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Following victory at last week's Scottish Open at New Berwick, Rory McIlroy will be eyeing further success as the final major of the season takes place at Royal Liverpool which plays host to The Open Championship beginning on Thursday, July 20.
The Northern Irishman last added a major title to his resumé in 2014 with the PGA Championship, and has previously won The Open Championship, again in 2014. He's 7/1 to take the victory and 10/11 to earn a top ten finish – a feat he has achieved in six of the last seven major championships and six times at The Open.
McIlroy is third on the PGA Tour average score table (68.948) behind Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm. Adding to his case is the fact he is by far the biggest driver on the circuit (327.6 yard average), however, he must improve his green hitting as he ranks outside the top 60 at 66.79% of greens hit, almost 1 in 3 missed. He is also 68th in putts per hole (1.749).
Cameron Smith (14/1) is the defending champion at this year's tournament – he won his one and only major 12 months ago at St Andrews. Smith was in the top three after every round of that tournament, winning on the final day with a –20 under par score – beating Cameron Young by a shot and McIlroy by two.
Smith, a LIV Golf competitor, won the LIV Golf Invitational in London in early July and has top ten finishes at the last two major championships – tied ninth at the PGA Championship and fourth at the US Open. 13/8 to make the top ten is good price for the Australian.
Elsewhere, it's hard to look past Scheffler (15/2) for consistency. He may only have two wins this season, but he leads the PGA Tour with 15 top ten finishes in 19 events. He has finished top ten at eight of the last 10 majors and is even money to do so again.
Rahm (11/1) is another lead contender. He's the most successful golfer on the PGA Tour in terms of tournament victories with four – including a triumph at the 2023 Masters. He does, however, have no victories since that win in April.
His major form is also patchy other than that win in Augusta. He has finished tenth or lower in six of the last seven major championships. His best performance at The Open Championship is a tied for third finish in 2021.
The other 2023 major winners, Brooks Koepka (18/1) and Wyndham Clark (50/1), are considered in the top 20 in the betting. A top 20 finish for Clark in particular at 2/1 is a worthy bet considering he has two wins and T12 finish in three of his last five tournaments.
An outsider worth looking at to be in contention near the front of the field is American Adam Schenk – he has been the proverbial hit or miss golfer this season. In his last six tournaments he has four top ten finishes, coupled with a pair of missed cuts including the US Open.
However, in July he has a seventh-place finish at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and a fourth-place finish at the John Deere Classic. If he can maintain that form he is 18/1 to finish top 10, 13/2 for top 20 and 11/5 for top 40 – all backable bets.
