The 2026 Open Championship tees off on Thursday, July 16, at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Rory McIlroy (Masters), Aaron Rai (PGA Championship) and Wyndham Clark (U.S. Open) were the year’s first three major winners, and they’re all in the 2026 Open Championship field. Scottie Scheffler is the defending Open Championship champion, while Jordan Spieth won this event the last time it was at Royal Birkdale in 2017.Scheffler is the +500 favorite (risk $100 to win $500) in the recent 2026 Open Championship odds, followed by McIlroy at +800. Englishmen Tommy Fleetwood (+1400) and Matt Fitzpatrick (+2000) are among the favorites as well, with Spaniard Jon Rahm (+1800) between them on the odds board. Before locking in any 2026 Open Championship picks, be sure to see the 2026 British Open predictions and projected leaderboard from the proven computer model at SportsLine.
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SportsLine’s proprietary model, built by DFS pro Mike McClure, simulated every PGA Tour event 10,000 times and reveals golf betting picks that have a history of being extremely profitable.
This same model has also nailed a whopping 17 majors entering the weekend, including the 2026 Masters — its fifth Masters in a row — as well as last year’s PGA Championship and Open Championship. Anyone who has followed its sports betting picks could have seen massive returns on betting sites.
Now that the 2026 Open Championship field is finalizing, the model simulated the tournament 10,000 times, and the results were surprising. Head to SportsLine now to see the projected leaderboard.
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2026 Open Championship predictions
One major surprise the model is calling for at the Open Championship 2026: Fleetwood, the third favorite and the lowest English golfer on the board at +1400, stumbles and barely finishes inside top 5. He’s a golfer to fade in Open Championship best bets. Fleetwood has a pair of top-5 finishes at the Open Championship, but also missed the cut in 2024 and finished outside the top 10 last year. He finished 27th the last time this event was at the Royal Birkdale. With no finishes better than T11 in any major this year, the model has found better values on the board. See who else to fade here.
Another surprise: Ludvig Aberg is a top-3 contender on the projected leaderboard despite never having won a major and having slightly longer odds at +2700. This will be just his third British Open, but he finished in the top 25 in this event last year. He’s also been steady at the majors this year, which was highlighted by a T4 finish at the PGA Championship. He’s one of the best drivers in both distance and accuracy on tour right now, and that quality alone makes him a top contender at Royal Birkdale. See who else to pick here.
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How to make 2026 Open Championship picks
The model is also targeting several longshots, including one shocking pick who is going off around 35-1. You can only see the model’s picks here.
Who will win the 2026 Open Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Check out the 2026 Open Championship odds below and then visit SportsLine to see the projected leaderboard, all from the model that’s nailed 17 golf majors, including three in 2025.
2026 Open Championship odds, favorites
Get full 2026 Open Championship picks, best bets and predictions here.
(odds via FanDuel and subject to change)
Scottie Scheffler +500
Rory McIlroy +800
Tommy Fleetwood +1400
Jon Rahm +1800
Matt Fitzpatrick +2000
Xander Schauffele +2200
Tyrrell Hatton +2700
Collin Morikawa +2700
Ludvig Aberg +2700
Cameron Young +2700
Wyndham Clark +2700
Justin Rose +2700
Robert MacIntyre +3000
Sam Burns +3500
Viktor Hovland +3500
Joaquin Niemann +3500
Hideki Matsuyama +3500
Chris Gotterup +3500
Shane Lowry +4000
Patrick Cantlay +4000
Bryson Dechambeau +4000
Jordan Spieth +4500
Harris English +5000
Brian Harman +5000
Brooks Koepka +5000
Aaron Rai +5000
Maverick McNealy +5000
Russell Henley +5500
Patrick Reed +5500
Sepp Straka +5500
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +5500
Justin Thomas +5500
Keegan Bradley +6500
Si Woo Kim +6500
Tony Finau +6500
Will Zalatoris +6500
Sungjae Im +6500
Cameron Smith +6500
Dustin Johnson +6500
Corey Conners +6500
Daniel Berger +6500
Jason Day +6500
Marco Penge +6500
Akshay Bhatia +8000
Tom Kim +8000
Minwoo Lee +8000
Jacob Bridgeman +8000
Sahith Theegala +10000
Rickie Fowler +10000
Denny McCarthy +10000
Rasmus Hojgaard +10000
Adam Scott +10000
Nicolai Hojgaard +10000
David Puig +10000
J.J. Spaun +10000
Haotong Li +10000
