And then there was one. Men’s major, that is. In 2025. Time flies when you’re having fun, and the year’s first three majors have been a treat with Rory McIlroy (finally) making Grand Slam history, Scottie Scheffler continuing one of the great extended stretches of golf ever and J.J. Spaun pulling off one of the most electric finishes of all time—and one of the biggest surprises in recent memory. (No, we didn’t have him on our U.S. Open ranking. Sorry.)
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So now we arrive back at Royal Portrush to see who can put a bow on this major championship season at The Open. Will it be another favorite like Rory or Scottie? Or another longshot like J.J.? Here are our thoughts on which players are the best 13 bets (odds via DraftKings) to hoist the claret jug this year.
Reason to pick: Man, he hit the ball great at the U.S. Open during that T-7 at Oakmont.
Cause for concern: Man, he putted poorly at the U.S. Open during that T-7 at Oakmont. But seriously, it’s time for this guy to win another major. And we like his odds better than the other top guys.
Reason to pick: If you had said before the season that McIlroy would be coming back to his home country with three wins and a major under his belt in 2025, you’d have made him a clear favorite.
Cause for concern: Of course, he hasn’t won since the Masters. And he’ll be under a ton of pressure at Portrush again, like when he hit his opening tee shot OB and missed the cut in 2019.
3. Xander Schauffele (2025/1)
Reason to pick: The defending CHAMPION GOLFER OF THE YEAR has a terrific track record in this tournament. And he has to break out of his “slump” eventually … right?
Cause for concern: It’s hard to end a winless drought when you rank outside of the top 100 in three of the four major strokes-gained metrics. But his odds moving from 20/1 to 25/1 is still enough to move him up our board.
4. Scottie Scheffler (4.5/1)
Reason to pick: He’s still clearly the World No. 1 and when was the last time you saw him with odds this high?!
Cause for concern: The reason why these are his odds is because the Open Championship has been his worst major so far in his career.
5. Tommy Fleetwood (25/1)
Reason to pick: The runner-up at the Portrush Open in 2019, Fleetwood rarely has a bad week and it feels like the golf gods owe him one after what happened at the Travelers Championship.
Cause for concern: He never wins a PGA Tour event and who knows if the golf gods even exist.
Reason to pick: He’s the defending Open champ at Royal Portrush, capturing his lone major title here in 2019 by six shots.
Cause for concern: The Irishman is in a bit of a major championship rut with missed cuts at the U.S. Open and PGA after finishing T-42 at the Masters.
7. Collin Morikawa (25/1)
Reason to pick: Now this is a guy who is even more due for a win. And he also has hoisted a claret jug in the past.
Cause for concern: Ranked outside the top 100 in strokes gained/putting, one of the game’s best iron players is going to have to make some more of those birdie looks in Northern Ireland. And two caddie changes in one year doesn’t seem like a guy who is happy where his game is.
Reason to pick: The young Swede is going to win a major at some point. Why not now?
Cause for concern: He missed the cut in his first Open Championship start last year. And he’s missed the cut at the past two majors.
9. Brooks Koepka (3545/1)
Reason to pick: The five-time major champ had his best-ever Open finish (T-4) here in 2019. And that move to 45/1 is pretty juicy. . .
Cause for concern: He hasn’t looked like a five-time major champ (no top-10s in nine starts) since winning his last one at the 2023 PGA.
Reason to pick: The Englishman nearly picked up major title No. 2 at last year’s Open. And he’s great value at 60-to-1 odds.
Cause for concern: After finishing runner-up at back-to-back majors, he’s now missed the cut at back-to-back majors.
11. Robert MacIntyre (30/1)
Reason to pick: This national champion specialist nearly picked off another one at Oakmont. And he finished T-6 at Royal Portrush in 2019 as a young lad.
Cause for concern: The 28-year-old Scot ranks only 110th in driving distance on the PGA Tour.
12. Viktor Hovland (30/1)
Reason to pick: The 27-year-old Norwegian has four top-four finishes in majors over the past four seasons, including a solo third at Oakmont.
Cause for concern: Although he’s improved his short game, the chipping is always a concern. That being said, it’s an Open so he should be able to putt more from off the green.
13. Tyrrell Hatton (25/1)
Reason to pick: The fiery Brit is coming off his closest call at a major after battling at Oakmont until the penultimate hole. And he finished T-6 in 2019 so he must not hate Royal Portrush.
Cause for concern: A reporter questioning his assessment of getting “bad luck” during the tournament. He didn’t like that. Like most golf courses.
RELATED: A record crowd is expected for the 2025 Open at Royal Portrush
Is it the British Open or the Open Championship? The name of the final men’s major of the golf season is a subject of continued discussion. The event’s official name, as explained in this op-ed by former R&A chairman Ian Pattinson, is the Open Championship. But since many United States golf fans continue to refer to it as the British Open, and search news around the event accordingly, Golf Digest continues to utilize both names in its coverage.
