The Open Championship at Royal Portrush has already brought us every kind of weather and plenty of drama as the top golfers from both the PGA TOUR and LIV Golf try to claim the final major of the season. DraftKings Sportsbook is offering bettors an extra way to get in on the action as well with the King of the Course promotion. In this post, we’ll be tracking the live results in the chase for $1,000,000 in bonus bets.
Nick Friar broke down all the details of how to play the King of the Course promo. The short version is that the King of the Course crown is earned by the golfer who has the most birdies or better (par-breakers) across Rounds 3 and 4 combined. The bettors who placed a bet on that player to win the tournament using the available token from the promo page will divide $1 million in bonus bets.
Below, you can find the latest updates throughout Saturday and Sunday as we track the top of the leaderboard and the players who are going to earn their backers a share of $1 million in bonus bets.
Here’s the latest:
Scottie Scheffler is your 2025 Open Champion Golfer; as for your King of the Course champion … (1:45 pm)
It’s hard not to be rendered a bit speechless by the poetry in Scheffler winning this tournament after opening this tournament with some of the rawest honesty we’ve heard a modern athlete offer about desire, drive, and how all that plays into soul. Indeed, this man has soul, and so does golf. What a moment in a year of moments already.
To say what this means for the legacy of Scheffler’s career escapes articulation. What I can say is that his post-trophy-presentation press conference might be must-see television.
As for your King of the Course leader and final payouts, details below:
We’ll provide one final update here with the official announcement from DraftKings Sportsbook with regards to how this eccentric King of the Course tie will pay out bonus bets to both Rickie Fowler and Wyndham Clark bettors!
King of the Course PANDEMONIUM! A tie at the top! Game reset: (12:52 pm)
As it stands currently, Wyndham Clark and Rickie Fowler are your current Kings of the Course!
With Wyndham Clark’s birdie on 17, he’s gone ahead and tied Rickie Fowler’s 13 birdies-or-better lead in the Portrush clubhouse.
You can check out the full details on the payouts for your King of the Course leaders as the round is wrapping up here, where Zach Thompson has broken down the bonus bet payouts for each golfer.
Were Wyndham Clark to win outright, the 186 Clark bettors would have won a $5,376 bonus bet.
Had it been Fowler, the 295 Rickie bettors would have won $3,390.
Having said that, the KoTC score is currently an unprecedented tie, and we’ll update accordingly should it remain that way! And it just well might.
Clark nails King of the Course tie! (12:39 pm)
With a par on hole no. 18, Wyndham Clark wraps up his card with 13 birdies-or-better for the tournament, which ties him with Rickie Fowler’s current clubhouse lead of 13!
Clark might have just iced it, as the only players remaining on the course hunting for the King of the Course crown might be a little too far out of reach. Next closest to Fowler’s 13 are both Rory McIlroy and Chris Gotterup, who only have nine birdies-or-better across Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2025 Open Championship.
Cruise control for both Scheffler and Clark & Fowler, as it were. Are the folks at Portrush beginning bejewel two DraftKings crowns?
Massive surprise at hole no. 17 for Wyndham Clark! (12:35 pm)
Wyndham Clark has officially birdied hole no. 17, which puts him at 13 birdies-or-better for Rounds 3 and 4 of the tournament. That means, he’s officially tied Rickie Fowler at 13 birdies-or-better for the King of the Course lead in the clubhouse.
Is there a live Wyndham Clark feed anywhere? We need it!
Leaderboards taking final definition (12:21 pm)
With Scottie Scheffler at the tee here on hole no. 13 holding a five-shot lead, it’s looking like this could be a two-man battle between Scheffler and Chris Gotterup (-12).
Having said that, the DraftKings King of the Course leaderboard is taking a bit more final definition, even with seven holes to play for our final groups.
With Justin Rose and Harry Hall out of the running, and Rickie Fowler as the current leader with 13 birdies-or-better through Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2025 Open Championship, the only real contender remaining out on the course is Wyndham Clark.
