Seven British Open Sleeper Picks to Bet Now

First off, we’re calling it the British Open as many Americans are inclined to do notwithstanding any criticism from old-school golf purists out there.

We reserve the right to use British Open and Open Championship interchangeably, and there is more on that story in the intro of our Official Betting Guide for the season’s final major.

Second, by giving you seven British Open sleeper picks to bet now, you’ll have ample time to make these selections on your top sportsbook apps before the final major tees off in the wee hours on Thursday here in the US.

Apologies to the Rocket Mortgage Classic, John Deere Classic, and Barbasol Championship, but we’ve really been looking forward to the 2023 British Open during the dog days of golf’s summer season here in America.

The Genesis Scottish Open gave us a taste, but left us feeling sour when Robert MacIntyre couldn’t hold on for the win at pre-flop odds of +9000. Rory McIlroy nipped him by a stroke with birdies on the final two holes. Man, that one stung, but it’s onward and upward heading into Hoylake.

All odds below are courtesy of BetMGM, which offers one of the strongest sign-up bonuses in the industry.

Also read: British Open Sportsbook Report: Sharps, Big Bets on Final Major | Eight British Open prop bets to profit on | British Open odds & predictions

Seven Open Championship Sleeper Picks

These seven players aren’t named Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler, or Jon Rahm for obvious reasons. Rather, we’re in search of competitors at various odds that will be largely overlooked in favor of those you hear about every week. These sleepers can also be known as nice mid-range price plays, value picks, or longshots based on your view of their odds.

Tyrrell Hatton +75000

Hatton was among those contending for the win in this past weekend’s Genesis Scottish Open before finishing T-6.

Had the chance to watch Hatton kick-start a stellar five-tourney run at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow in May. Hatton’s outbursts on the course are worth the price of admission, too. Starting with that event, he ripped off finishes of T-3, T-5, T-15, T-12, and T-3.

The Englishman threatened in last year’s British Open and finished T-11. In 2019, the year Shane Lowry won at Royal Portrush, Hatton came home T-6. That’s the good. Journalistic integrity dictates we mention the bad when Hatton missed the cut and took it out on his club in 2021. One thing is for sure: Hatton is never boring.

Shane Lowry 

Lowry’s on our list at nice odds here given his win in the 2019 British Open at Royal Portrush. You’ll never confuse the portly Irishman with golf’s new era of workout warriors.

That’s, OK. Lowry knows his way around the links courses as evidenced by his six-shot win over Tommy Fleetwood in the 2019 Open Championship. Lowry followed that up with a T-12 and T-21 in his last two British Opens.

Lowry is coming off a T-12 finish in the Genesis Scottish Open. He also notably kick-started his professional career by winning the Irish Open as an amateur.

Cameron Young +700

The first non-Euro on our list, Young currently reigns as the Best Player to Never Have Won on the PGA Tour. But he damn near won last year’s British Open before finishing solo second to winner Cam Smith.

Young, the reigning PGA Tour Rookie of the Year, has performed well at majors through his sophomore season. In addition to his runnerup in last year’s Open at St. Andrews, he was T-7 at The Masters this year and T-3 at the 2022 PGA Championship.

Young’s form went missing in recent months until a T-6 at the recent John Deere Classic, where he held the 36-hole lead. His putting was resurgent, too, and that’s enough to have a toss on him at these odds.

Bryson DeChambeau 

It’ll be interesting to see how LIV Golf players are received in the US next year however the new consolidation between tours plays out. DeChambeau has become one of the most polarizing players in the game, but he’s also shown signs of the old Bryson this year.

DeChambeau dealt with multiple injuries, and dropped a ton of weight before re-emerging at this year’s PGA Championship with a T-4 finish after leading the event. He’s also coming off a career-best T-8 result in the British Open last year at St. Andrews.

Justin Rose 

We wavered between Rose and Jason Day for this spot on the sleeper board. Both veterans have notched victories this year, and their careers are back on the upswing. Given Day’s past difficulty with back and vertigo concerns, Rose is the safer option.

Plus, Rose was a threat to win the DP World Tour’s recent British Masters event at The Belfry. He finished T-4 after leading the tournament at various stages. That might portend big things at Royal Liverpool this week.

Rose owns two top-fives and three top-10s on his British Open resume with a best of T-2 at Carnoustie in 2018. Soon to be 43, and playing some of his better golf recently before missing the cut at the Genesis Scottish Open, it might be the Englishman’s last best chance to hoist the Claret Jug.

Min Woo Lee  +40000

Adam Scott 

Gambling is fun until it’s not sometimes. That was the case in the 2012 British Open when — with outright tickets on Scott to win in hand — the Aussie somehow coughed up a four-stroke lead with four holes remaining in the tournament. He bogeyed the last four holes and handed the win to Ernie Els at Royal Lytham & St. Annes.

Scott went on to win The Masters in 2013, but that remains his only major championship win. The Open Championship owes him one. In search of karmic retribution, we’ll be making a small bet on Scott here even though he’s coming off a missed cut in Scotland.

What are Odds of Recent British Open Winners?

Here are the odds of all British Open winners dating back to 2000. Note that Lowry was +8000 to win in 2019 at Royal Portrush.