The PGA TOUR continues in Scotland this week for the final major of the year, The Open Championship. Royal Troon Golf Club will be the host, and measures as a 7,385-yard par 71 with Bentgrass greens.
We have another full field, 156-man event on tap with a 36-hole cut, led at the top by defending-champion Rory McIlroy.
Below I have outlined my two favorite bets for the week.
Scottie Scheffler to win (+450)
I am going to be eating the chalk this week with the World No. 1. After winning the Travelers Championship in late June, he decided to take the next four weeks off to get ready for the year’s final major. I don’t think I need to go too deep into the historic run that Scheffler is on, but just as a refresher, he’s now won six of his past 10 starts, while finishing runner-up twice and getting arrested in another.
This +450 number we are getting on him actually presents a bit of value, considering that he was just a shade over +300 at the U.S. Open and the Travelers. The fact that we haven’t seen Scheffler in weeks, combined with the way the trio of Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau and Collin Morikawa are playing right now are the catalysts of the drop in his number. In addition, Scheffler’s links golf history has yet to catch up to the rest of his game, as his best finish at the Open was T8 back in 2021.
I have seen more than enough from the best player in the world this year to know that he can win on literally any course on this planet. People have gone on record saying his edge was dulled a bit on courses like TPC River Highlands or Harbour Town, due to them being shorter/positional tracks, but Scheffler quickly made them look foolish by winning at both.
Scheffler is by far the best ball-striker in the world, while also boasting the best short-game in the world, and he should have no problem carving up Royal Troon this week. With the shakiness McIlroy has shown in trying to close majors this year, DeChambeau’s lack of links success and the rather pedestrian golf Xander Schauffele has played the past few weeks, my money is on Scheffler to capture his second major of 2024 and cap an already historic season.
Akshay Bhatia to win (+9000)
It’s hard to really bet much else when you have a +450 golfer on your card, but we will take a stab with a 90/1 Bhatia here. Being that this is a major generally won by grizzled veterans, it might be a bit early to back the 22-year-old phenom at the Open, but this number is simply too big for the talent Bhatia possesses.
The California native is in the midst of the best season of his young career, winning the Valero Texas Open back in April, before posting a T16 at the U.S. Open, T5 at the Travelers and T2 at the Rocket Mortgage Classic all over the past month.
Bhatia ranks 13th in this loaded field in Total Strokes gained over the past 48 rounds, and is absolutely on the trajectory of becoming a top-five player in the world. At this number, the talent is 100% worth betting on.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and customer (my username is Lan1228) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.