Clark parred the sixteenth hole, which means he has his final two holes to either tie or best Fowler’s 13. Wyndham sits at 12.
The final nail on Justin Rose (12:05 pm)
Justin Rose has officially parred hole no. 17, which means, like Harry Hall, he could only now tie Wyndham Clark for second on the King of the Course leaderboard with 11 birdies-or-better through the final two rounds.
Meanwhile, Wyndham Clark is making his way to the sixteenth to see if he can finish the final round of his lifetime.
Not to be outdone by anyone, however, Justin Rose’s classiness at Royal Portrush still reigns supreme in the field:
Wyndham Clark spearing toward the King of the Course crown! (11:56 am)
With a chip-in on hole no. 14, Wyndham Clark has officially bloated his total of birdies-or-better from Rounds 3 and 4 for to a whopping 11! Seven of those come from today’s round.
He’s now firmly in second place both on the Open Championship leaderboard at 10-under (still six shots back of Scheffler), but only trails Rickie Fowler’s 13 birdies-or-better, which stands as the KoTC lead, by one tweeter.
We’re back to play-by-play because Clark is lining up a long birdie putt at 15 that just misses. He’ll have an easy par there.
Most importantly? He has three holes remaining to tie-or-best Rickie Fowler for King of the Course.
Harry Hall *officially* out of King of the Course contention (11:51 am)
Harry Hall logged a bogey-five on the par-4 17, which means he could only total 11 birdies-or-better by the end of the tournament; that won’t be good enough to match current King of the Course leader, Rickie Fowler (13 birdies-or-better) in the clubhouse.
We eagerly await the result when Justin Rose’s golfball rattles the hole no. 17 cup…
A return to form (the norm?) (11:48am)
We had a bit of a half-hour period there where Scheffler looked like he might be starting to lose his unlosable composure, and the leaderboard shrunk to four shots. Gotterup, however, has struggled at the Portrush turn; McIlroy looks lost with his distance control and is currently in the bumper at hole no. 11, and Scheffler is on the tee at the very same hole.
Could be cruise-controlsville for golf’s World No. 1, now.
But two holes remain for Rose and Hall! (11:39 am)
Both Justin Rose and Harry Hall parred hole 16 in their final round, which means they’d both need to birdie-or-eagle both holes 17 and 18 to tie Rickie Fowler as King of the Course in the clubhouse.
Having said that, a lot of the marquee names and in-the-hunt golfers are just passing or just approaching the turn at Royal Portrush. It’ll take a heck of a run from Wyndham Clark or Corey Conners to charge into Fowler’s level of contention.
No King of the Course change, but some Open Championship leaderboard intrigue… (11:24 am)
For all our King of the Course bettors, fear not—this is a general update. Both Hall and Rose parred their fifteenth hole. They have three holes remaining to log two more birdies, one more eagle, or some combination of them both to top Rickie Fowler in the clubhouse.
Having said that, the leaderboard is shrinking. After a blunder at the eighth hole, Scottie Scheffler’s (-15) lead has shrunk to four shots. Gotterup (-11) is the closest in the hunt, and is lining up for a par putt on hole no. 10. Happening as I’m updating, so we’ll get a little play-by-play. Ten-foot knock, straight on—Gotterup drains it to keep his score at 11-under.
KoTC eagle eyes remain fixed on Justin Rose and Harry Hall. But we might get a little leaderboard excitement with Gotterup, McIlroy, Harris English, Matthew Fitzpatrick, and H. Li are at 10-under.
Quick birdie note: Wyndham Clark has six birdies on his round today. Let’s keep an eye on that.
