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The 2019 Open Championship: PGA Golf Betting Picks & Analysis

By Chris Aliperto

PGA Golf: PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 02: The 530 yards par 5, 12th hole 'Dhu Varren' on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club the venue for The Open Championship 2019 on July 2, 2018 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images)
PGA Golf: PORTRUSH, NORTHERN IRELAND - JULY 02: The 530 yards par 5, 12th hole 'Dhu Varren' on the Dunluce Links at Royal Portrush Golf Club the venue for The Open Championship 2019 on July 2, 2018 in Portrush, Northern Ireland. (Photo by David Cannon/Getty Images) /
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PGA Golf: PEBBLE BEACH, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 14: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland waves on the eighth green during the second round of the 2019 U.S. Open at Pebble Beach Golf Links on June 14, 2019 in Pebble Beach, California. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

PGA Golf: Best Bets – The 2019 Open Championship

Rory McIlroy – (8/1)

First of all, I should start by saying 8/1 is not great odds for golf, really ever, but even though Brooks Koepka is the slight overall favorite at 7.5/1, I think you can place a larger bet on either or, and some smaller bets elsewhere that present some better odds.

I usually like to start my picks with guys who will give me at least 20/1, but in a major championship with two clear-cut favorites in McIlroy and Koepka, I think the smart move is to pick one of the two who think will be capture the victory, and grab a few long shots as well.

McIlroy has not played in an event since the U.S. Open, and he has been tweeting from his native land of Northern Ireland and practice rounds from Royal Portrush throughout the last week or so. He is the favorite at 6/1 to win the Scottish Open this week which he will use as his tune-up, but my gut says his he could possibly already be looking ahead to The Open.

The Open Championship rotates all throughout parts of Europe, but no matter what the venue, McIlroy has been in contention for four out of the last five years. McIlroy won at Liverpool in 2014, and he T-2 last year at Carnoustie, finishing two strokes behind Francesco Molinari.

Of the four major championships, this one is Rory’s. I have no problem backing him as my pick to win the 148th Open Championship.

Jon Rahm – (14/1)

The Open Championship has not been good to Jon Rahm in his young career. His best finish was a T-44 in 2017 at Royal Birkdale, and he missed the cut last year. I wish I would have jumped on him a couple of weeks ago when he still around 30/1, but I think I may even grab a share of him here at 14/1 before the odds get any worse.

Rahm has struggled on U.S. soil as of late aside from the U.S. Open, but he has been nothing short of a beast on the other side of the pond in European Tour events going back to 2017.

Recently, after Rahm T-3 at Pebble Beach, he took his game overseas and continued to stay dialed-in. He T-2 at the Andalucia Masters, and he won the Irish Open last week.

I realize this is not a European Tour event, but with the way he has played the last month, I think he is worth a shot here at 14/1. Rahm is seeking his first major championship of his career, and his game has rounded into form just in time.

Hideki Matsuyama – (40/1)

Like I kind of hinted at with Rahm, sometimes when it comes to huge events like this with futures odds and bets available, the earlier you place the bet, the better.

I have been tracking odds on Bovada for a couple of weeks now, and there were golfers I was going to feature here who were obviously jumped on early by the sharps, and now have been adjusted. I will give you one example before we get to Hideki Matsuyama.

When I first had the idea to do this article, I flirted with debuting with an early Open preview, but gave you bad picks for the 3M Open instead. Sorry about that. Anyways, back then I was tracking Webb Simpson as a potential value long shot at 80/1. To make a short story even shorter, he is currently 50/1, and I guess if you snooze you lose.

Anyways, we know Matsuyama has not missed cut for over a calendar year now, and he is currently playing his best golf since 2017. He T-7 last week at the 3M Open, notching his fifth top-ten finish in 2019, but he is still yet to win since the 2017 WGC-Bridgestone.

I have seen odds elsewhere at around 30-35/1, so 40/1 here on Bovada still seems to hold some value. Matsuyama is still seeking his first major championship as well.

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