2024 Open Championship Tips: Golf Betting Predictions For St Andrews

Open Championship Betting Tips:

• Rory McIlroy To Win Each-Way - 10/1 with BetVictor
• Hideki Matsuyama To Win Each-Way - 30/1 with William Hill

Nothing quite beats seeing an Open Championship taking place at the Old Course at St Andrews, with this iconic golf course playing host to the final major of the calendar year and it promises to be something special.

The action takes place between 14-17 July, with Tiger Woods (twice), Louis Oosthuizen and Zach Johnson among the players who have lifted the Claret Jug at this venue.

As you might expect, bookmakers are offering plenty of Open Championship free bets and they are anticipating a wide open encounter where any number of world-leading players can be victorious.

It’s little surprise to see Rory McIlroy trading as the outright favourite with bookmakers, although his double figure odds still imply a low probability of winning and the same applies to other market leaders such as Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth.

Rory Could Be an Each-Way Bet to Nothing at St Andrews

We know Rory McIlroy is in good nick and the beauty of golf betting is that you don’t need your player to win the tournament in order to make a profit.

With betting sites offering each-way terms which extends to as many as 12 places, you can understand why the Northern Irishman is going to be a popular wager at 10/1 or thereabouts.

Yes, Rory hasn’t been in the majors winners’ enclosure since 2014. Although, that’s slightly irrelevant given that we’re talking about a player who was second in the 2022 Masters before an eighth-placed finish in the PGA Championship and then tied second at the US Open.

His A-game is probably better than anyone in the world but it comes down the same case of needing to string together four consistent rounds of golf.

McIlroy is up to second in the world rankings and that is a massive leap considering that the four-time major winner was as low as 16th back in August.

It was only a few weeks ago that Roars landed the spoils at the Canadian Open and he clearly adores St Andrews to the extent that we’re happy to add him to the shortlist here.

Spieth Could Be a Better Pick Than Rahm or Schauffele

Jordan Spieth is another brilliantly exciting golf player when it comes to links courses and the Texan famously won the Claret Jug in 2017 thanks to some maverick golf in the final round. 

He came brutally close to doubling his Open Championship tally 12 months ago when finishing second to Collin Morikawa and he previously tied fourth at the 2015 Open which was held at St Andrews.

Having finished 10th in the Scottish Open, we’re happy to add Spieth to the shortlist, although we think that Jon Rahm can be passed over.

The 27-year-old was tied third last year but that was his only top ten finish in the Open Championship and the big-hitting Spaniard might struggle with the conditions.

Xander Schauffele was tied-second in the 2018 Open Championship although the American hasn’t been close to the top of the leaderboard in the ensuing years. 

Having yet to win a major tournament, we would be wanting a bigger price about a player who missed the cut in the Masters and is completely unproven when it comes to a course like St Andrews.

Fitzpatrick and Lowry Sure to Get a Warm Reception

The home crowd will be cheering on their favourites and that includes US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick. 

The Yorkshireman recently broke his major duck and might enjoy the Open Championship with a new-found level of confidence, with some golf betting sites chalking up an attractive 20/1 that he can quickly double his tally in Scotland.

Three years ago, Shane Lowry was able to triumph and his short game expertise should once again come to the fore around the Old Course over four rounds. 

It’s not inconceivable that the Irishman can resuscitate the winning vibes that we saw at Royal Portrush three years ago although that remains the last triumph of his career to date.

Scottie Scheffler was taking the golf world by storm earlier in 2022 and the American landed the Green Jacket at Augusta.

Although this is a player who has little experience of competing in the Open Championship and it might take him a few years to adapt to the conditions on these sort of courses.

Justin Thomas could be someone who is rivalling McIlroy and Spieth on the leaderboard and the 29-year-old has the sort of mental resilience which can see him compete near the top of the leaderboard.

But his Open record doesn’t compare as favourably as his former college playing partners.

Matsuyama and Johnson Also Set to Go Well at St Andrews

You will no doubt remember Hideki Matsuyama triumphing at Augusta last year and the Japanese player is available at a monster price to win the 2022 Open Championship.

He didn’t compete last year, there wasn’t a tournament in 2020 and there was a missed cut in 2019 which illustrates why the odds are big about him.

However, his US Open performance was recently eye-catching where we saw Matsuyama perform to a high level and his approach play was something to behold.

Considering betting apps are laying as big as 40/1 on him with so many places on offer, we just need the Japanese star to be holing a few important putts and we could be on the money.

Dustin Johnson can’t easily be ignored despite all the noise surrounding the LIV Tour, with the American having been the Round 2 Leader at St Andrews when the Open Championship was played in 2015. 

With four top-ten finishes in this competition, there could be some merit in siding with him.