British Open 2018: Betting odds for the 147th Open at Carnoustie
Sure, there’s a load of European and international talent in the field at the 147th Open Championship. But I would be remiss not to pay special attention to the amount of top American players hoping to earn the title of champion golfer of the year.
It’s important to recognize one historical fact right away. Americans have won 10 of 18 Opens since the year 2000, but the Jug hasn’t stayed stateside for more than a year since 2003-2006. Tiger Woods won solidly in ’05 and ’06, but before that, Todd Hamilton and Ben Curtis only narrowly held off top challengers like Ernie Els and Vijay Singh.
Here are the top American contenders not already mentioned earlier.
- Patrick Reed, 30:1
- Bryson DeChambeau, 60:1
- Matt Kuchar, 60:1
- Bubba Watson, 60:1
- Tony Finau, 60:1
- Zach Johnson, 80:1
- Patrick Cantlay, 80:1
As you can see, this brings a lot of intrigue into the mix. Most notably, we’ve got five or six guys who have been on top of their game lately, and a couple who have contended for – or won – the Open in the past.
Right now, I’m leaning heavily toward either Kuchar, runner-up at last year’s British Open, or 2015 champion golfer of the year Zach Johnson. I think both of their games fit perfectly for a tough track like Carnoustie, and Kuchar is bound to win a major sooner or later. Meanwhile, Zach Johnson has finished in the top-20 in six of the last seven Opens. It’s tough to argue with those results.