Scottie Scheffler is having an exceptional season and enters the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool as one of the hottest players in the sport.
The 27-year-old has gone 19 straight events finishing T-12 or better and has finished inside the top five in seven straight events.
So, it’s no surprise Scheffler is a massive betting favorite this week at the BetMGM online sportsbook.
As of Wednesday, Scheffler is pulling in 19.4% of the handle and 11.4% of tickets. Both are the highest of any player in the field.
Scheffler has seen his odds drop from +850 last July to +750 entering the tournament this week.
His ball striking is what has set him apart this season. He has gained 2.81 strokes tee-to-green this year, which is by far the best of anyone on the PGA Tour. According to Justin Ray, it is the second-highest number since Tiger Woods gained 2.91 strokes tee-to-green in 2006.
And it’s worth noting Woods won the Open Championship that year, also at Royal Liverpool.
The other player generating a lot of action this week is Rory McIlroy, who is coming off a win at the Genesis Scottish Open last week, and he won the event the last time it was at Royal Liverpool (2014).
McIlroy (+750) is drawing the second-highest handle (14.3%) on the second-most tickets (9.8%).
The 34-year-old is enjoying a nice stretch of his own, posting six straight top-10 finishes.
Scheffler, McIlroy and Brooks Koepka are BetMGM’s biggest liabilities.
After opening at +3300 last summer, Koepka is now down to +2000 and pulling in the third-most tickets and handle.
Current Handle & Tickets
Handle
- Scottie Scheffler – 19.4%
- Rory McIlroy – 14.3%
- Brooks Koepka – 8.3%
- Viktor Hovland – 6%
- Cameron Smith – 5%
Tickets
- Scottie Scheffler – 11.4%
- Rory McIlroy – 9.8%
- Brooks Koepka – 6.8%
- Viktor Hovland – 5.4%
- Rickie Fowler – 5%
In the first-round leader market, Smith is generating the most action at +2800. He’s taking in the highest handle at 7.9%.
Scheffler is also dominating the prop market, as he’s the most bet-on player to finish inside the top five (+175) as well as top 10 (-125). Rickie Fowler is the most bet-on player to finish inside the top 20 (+105).
Meanwhile, Phil Mickelson is the most bet-on player to make the cut (+110), while Bryson DeChambeau is the most bet-on player to miss the cut (+188).
