The Open Championship 2024 Betting Odds: Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy the Favorites

After the conclusion of the 2024 U.S. Open on Sunday, we are now four weeks away from golf's fourth and final major of the year -- The Open Championship 2024 at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland.

Starting on Thursday, July 18th, a stacked field will attempt to join Scottie Scheffler (The Masters), Xander Schauffele (PGA Championship), and Bryson DeChambeau (U.S. Open) as major winners this year. To do so, they will have to triumph at a course that last hosted The Open in 2016 when Henrik Stenson bested Phil Mickelson in an epic duel on Sunday to capture his first major.

According to the British Open odds at FanDuel Sportsbook, Scottie Scheffler (+500) is favored to win this year's Open Championship.

Who is behind him in second, and how does the rest of the field look a month from the start of the tournament?

Below is a list of the full odds and a breakdown of the current favorites.

British Open Odds

Scottie Scheffler (+500)

For the first time this season, Scottie Scheffler's golf game blinked. After amassing 10 top-10 finishes, including five wins and two runner-ups, in his first 12 events in 2024, Scheffler made the cut on the number at the U.S. Open, finishing T41. It was his worst finish since October of 2022.

Scheffler's game this season has reached heights rarely seen. The only remaining question was how long would it last? Would this be a one-year peak? A two-year peak? Or something truly legendary like Tiger Woods' prime.

We are still a long way from finding out that answer, but for the first time in a long time, we have a data point that is something other than a positive performance.

Scheffler will be teeing it up at The Open for the fourth time in his career. In his three other appearances, he has finished T8 (2021), T21 (2022), and T23 (2023). As was usually the case prior to 2024, what held him back in those events was his putting. The Open is the only major Scheffler doesn't have a top-five finish in.

Despite that, he remains the favorite. While it was concerning that Scheffler's T41 finish at the U.S. Open was primarily due to his putting (-1.47 strokes gained: putting per round), his recent form suggests it will be just a blip on the radar. As long as those putting struggles don't continue, Scheffler could be back to his usual dominance as soon as this week at the Travelers Championship.

Until we see him falter consistently, Scheffler remains a deserving favorite to win every tournament he enters.

Rory McIlroy (+650)

Heartbreak.

What appeared to be the moment when Rory McIlroy's 10-year major drought would finally end, with an iconic final-round performance at a historic venue, quickly turned into possibly the most gut-wrenching moment of his career. A magnificent moment transformed into a house of golfing horrors over the course of a five-hole stretch that included two missed putts from inside four feet. A game of inches indeed.

Looking ahead, few questions about McIlroy's game remain. In his 11 majors since the start of 2022, he has eight top-10 finishes, including five top-five finishes and three runner-ups.

The question for this year's Open is can McIlroy regroup mentally after yet another close call. After his runner-up finish at the U.S. Open last year, he bounced back with a T6 at The Open. After his runner up at the Masters in 2022, he finished solo eighth at the PGA Championship.

Outside of the U.S. Open, The Open has been McIlroy's best major over the last 10 years. In seven appearances since his win in 2014, he has five finishes of T6 or better. Two of those came in the last two years -- T6 in 2023 and solo third in 2022 -- and one of them came at this year's course, Royal Troon Golf Club, where he finished T5 in 2016.

Including his second place finish at the U.S. Open, McIlroy has now finished T15 or better in each of his last five events. After pulling out of the Travelers Championship, McIlroy is scheduled to play at only the Genesis Scottish Open, where he is the defending champion, between now and The Open.

Assuming he maintains his current form through the pains of another near-miss, McIlroy is set up for success at The Open in July.

Bryson DeChambeau (+1200)

A star is born.

Or should I say, a star is reborn.

On the other side of McIlroy's agonizing defeat was pure elation for Bryson DeChambeau. With his victory at Pinehurst, DeChambeau punctuated his transformation from mad golf scientist to one of the game's brightest stars, and just as importantly, one of its most complete players.

At the core of DeChambeau's sky-rocketing popularity is a golfer who has improved nearly every aspect of his game. He has always been long off the tee and a good putter, but for much of his career, he struggled around the greens and his approach play was inconsistent. In 2024, that has all changed.

The absence of shotlink data from LIV events clouds the picture, but the information we do have paints a clear image. DeChambeau is averaging career-best marks in every strokes gained category. His strengths have been sharpened -- +0.93 strokes gained: putting and +1.58 strokes gained: off the tee -- and he has made drastic improvements in his weakness. His strokes gained: around the green average (+0.52) is nearly half a stoke better than 2023 and is his best mark since 2016 (+0.30). His strokes gained: approach average (+1.03) is up +0.82 strokes from 2023 and is his best since 2018 (+0.67).

