genesis Invitational and a T2 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic two weeks earlier.
He's a relatively green major championship player but has finished inside the top 20 in two of his last four starts. That includes a T19 at the 2021 Open Championship.
Can I see him lifting the Claret Jug? No. But I can definitely picture him on the leaderboard come Sunday.
Golf picks made at 1:06 p.m. on 07/15/2024.
