British Open Odds: Can Jon Rahm Win Back-to-Back Majors?

Jon Rahm won his first major last month when he came out of his COVID-19 self-quarantine to claim the US Open title. Now, bookmakers are favoring the Spaniard to back up that performance with a victory at the British Open this weekend at Royal St. George’s.

DraftKings Sportsbook lists Rahm as a +850 pick to win the Open Championship, far ahead of any other golfer in the field.

Rahm ready to add another major haul

Bookmakers across the board regard Rahm as the favorite, with William Hill listing him as the +700 top pick. “Rahm has earned these odds,” Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading for William Hill US, said in a statement. “His last two performances have been outstanding.”

Rahm led the field by six strokes at the Memorial Tournament in early June before testing positive for COVID-19 and withdrawing from the event. He returned to win the US Open at the end of the month, and finished seventh in the Scottish Open last week.

The US Open victory allowed Rahm to take one monkey off his back, though he says there’s always more to do in golf.

“I felt like for the better part of five years, all I heard is ‘major, major, major,’” Rahm told reporters. “There’s still the next one to win, so I still come with the same level of excitement obviously and willingness to win.”

Brooks Koepka ranks second on the DraftKings board at +1400. Koepka finished in the top five at both the US Open and the Travelers Championship in recent weeks, and now the four-time major winner is looking to add a British Open title to his resume. However, Koepka says that he might be more excited about this weekend’s event if it were at one of the other regular host clubs.

“Playing St. Andrews is probably my favorite place in the entire world to play. Portrush two years ago way – I don’t know, I love that place,” Koepka told reporters. “This one, it’s just not as exciting. I don’t know why. Whether it be a couple [of] shots to nothing … a couple [of] blind tee shots or shots in where you can’t really see much. I’m not too big a fan of that.”

Spieth in form for Open Championship

Jordan Spieth (+1600) also ranks among the top contenders at the British Open this week. Spieth last won a major four years ago when the Open Championship was at Royal Birkdale Golf Club. Until he won the Valero Texas Open earlier this season, that was also his last victory on tour.

That win and several other top-10 finishes have Spieth feeling good heading into Royal St. George.

“Even in the years I haven’t been in form, I seem to play well at Opens,” Spieth told reporters. “I feel like I am coming in in better form than I have in previous years, coming in off a few weeks off, so hopefully there is very little to no rust.”

Xander Schauffele (+1800), Rory McIlroy (+2000), and Justin Thomas (+2000) rank among the other top contenders at the British Open this weekend. But bookmakers caution that anything can happen at the Open Championship.

“This is the type of course where we’ve seen a Ben Curtis or Darren Clarke come out of nowhere,” Bogdanovich said. “With all the quirkiness and how fast weather can change, if you end up in an ideal spot then you’re in a good position to win.”