2024 Open Championship Golf Free Picks, Predictions and DFS Lineup July 18-21

2024 Open Championship Betting Preview- Golf Free Picks

WagerTalk golf handicapper Andy Lang offers his thoughts on the 2024 Open Championship teeing off from Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland. Andy discusses his DraftKings Darlings, golfers to who can trip you up and the course and more surrounding the 2024 Open Championship starting July 18th!

$15 FREE for PREMIUM GOLF PICKS – CLAIM BELOW

Stay on top of the latest Golf updates direct from Las Vegas!

WagerTalk also offers Free Picks all year long!

2024 Open Championship	2024 Open Championship Betting Notes
When:	July 18-21
Where:	Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland
Defending Champ:	Brian Harman
Current Favorite:	Scottie Scheffler (+500 at DraftKings)
TV:	USA Network, NBC

2024 Open Championship Course: Royal Troon Golf Club

Troon is an iconic course for The Open Championship as the course starts easier, and gets tougher as the round goes on so players should get their birdies early, and hang on for Par’s down the stretch.

The course is right on sea so the wind is the main defense this course has, but I have to be honest…the wind doesn’t look too difficult this year as the highest winds right now are 15 MPH, and I don’t take wind into account in handicapping until it gets to 20 MPH, and it doesn’t look like we’ll get near there.

The course has beautiful fairways with treacherous fescue and rough strategically placed along the fairways.

The greens have lots of mounds, bumps, and roll-off, but there looks to be sprinkles of rain throughout the week and throughout the tournament so they won’t be US Open fast, which means good approach shots should be rewarded this week.

With the wind not being too difficult, I think we see a high number of greens in regulation, and those who figure out the putting on these greens have the opportunity to go low.

As Justin Thomas said after the PGA Championship, “It just doesn’t matter what golf course you put us on, on planet Earth. If the greens are soft, we’re going to tear it up”.

I agree with that statement, and I think guys can go low on this course with these weather conditions. The weather was miserable at points last year at Royal Liverpool, and Brian Harman got to -13, and four players got to -7.

2024 Open Championship Favorite Holes

6th: 625 Yard Par 5

This is the longest hole in Open Championship history, but it’s still scoreable. The fairway is straight so there aren’t curves to navigate, players just have to hit it straight and they’ll be looking at a long 2nd shot to make the green.

Wayward tee shots that catch the rough or bunkers will be obvious layups, but the green is big and easy to hit so even players with 100 yard 3rd shots will have a birdie opportunity.

8th: 125 Yard Par 3

We go from the longest hole in Open Championship history to the shortest hole, called “The Postage Stamp”. With the wind at players backs, this hole might be closer to 100 yards, and sometimes these short holes get in players heads and can wreak havoc.

Bunkers and roll-off areas can easily cause bogeys, but don’t be surprised to see plenty of birdies as the green isn’t too difficult to putt on.

18th: 464 Yard Par 4

It’s a basic hole, but the three fairway bunkers on the left and the one on the right make this hole a bogey or worse situation if tee shots land in any of them.

If it’s crowded at the top of the leaderboard on Sunday, don’t be surprised if these bunkers have a determination as to who wins. Hit the fairway, and the approach is easy. Hit the bunkers, and expect a bogey or worse.

2024 Open Championship Field

Top 10 Total Strokes Gained US Open, PGA Championship, The Masters

Bryson Dechambeau 4.04
Xander Schauffele 3.62
Davis Thompson 3.14 (1 Tournament)
Collin Morikawa 3.12
Scottie Scheffler 3.04
Ludvig Aberg 2.84
Rory McIlroy 2.79
Tommy Fleetwood 2.54
Patrick Cantlay 2.12
Russell Henley 2.04

2024 The Open Championship: Players That Can Trip You Up

Jon Rahm

How is he the 8th highest betting favorite to win The Open Championship? He’s 64th in the field in total strokes gained in Majors this year, and he’s -0.65 putting in the two Majors he’s played in. He’s barely finishing Top 10 on the LIV Tour, and he’s not the same guy mentally and physically.

I’ve been watching LIV for the past few tournaments, and he’s struggling with making the basic shots, and in this field he’s going to have to make amazing shots to keep up, and we haven’t seen it from him since he jumped to LIV. Since he’s no longer a great golfer, he’s a fade.

Bryson Dechambeau

Bryson has had one of the more amazing career turnarounds this year, but I think he comes up short of expectations this week. He’s never been good at links golf as his finishes at Open Championships are MC, 51st, MC, 33rd, 8th and 60th.

Length is a big advantage for him, but at this course it really only makes a difference on a couple holes, and accuracy is way more important.

He’s the 6th highest betting favorite, but he only has one finish better than 33rd in five Open Championships so I think he’s quite overpriced this week.

Cameron Smith

With the weather being tame, I think this tourney comes down to who makes the big mistakes, and I’ve watched Cameron Smith make some really bad drives that put him in bad spots, and just a couple of wayward drives here will take a player out of the running.

His short game is great, but he’s -5.7% in driving accuracy in the majors, which puts him in the bottom 14 of the field in driving accuracy.

Just a few drives that put him in the thick rough/fescue will cost him valuable strokes, and he’s finished only 32nd and 63rd at The US Open and PGA Championship this year. He’s priced as a Top 20 guy, and I think his driving will cost him dearly this week.

2024 Open Championship: DraftKings Darlings

Adam Scott $6700

Scott has 12 made cuts in the last 13 Open Championships, he finished 2nd last week at The Scottish Open, and he’s only $6700??? I’ll take it. He’s top 30 in total strokes gained this year, I fully expect him to make the cut and get us solid weekend points.

Sungjae Im $6900

I hate myself for this play as Im has missed the cut in 5 out of the last 6 Majors including all 3 this year, but he’s been really good on the easy courses, and I think this week will have easy conditions. He was 4th last week at The Scottish Open, and I can’t pass him up at this price with the upside he has.

Cameron Young $7500

Cameron Young has played in 2 Open Championships and he’s finished 8th and 2nd in those tourneys, and he’s finished 9th and 6th in the last 2 events he’s played in. Maybe he just really likes links golf, and at $7500 I’d love to see him show it to us 3 years in a row.

Rest of lineup: Brian Harman $7600, Tom Kim $8300, Scottie Scheffler $12,800

**************************************************

Looking for more free sports picks and sports betting tips?

Latest Betting Odds and Public Action: Vegas lines updated in real time, including who the public is betting on.
Last Minute Handicapping Advice: Check out our extensive library of handicapping tips and advice from professional Vegas handicappers (we also recommend taking the time to look over our sports betting tips video library)
Want an expert opinion? Check out the latest Free Sports Picks and Best Bets from our team of expert sports handicappers.