Fowler & Matsuyama in the clubhouse; Rose and Hall still on the hunt (11:13 am)
No change in the KoTC leaderboard after Hideki logged a par on 18. Scoring is indeed live on this Sunday afternoon at Portrush—Corey Conners is 5-under on the back nine with five birdies (will he make his way to the King of the Course hunt?). Fitzpatrick just drained another birdie to bring his tournament score to 10-under. Which—hear the sound of a sad kazoo bleating. In terms of the tournament at large, Scottie Scheffler’s (-17) current seven-shot lead is likely too steep for anyone to challenge this late.
So—heck yeah! Let’s root for some more birdies/eagles. King of the Course bettors, turn all your eyes to the folks with 10 birdies or better still on the course:
Justin Rose and Harry Hall, who are both on their fifteenth hole of their final round. Tune in and let’s get some late-Championship pandemonium.
Fowler finishes his fourth round atop KOTC leaderboard (10:38 a.m. ET)
With 13 birdies or better across Rounds 3 and 4, Rickie Fowler sits atop the King of the Course leaderboard. Fowler’s weekend is done, leaving room for Matsuyama to tie him. Heading into his final hole, Matsuyama has 12 birdies or better.
Meanwhile, Justin Rose hasn’t progressed past 10 birdies or better since registering two through his first three holes on Sunday. Harry Hall is now even with him at 10 birdies or better across the qualifying rounds.
Matsuyama surges in Round 4 (9:40 a.m. ET)
Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau all have 10 birdies or better across the qualifying King of the Course rounds. But, that total isn’t going to get it done.
That’s, in part, thanks to Hideki Matsuyama’s fourth-round surge. After posting a birdie on the 12th hole, Matsuyama now has 11 birdies or better across Rounds 3 and 4 of The Open.
But he’s not the only one with 11. Rickie Fowler birdied 16 and is tied with Matsuyama atop the King of the Course leaderboard.
Rose opens Round 4 with a quick pair of birdies (8:45 a.m. ET)
Justin Rose began his fourth round at The Open with several players catching up to his post-third-round, King of the Course-leading eight birdies or better. More importantly, a few surpassed that mark.
But, Rose seems to be carrying Saturday’s momentum into Sunday. After a round-opening par, he birdied the next two holes to tie Jordan Spieth with 10 birdies or better across Rounds 3 and 4 of The Open.
Spieth’s fourth round is done, so he’s not likely to be the problem for Rose. Harry Hall just started his fourth round and is on Rose’s heels with nine birdies or better across the two King of the Course qualifying rounds. Rickie Fowler and Bryson DeChambeau also have nine birdies or better between Saturday and Sunday — they’ll need to do significant damage on the back nine to have a fighting chance.
At the end of Round 3, Scheffler and Rose in control (4:00 p.m. ET)
At the end of Round 3, Scottie Scheffler is in command of The Open Championship with a four-stroke lead over Haotong Li. Matt Fitzpatrick is five strokes back in third place, and there is a four-way tie for fourth between Rory McIlroy, Harris English, Tyrrell Hatton and last week’s winner Chris Gotterup.
In the King of the Course contest, Justin Rose will start the final day of that contest in the lead with eight birdies or better. Lee Westwood and Harry Hall are just behind him with seven birdies or better while Matt Wallace, Russell Henley, Sungjae Im, and Corey Conners had six birdies or better.
Heading into Sunday, there are still some huge potential bonus bets on the board, as you can see in our King of the Course betting splits. We’ll resume our coverage and tracking of both leaderboards tomorrow morning, so be sure to check back to see who earns the title “Champion Golfer of the Year” and who is crowned King of the Course at Royal Portrush this year, at The Open Championship.
Scheffler and Rose remain atop the leaderboards (2:30 p.m. ET)
Scottie Scheffler added his third birdie or better of the day on No. 16 and moved to -14 for the tournament.
That birdie was a nice response after Matt Fitzpatrick birdied No. 15 to move back to three off the lead. Ahead of the final pairing, Haotong Li is alone in second place at -11. Those three players have pulled away from the chase pack, though, since no one else is within six strokes of Scheffler’s lead.
