On the eve of the British Open, golf fans are getting ready to not sleep in order to wake up and tune into the action at Royal Portrush in the United States. Get the coffee ready and get ready to watch The Open Championship test the best golfers in the world for 72 holes (if they make it that far) in hopes of hoisting the Claret Jug. And after watching J.J. Spaun come out of nowhere to win the U.S. Open, while fans might not be sleeping, these sleepers at The Open should have everyone's attention.
Clearly, there's always a reason as to why dark horse picks at the British Open or any golf tournament aren't among the favorites. That doesn't mean their price is absolutely right, but it does tend to mean that there is a hole or flaw in their game currently. At the same time, if we look in the right places, particularly with the demands of Royal Portrush as a test of accuracy and smarts, that's where we find value in the hopes that, for just a week, those holes in the game get plugged and these longshots become viable contenders at The Open.
Approach play and ball-striking is certainly the biggest thing we're looking at in trying to identify sleepers this week. However, there is more than just that. But let's see where we landed and why with our British Open longshots and sleeper picks for the final major championship of 2025 at Royal Portrush.
Golf betting record in 2025: 23-113-0, +11.695 Units (-0.25 Units at Scottish)
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British Open sleepers who could win the Claret Jug at Royal Portrush
4. Patrick Reed +9000 (FanDuel), 0.2 Units
I really thought that I was going to be just fine not having a Patrick Reed outright on my card, but I was wrong in the end. The more I look at where the LIV Golf star's game is right now and his history at The Open, the more I think that he's just being severely undervalued this week at Portrush with the style of play that could put him right into the mix.
Reed has never been one of the longest hitters but, looking at the three majors he's played in 2025, he's been well above average driving accuracy in two of the three, the PGA Championship being the exception. Furthermore, he gained big time on approach in both The Masters and U.S. Open, as well as in his LIV Dallas win. And even when he lost on approach last week in Spain, he still finished T10 with his magician-like short game.
His history at the British Open is far from perfect. However, he does have three Top 20s in his career, including finishing solo 10th at Portrush back in 2019, his best finish in this championship. I'd argue he might be playing at that level, if not better, right now. And his game is made to attack Portrush, so we have to have a bit more investment in him, for better or worse.
3. Tom Hoge +40000 (DraftKings)
Make no mistake, there is a reason that Tom Hoge is listed at 400-1 for The Open. His last seven starts in reverse chronological order go MC, T45, MC, T7, MC, MC, T63. That's obviously not what you think of when you think of a major champion who's about to be crowned. At the same time, there's one thing I can't look away from when it comes to Hoge: his approach play.
The hallmark of his game and where he thrives at his best, Hoge has been a bit inconsistent on approach as of late, but the highs have been undeniable. Even missing the cut last week in Scotland, he did so while gaining 2.03 strokes on approach. At the U.S. Open, he also missed the cut but gained 1.25 strokes on approach. The short game and some inaccuracy off the tee for a shorter hitter have hurt him.
Having said that, if the driver is even a level weapon this week at Portrush and he doesn't bleed strokes with the putter, the iron and wedge play has shown the highs of someone who could make some noise to propel him into contention. He just needs the rest of the game to click back in for one week, like it did at the Memorial, which was the T7 finish that stands as an outlier in his last seven starts.
2. Kristoffer Reitan +35000 (FanDuel)
Spreading the gospel of Kristoffer Reitan this week leading into the British Open has felt like my life's sole mission, so I'm not going to go now. While it's minimal, it should be said that the fact that the Norwegian was 400-1 on Sunday and has now moved to 350-1 does tell me that I might be onto at least a little something. More importantly, though, the numbers also tell me that might be the case.
No one really mentioned Reitan's name last week, but he finished T13 at the Scottish Open and did so on the strength of his ball-striking. He gained 1.84 strokes in that department alone, including 0.99 on approach. He's also on an impressive run over his last six starts, all but the Scottish coming solely on the DP World Tour, with the T13, a T4 at the BMW International, an outlier T46 at the Italian Open, T13 at the KLM Open, T2 at the Austrian Alpine Open, and a win at the Soudal Open in May. He's done that while showing some much-improved accuracy off the tee and as a relatively steady gainer on approach.
The short game is certainly hit or miss, but Scotland proved that he might simply be in form with the ball-striking right now. It's far from a sure thing, but it feels like this relatively unknown commodity in the golf world might have legitimate upside this week at Portrush.
1. Christiaan Bezuidenhout +25000 (DraftKings)
There were times in recent years when Christiaan Bezuidenhout kept popping up on leaderboards, but that really wasn't the case early on in 2025. As of late, though, we're starting to see some more flashes from the 31-year-old South African, enough to make you think that he maybe shouldn't be at 250-1 for The Open Championship, especially with how this course could play to his strength.
Just starting at the top with the ball-striking, Bezuidenhout ranks 31st in SG: Approach over the last 24 rounds in this field and 22nd in Driving Accuracy over the last 36 rounds. He's also Top 20 over the last 36 rounds in SG: Putting on slow greens. His record at the British Open is nothing to write home about with his best finish being T49 in 2023. He also missed the cut at Portrush back in 2019, albeit as a far less experienced player.
Bezuidenhout hasn't been consistent but has notched a T13 at the Scottish and a T12 at the U.S. Open over the past month. His accurate driving is a staple of his game, finishing above the field average in that department in eight straight events, and his approach play has now gained in six of those eight events. On slower greens that he's had success on, his chances are better than you might think this week.