One-dimensional DeChambeau is gone. In his place is a golfer who has the game -- both physical and mental -- to compete with the world's best regardless of the course.

That statement will be tested at The Open, which has been the worst major of DeChambeau's career. In six appearances, he has two missed cuts (2016 and 2019) as well as finishes of T33 (2021), T51 (2018) and T60 (2023). His best finish was a T8 at St. Andrews in 2022.

Xander Schauffele (+1400)

Another major, another top-10 finish for Xander Schauffele -- who has now finished T10 or better in five of his last seven majors, including all three in 2024.

After Scheffler, Schauffele is the best golfer in the world at the moment, per data golf's total strokes gained. He is second in the world in strokes gained: putting, strokes gained: approach, and total strokes gained. His worst stat is strokes gained: around the greens, where he ranks 14th.

Schauffele's consistency has been remarkable. In 15 starts this season, he has 11 top-10 finishes, including six top-five efforts. The last time he finished worse than T18 at a major was the Masters in 2022 when he missed the cut.

The Open has been his worst major -- in six starts, he has only one top-10 finish, a T2 in 2018. He finished T15 in 2022 and T17 in 2023.

Playing the best golf of his impressive career, Schauffele will have an excellent chance to record his second top 10 at The Open this season.

Often overlooked, Schauffele continues to operate as one of the most consistent and well-rounded golfers at every event he attends.

Ludvig Aberg (+1400)

Through two days at the U.S. Open, Ludvig Aberg was in fantastic position to win the first major of his young career. He fell apart on the weekend (+6 over two rounds), but the most exciting rookie in golf continues to live up to the hype.

Dealing with a knee injury and lacking the experience of his peers, Aberg continues to play exceptional golf week in and week out. He is fifth in the world in total strokes gained, ninth in strokes gained: approach, and 26th in strokes gained: putting.

His weakness -- strokes gained: around the green (124th) -- was exposed at Pinehurst (-0.84 strokes per round), but every other part of his game was dialed in as he gained at least 1.0 stokes per round in every other category.

That is a consistent story for Aberg at the majors this year. At all three, he lost strokes around the green but gained strokes in every other category. It is the final piece to his puzzle.

The Open will, of course, test Aberg's play around the greens. He has earned two impressive finishes at majors despite those struggles, but to take the final step and win a major, he may need to address the only remaining hole in his game.

Collin Morikawa (+1600)

Coming off a T14 finish at the U.S. Open, Collin Morikawa is now fourth in the world in total strokes gained. His form since the start of the Masters has been excellent -- five top-10 finishes, including four top-five showings in eight events.

Morikawa has an interesting history at The Open. In his debut appearance at Royal St. George's in 2021, he won the event. In his two starts since, he has missed the cut.

He entered his win in 2021 in solid form, with three top-10 finishes, including two top fives, in the five events leading into The Open. In 2022, he didn't have a finish better than T26 in his five events prior to The Open. In 2023, he was coming off a T2 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic but had finished T26 or worse in six of his seven events before that, with three missed cuts.

His form this season is better than 2021 and far better than the last two years.

Morikawa may also benefit from the setup at Royal Troon. According to data golf's course fit tool, driving accuracy is more correlated with total strokes gained than driving distance. That is a plus for Morikawa, who ranks second in the world in driving accuracy but 192nd in driving distance.

Viktor Hovland (+1800)

The curious case of Viktor Hovland's 2024 season took another turn with a missed cut at the U.S. Open. Just when it appeared that Hovland had returned to the form that saw him capture the Tour Championship last August, he recorded just his second missed cut over his last 25 starts.

Even within the U.S. Open itself, Hovland displayed both sides of his game. After shooting an eight over 78 on Thursday, he battled back with a two under 68 on Friday to miss the cut by one stroke.

Outside of that Thursday round, Hovland's game has been in good form since he returned to his old swing coach prior to the start of the PGA Championship. If he follows the same playing schedule as 2023, Hovland will make two more starts before The Open -- the Travelers Championship and the Genesis Scottish Open. His performances at those events will go a long way toward assessing his outlook at Royal Troon in July.

Adding to the intrigue is Hovland's past performances at The Open. In three appearances, he has finished T12, T4, and T13. Iutside of the PGA Championship, The Open has been Hovland's best major.

So dominant was Hovland's run to end 2023 that any glimpses of that form are enough to create excitement about his future results. If Hovland plays well between now and the start of The Open, he is certainly capable of contending.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.