On the King of the Course leaderboard, Justin Rose still is out front with eight birdies or better in Round 3 while Lee Westwood and Harry Hall have seven birdies or better. Matt Wallace, Russell Henley, Sungjae Im and Cory Conners have six birdies or better, and a large group have five or more, including big names like Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and Hideki Matsuyama.
Justin Rose takes over the King of the Course lead (1:45 p.m. ET)
Justin Rose ended up with just a -3 round on Saturday, but since there’s no penalty for dropped shots or bad holes in the King of the Course contest, he has taken over the top spot on the leaderboard.
Rose made eight birdies or better to claim the top spot (while also mixing in three bogeys and a double-bogey).
As you can see in our King of the Course betting splits, just over 1,200 bettors used their King of the Course token on Rose, meaning his backers are in line for an unofficial bonus bet of $812 if he ends up claiming the King of the Course crown. That total could be impacted by players cashing out early, though, since cashed out bets are not eligible for bonus bets.
Remember, for King of the Course, it’s the total birdies or better in the third and fourth rounds that matter, so Rose still has a whole round to go to rack up more birdies or better tomorrow.
Tied for second behind Rose at this point are Lee Westwood and Harry Hall at seven birdies or better in Round 3. Westwood is currently playing the 18th hole after making six birdies in his first eight holes on the back nine.
Scottie with a three-shot lead (1:30 p.m. ET)
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is back in control at The Open after an eagle on No. 7, a birdie on No. 8 and three straight pars.
Matt Fitzpatrick dropped a shot on No. 11 and is three strokes off the pace while Tyrrell Hatton and Haotong Li are tied for third, four shots off Scottie’s pace. There are some big names just a little further back like Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele, but Scottie has a big enough lead that he seems to have control of the top of the leaderboard at this point.
Fitzpatrick moves into a tie for the lead (12:00 p.m. ET)
Fitzpatrick bogeyed the opening hole but bounced back with an eagle on No. 2. While that counts for just one on the King of the Course leaderboard, it moved him into a share of the top spot with Scottie Scheffler, who opened with five straight pars.
There’s also a tie at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard with Russell Henley, Matt Wallace, Sungae Im and Corey Conners now being joined by Justin Rose with six birdies or better. Based on the King of the Course betting splits, Rose’s bettors will earn an unofficial bonus bet of $812 if he ends up claiming the King of the Course crown.
We still haven’t had anyone get to seven in Round 3, and remember that Scheffler and Fitzpatrick each tied for the lead in Round 2 with eight par-breakers.
How big are those bonus bets? (11:11 a.m. ET)
The King of the Course betting splits are now available on DK Network. Check out how big your bonus bet could be if your player earns King of the Course.
Right now, Russell Henley, Matt Wallace, Sungae Im, and Corey Conners are all tied at the top of the King of the Course leaderboard with six birdies or better. Based on the preliminary distribution, Henley would earn his bettors $1,134 bonus bets, Wallace would earn a massive $43,478, Im checks in at $7,407, and Conners would return a very solid $6,135.
Round 3 early update (10:12 a.m. ET):
With the leaders still five hours from teeing off, we’ve already had some early movers pile up birdies at Royal Portrush. Corey Conners got off to a fast start and took the early lead on the King of the Course leaderboard with six birdies or better while climbing up to T12.
Conners’ six birdies or better was matched by Russell Henley, who dropped an eagle on No. 12 for his sixth birdie or better with six holes still remaining.
Round 3 – Let’s get it started
After two rounds on Thursday and Friday, the cutline for The Open landed at +1, with 70 players making the cut and qualifying for the King of the Course contest. I made my picks, but feel free to shout out who you have on X, where you can find me @ZT_Sports.
Round 3 tee times are posted:
Round 3 pin positions are also out:
Let’s get ready for a great weekend at Royal Portrush and another player claiming the King of the Course crown to earn bonus bets for the bettors who selected him!
