British Open Picks 2023: 1 of These 10 Players Will Win

It’s officially British Open week, and a unique one from a golf betting perspective, as players will take on Royal Liverpool in England. This links-style course is much different than most on the PGA Tour.

There are plenty of storylines to follow, including Rory McIlroy looking to ride the momentum from his win last week at the Genesis Scottish Open to win his first major since 2013, Scottie Scheffler potentially winning his second major, as well as the LIV players, who have already have one major this year (Brooks Koepka, PGA Championship).

McIlroy has the best odds to win this week at +650.

Picking an outright winner is extremely hard, but there are some trends to know for this week.

British Open Betting Strategy

Since this is a major championship, naturally, one of the best players in the game is going to win. Although, if there’s one major that caters to longer shots, it’s this one.

Like most events, current form does come into play, so it’s important to look at how a player is performing at the moment.

Royal Liverpool and links-style golf is much different than typical tournaments on the PGA Tour, so it will be worth taking note of the players who have had success at the British Open, as well as other events in Europe in the past.

Weather will dictate the scores; if the wind and rain pick up, the scores will not be very low, and it will be about avoiding bogeys and making pars. But, if there’s no wind, it could turn into a birdie-fest.

Picking A British Open Winner

Nine of Last 10 Winners Were Ranked Inside Top 33 of Official World Golf Rankings

1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Rory McIlroy
3. Jon Rahm
4. Patrick Cantlay
5. Viktor Hovland
6. Xander Schauffele
7. Cameron Smith
8. Max Homa
9. Matt Fitzpatrick
10. Wyndham Clark
11. Jordan Spieth
12. Brooks Koepka
13. Tyrrell Hatton
14. Will Zalatoris
15. Keegan Bradley
16. Tony Finau
17. Sam Burns
18. Cameron Young
19. Collin Morikawa
20. Justin Thomas
21. Tommy Fleetwood
22. Rickie Fowler
23. Sungjae Im
24. Tom Kim
25. Kurt Kitayama
26. Brian Harman
27. Jason Day
28. Sepp Straka
29. Shane Lowry
30. Corey Conners
31. Russell Henley
32. Justin Rose
33. Denny McCarthy

Based on recent history, these are the 32 players (Zalatoris is out due to injury) with a chance to win going into the week based on the Official World Golf Ranking.

Last 10 Winners Had Previous Top-2 Finish in Major

1. Scheffler
2. McIlroy
3. Rahm
4. Hovland
5. Schauffele
6. Smith
7. Fitzpatrick
8. Clark
9. Spieth
10. Koepka
11. Bradley
12. Young
13. Morikawa
14. Thomas
15. Fleetwood
16. Fowler
17. Im
18. Harman
19. Day
20. Lowry
21. Rose

Eliminated: Cantlay, Homa, Hatton, Finau, Burns, Kim, Kitayama, Straka, Conners, Henley, McCarthy

Past history has shown success at a previous major is needed to win.

Nine of Last 10 Winners Had Top-20 Finish in Previous 2 Majors

1. Scheffler
2. McIlroy
3. Rahm
4. Hovland
5. Schauffele
6. Smith
7. Fitzpatrick
8. Clark
9. Koepka
10. Morikawa
11. Fleetwood
12. Fowler
13. Lowry
14. Rose

Eliminated: Spieth, Bradley, Young, Thomas, Im, Harman, Day

Based on recent years, recent success in a major is required to win a British Open.

Last 5 Winners Won a Tournament Earlier in Season

1. Scheffler
2. McIlroy
3. Rahm
4. Hovland
5. Smith
6. Fitzpatrick
7. Clark
8. Koepka
9. Fowler
10. Rose

Eliminated: Schauffele, Morikawa, Fleetwood, Lowry

Also, eight of the last 10 winners had won earlier in the season. 

Based on these trends, the winner will either be one of those 10 players. Keep this in mind when making your British Open picks this week.