Dustin Johnson, who is vying to become just the seventh man to win the U.S. Open and the British Open in the same year, is listed alongside Jason Day at the top of the 2016 British Open champion board at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
With some stereotypical sadistic Scottish weather conditions expected at Royal Troon, Johnson and Day are each listed at +800 odds to win the tournament. Johnson has made the cut at the PGA’s third major of the year six times in a row and been in the top 10 twice. For his part, Day, the world’s No. 1-ranked player, was fourth in the 2015 Open and was one stroke shy of joining a playoff.
Rory McIlroy, who won in 2014 but missed last year’s Open due to injury, is the top European on the board at +900. McIlroy is a four-time major winner and this championship presents an opportunity to get back on more equal footing with Day, Johnson and Jordan Spieth.
Speaking of Spieth, the 22-year-old star is listed at +1000. Spieth finished fifth or higher in five of his last six majors, and being consistent might help with just hanging around if bad weather wreaks havoc with scoring.
For a less daunting proposition than picking a straight-up winner, Day, Johnson, McIlroy and Spieth have +150 odds against the field at -190. Day or Johnson is at +375 against the field at -600.
Five of the eight Open champions at Royal Troon have been one-time major winners. Adam Scott (+2200) owns a Masters green jacket, and has finished fifth, third and second at the last three Opens, meaning he has nowhere to go but up if he’s to continue his streak of climbing the leaderboard.
South African PGA Tour rookie Branden Grace (+2200) had a breakout by cracking the top five last month in the U.S. Open, and has consistently been in the Open’s top 20. Seven of the last 14 British Open champions have hailed from outside the United States.
Among the darkhorses, Louis Oosthuizen (+4500) and Graeme McDowell (+9000) each have a past-champion pedigree they could bring to the fore in tough conditions. Lee Westwood (+5000), who has never won a major, is one of only two players in the field who finished in the top 10 at Royal Troon in 1997 and 2004.
Masters champion Danny Willett is also listed at +5000, which is higher than the +3300 odds he had before triumphing at Augusta National in April.
With the British Open being the season’s third major, it’s also time to consider props on the PGA’s best winning two majors in one year. Johnson is listed at +260 to win a second, while Day is listed at +260 to win either of the remaining two and +2000 to win both.