Royal St. George’s Golf Club in England hosts the 149th British Open. The Open is the final major of six on the PGA Tour’s 2020-21 schedule and returns after being canceled last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Below, we’ll look for the best value prop bets in the 2021 British Open odds, with placings, groups and first-round leader PGA Tour picks and predictions.
This will be the first time the British Open is held at Royal St. George’s since Darren Clarke’s victory in 2011. The 7,211-yard, par-70 venue is hosting The Open for the 15th time.
Jon Rahm, entering the week at No. 1 in the Golfweek/Sagarin world rankings, is looking to be the first golfer since Tom Watson in 1982 to go back-to-back as US Open and British Open champ.
2021 British Open picks: Placings
Odds provided by BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 8:25 a.m. ET.
Top 5: Webb Simpson (+1100)
The 2012 US Open champ, Simpson has never finished in the top five at the British Open; however, he made the cut in each of his last five appearances and tied for 16th at the 2011 British Open at Royal St. George’s.
He also enters in good form for the course, despite back-to-back missed cuts at the US Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic. He’s first on Tour this season in par 4 efficiency: 400-450 yards, scrambling and sand save percentage. He’ll be well suited to the traditional poor weather of the British Open.
Top 20: Min Woo Lee (+500)
Lee enters the week 368th in the Golfweek rankings but 61st in the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) after winning the abrdn Scottish Open last week. He’s worth a long-shot ticket at +15000 to win outright this week, but he’s still a solid play at 5-1 with 19 places of insurance in the stronger field.
2021 British Open picks: Top player
Top left-hander: Brian Harman (+260)
Harman’s an excellent value after cashing this ticket at the Masters with a T-12 finish. The 34-year-old is 13th in the Golfweek rankings and is playing some of the best golf of his career. He missed the cut in each of his last four British Open appearances, but he’s sixth on Tour in scrambling and T-21 in par 4 efficiency from the key distance of 400-450 yards.
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Top rest of the world: Louis Oosthuizen (+650)
The 2010 Champion Golfer of the Year is a safer play to be the top South African at +200, but we can get a little greedy with a 6.5-1 return in the larger pool.
The 38-year-old finished T-2 and second at the PGA Championship and U.S. Open, respectively. His lone PGA Tour win to date was at the British Open, where his putter offers the greatest advantage.
2021 British Open picks: First-round leader
Richard Bland (+10000)
Bland will be the first golfer off the first tee Thursday morning at 1:35 a.m. ET. The 48-year-old claimed his first European Tour win in mid-May and became the oldest 36-hole leader at the US Open a month ago. Look for the veteran Englishman to start strong once again in just his second appearance at the British Open.
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