Front Runner McIlroy and Challenger Scheffler Steering Differently as Open Championship Approaches
The Open Championship 2025: Long Odds for Winners Remain Consistent
The 2025 Open Championship, set to tee off at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, is shaping up to be an unpredictable tournament, with long odds for the winners being a consistent trend since 2007.
Rory McIlroy, a four-time major champion, has been climbing the rankings after a disappointing few tournaments. His recent performances include a T19 finish at the US Open, a T6 at the Travelers Championship, and a second-place finish at the Scottish Open last week. McIlroy has odds of +600 to win the Open Championship, making him the second-favourite behind Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler, the world number one ranked golfer, has won three tournaments this year and placed in the top-8 in each one. However, he has finished outside of the top 5 in his last three tournaments, including a T7 at the U.S. Open, T6 at the Travelers Championship, and T8 finish last week at the Scottish Open. Despite his recent struggles, Scheffler remains the heavy favourite with odds as short as -750.
The history of the Open Championship shows that it is not common for the winner to have short odds. Tiger Woods' win in 2006 with +500 odds is the most recent example of a golfer winning the Open Championship with short odds. Since then, the trend of the Open Championship winners having over +1000 odds has been consistent.
Ludvig Aberg, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, and Shane Lowry are among the other golfers with long odds to win the Open Championship. Aberg has odds of +2200, Hatton and MacIntyre have odds of +2500, Fleetwood and Schauffele have odds of +2500, Rahm has odds of +1200, and DeChambeau has odds of +2000.
The data suggests that it is quite rare recently for a golfer to win The Open Championship with odds shorter than +1000. The last Open Championship winner with under +1000 odds likely predates Rory McIlroy in 2014, based on the provided data since 2014 winners mostly had odds exceeding +1000. McIlroy, in 2014, had odds of +1500, which is greater than +1000.
In summary, the 2025 Open Championship is expected to be a competitive tournament with long odds for the winners being a consistent trend since 2007. McIlroy, despite his recent resurgence, is not the favourite, with Scheffler leading the way with short odds. However, the unpredictable nature of the tournament means that anything can happen, and long shots have a history of winning the Open Championship.
- Many betting sites are offering long odds for golfers in the 2025 Open Championship, considering the consistent trend since 2007 of winners having long odds.
- Despite Rory McIlroy's recent improvements in his performance, he still has the second-highest odds among the contenders for the Open Championship, indicating that he might not be the most favored to win.
- Golfers with long odds, such as Ludvig Aberg, Tyrrell Hatton, Robert MacIntyre, and even the 2014 champion Rory McIlroy himself, have a history of winning the Open Championship given its unpredictable nature.
