Open Championship Long Shot Odds: Historic Trend at Royal St. George's
Everyone loves a good underdog, especially when it comes to golf. Anyone who grabbed Phil Mickelson to win the PGA Championship this year at 250/1 knows what I’m talking about. There’s truly nothing better than winning a solid chunk of change on a bet that only cost you a few dollars.
For those of you who agree with that, this week’s Open Championship could present another golden opportunity for a long shot to hit, at least that’s what history tells us.
This week’s edition of the Open is set to take place at Royal St. George’s in Sandwich, England. The major tournament has been hosted at this golf course 14 times, with the two latest occurrences occurring in 2011 and 2003.
So what does Royal St. George’s have to do with long shot bets winning? Well, the winners of the event the last two times it was hosted at the track saw some of the most unlikely winners in professional golf major tournament history.
Darren Clarke won the event in 2011, and he was listed at around 150/1 before the opening tee shot. Ben Curtis’ odds were even longer when he won in 2003, as the American had his odds set at anywhere between 300/1-500/1 before the tournament started. Many golf fans would point to Curtis’ win as the biggest upset in major tournament history.
It's officially Open Championship week. The last two times this tournament was played at Royal St. Georges, the winners were Darren Clarke (2011), who was 150/1 pre-tournament, and Ben Curtis (2003), who anywhere from 300/1 to 500/1.
— Jason Sobel (@JasonSobelTAN) July 12, 2021
Will we see history repeat itself this week?
I didn’t pick any golfers with odds any longer than 50/1 in my betting preview, but there are a couple of long shots that present interesting value if you believe the trend will continue.
Since the OWGR began in 1986, there have been four winners of @TheOpen ranked outside the top-100 in the world.
— Justin Ray (@JustinRayGolf) July 7, 2021
Two of them won at Royal St Georges - Ben Curtis (396th) and Darren Clarke (111st).
Francesco Molinari +15000 (150/1)
Francesco Molinari was on top of the world when he won the Open Championship in 2018, just a measly three years ago. Unfortunately for the Italian, his game has fallen off since blowing a back-nine Sunday lead at the 2019 Masters.
There have been some positive signs for Molinari the past few months. He had a T8 finish at the Genesis Invitational in February, and he also had a very solid T13 finish at the US Open last month. If you think the Open Championship will give him the confidence he needs to return to his 2018 form, he’s available at 150/1 at WynnBET.
Lucas Glover +20000 (200/1)
Lucas Glover just captured his first win in over 10 years last week when he came from behind on Sunday to capture the John Deere Classic. The 2009 US Open winner has a T12 and T20 finish at the Open Championship on his record, and he’s clearly playing some of the best golf he’s played in recent years. Betting on a guy to win two straight weeks could be worth a shot at 200/1.
Haotong Li +50000 (500/1)
Now we’re getting into Ben Curtis levels of long shot. Li has mainly played on the European Tour so far in his professional career, and he’s already racked up two wins at only 25 years old. Li had a solo third finish at the Open Championship in 2017, and he still has a lot of golf ahead of him. It’s tough to make an argument for a guy who’s 500/1, but young golfers like Li can explode into success at any point, and he’s already shown he can succeed on the big stage.
Think you know which long shot to bet on? Download the WynnBET app in New Jersey, Indiana or Colorado and make your bet today.