The Open Championship returns to Royal Birkdale for the year's final major. Whether it's The Open or the British Open, depending on where you are, the 154th edition of this great championship returns to Royal Birkdale for an 11th time.
Site of Jordan Spieth's famous win in 2017, Royal Birkdale Golf Club (Par 70, 7,223 yards) boasts an illustrious list of Claret Jug winners, including Padraig Harrington, Mark O'Meara, Tom Watson, Johnny Miller, Lee Trevino, and Arnold Palmer, to name a few. The 2025 Champion Golfer of the Year, Scottie Scheffler, leads a strong field who have descended upon Southport for the final major of the year. Scheffler will look to join Padraig Harrington, the last to have won back-to-back Claret Jugs, when he won The 137th Open here in 2008.
Back-to-back Masters Champion Rory McIlroy, three-time winner this season Matt Fitzpatrick, local hero Tommy Fleetwood, two-time major winner Jon Rahm, and 2024 Champion Golfer of the Year Xander Schauffele are just several of the big-time names who will tee it up in the 156-man field.
It will be hard to top Tom Kim's excellent win for us last week in Scotland, but let's make some picks and predictions for the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
154th Open Championship picks and predictions
Top 20 pick for The Open Championship: Gary Woodland (+395)
It's somewhat surprising that Woodland has not finished better than T12 at The Open Championship since 2011. The 2019 U.S. Open winner comes into the year's final major playing arguably some of his best golf. A winner at the Texas Children's Houston Open in March, Woodland has four top-17 finishes or better in his last eight starts, including a T7 finish at the U.S. Open last month.
Sleeper pick for The Open Championship: Maverick McNealy (+11000)
Fourth in the field in strokes gained around the green and 11th in putting over the last three months, per Data Golf, McNealy has the game to excel at an Open Championship. He has thrived at coastal locales throughout his career with success at places like Pebble Beach and a win at the RSM Classic in 2023.
Maverick has played well at major championships this year, tying for 18th at both The Masters and the PGA Championship, and he comes to Royal Birkdale with eight top-18 finishes or better already this year.
Pick to win The Open Championship: Russell Henley (+5400)
Keeping the ball in play will be crucial at Royal Birkdale, and that is something that Henley usually does very well. He ranks first in the field in driving accuracy and sixteenth on approach over the last three months.
Third at The Masters and a winner at the Charles Schwab Challenge this year, Russell is having a very good season with six top-13 finishes or better in 15 starts. He has finished fifth and T10 in his last two appearances at The Open Championship. Like Brian Harman at Royal Liverpool, Henley has the game to win a British Open.
Pick to win The Open Championship: Collin Morikawa (+3300)
The 2021 Champion Golfer of the Year has had mixed results at The Open Championship ever since his famous win at Royal St. George's, with his best finish since then coming at Royal Troon in 2024, where he finished tied for 16th. Morikawa comes to Royal Birkdale in arguably his best form since.
A winner at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, Collin has five top -seven finishes or better in nine starts, including a T7 finish at The Masters. He has gained strokes on approach in three consecutive events and finished third at the Travelers Championship in his most recent start. If he is healthy, Morikawa could take home his third major at The 154th Open.
All betting odds courtesy of DraftKings. Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change. The content in this article should not be considered betting advice. Gambling involves risk, and one should only gamble with funds that one can comfortably afford to lose. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.
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