Sports Betting This Weekend: British Open, Diamondbacks/Reds, Newport Open

One of the top golf draws of the year highlights this week’s July calendar for online sports betting. 

Golf

British Open

Thursday, July 20 through Sunday, July 23  |  NBC

This week marked the final major tournament of the season, with the British Open opening play Thursday morning at Royal Liverpool.

Cameron Smith won the British Open last year, when it was held at St Andrews. Smith, who now plays on the LIV tour, is coming off a tournament win at the LIV Golf Invitational in London. He’s +1600 to win the tournament, accounting for 5% of the market handle at BetMGM.

However, the top target for many bettors right now is Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who has banked six consecutive top-10 finishes at PGA Tour events. That includes a second-place finish at last month’s U.S. Open, as well as a win at last week’s Scottish Open. 

McIlroy won the British Open the last time it was held at Royal Liverpool, which was 2014. At +750, he is a golf odds betting co-favorite and is widely expected to compete for the title again.

Scottie Scheffler, who has also played well this year, is the other co-favorite at +750. His 19.4% of the market handle is higher than all other players. 

Major League Baseball

Arizona Diamondbacks at Cincinnati Reds

Friday, July 21 through Sunday, July 23

No MLB division has been more turbulent this year than the NL Central, and that has held true throughout much of the last six weeks. Preseason MLB odds favorite Milwaukee grabbed first place from early leader Pittsburgh in the final days of May.

But it was the Reds who captured baseball’s attention in June, calling up rookie sensation Elly De La Cruz on June 6. The Reds quickly became one of the hottest, fiercest teams in all of MLB, surging into first place by the end of the month. 

That De La Cruz juice has faded a bit since the All-Star break, with the team now falling back behind Milwaukee in the division standings. The Reds are 7-8 in July. 

This is a dangerous time for the Arizona Diamondbacks to come to town, who are facing a surge in their own division from the Giants. San Francisco’s hot play has crowded the NL Wild Card picture. 

Previously, the Diamondbacks were in a real position to challenge the Dodgers; now it seems the Diamondbacks might not even be guaranteed second place. Both Cincinnati and Arizona need wins to keep up.

Tennis 

Infosys Hall of Fame Open 2023 

Monday, July 17 through Sunday, July 23  |  Tennis Channel

How do you follow up an epic Carlos Alcaraz vs. Novak Djokovic Wimbledon finale? 

Answer: you can’t, really. Nothing from this week’s smattering of small, regional tournaments will be able to top last weekend’s fireworks on Centre Court. 

One stateside curiosity, though, might be the Infosys Hall of Fame Open in Newport, Rhode Island, which is the only tour tournament in the U.S. right now. 

Newport features not only the International Tennis Hall of Fame – hence the tournament name – but also one of the only professional grass courts in the world outside of Europe. 

Grass season is short-lived in the world of tennis betting, and most other players are already back on clay or hardcourt this week. But if you’re interested in one more quirky week of grass, it could be worth checking out Newport. 

American Tommy Paul, who is on the cusp of a top-10 ranking, has played this tournament as the No. 1 seed and betting favorite. On Wednesday, Paul advanced to the quarterfinals with a straight-set victory over American wild card Ethan Quinn.