2024 British Open Odds & Picks: Head-to-Head Matchups

The 152nd British Open is only hours away from teeing off at Royal Troon. The fourth and final major of the season has a highly qualified field competing on one of the toughest links courses in Scotland. Scottie Scheffler, a six-time winner on the PGA Tour this season, remains the outright betting favorite, followed by Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Collin Morikawa, and Ludvig Åberg.

In this article, we’re focusing on three head-to-head matchups to wager during the four days at Royal Troon. FanDuel Sportsbook offers 18-hole Matchbet and 72-hole Matchbet props. We’re betting on 72-hole Matchbet props, each worth a one-unit wager ahead of Thursday’s first tee times scheduled for 1:35 a.m. ET.

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2024 British Open Odds & Picks

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

Akshay Bhatia vs. Davis Thompson

Two rising stars on the PGA Tour, each with an outright win in 2024, makes this a fun first head-to-head prop to wager. Akshay Bhatia and Davis Thompson are set to a pick’em by oddsmakers at FanDuel, each available to wager at -110 odds.

We didn’t see Bhatia tee off last week at the Scottish Open, but Thompson did, opening up with an impressive 5-under-par Round 1 outing before regressing significantly with finishes of 72 and 71 in the middle rounds. A final round 65 still only brought Thompson, the John Deere Classic winner, to a paltry T46 finish at Renaissance Club.

Bhatia hasn’t played since his brutal three-putt on the final hole at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. A couple of weeks to rest and prepare for the British Open should give the 22-year-old a much-needed reset. Bhatia ranks 40th SG: off-the-tee, 27th putting, and 17th on approach. He’s a more well-rounded player compared to Thompson, despite the latter setting the tournament record at 28-under-par during the JDC.

Bhatia has back-to-back top-five finishes entering Royal Troon, so let’s stake a unit on him to finish with a lower score than Thompson this weekend.

Pick: Akshay Bhatia (-110)

Viktor Hovland vs. Robert MacIntyre

Next up, we’re targeting Viktor Hovland against Robert MacIntyre. MacIntyre’s strong finish to win the Scottish Open may have emotionally drained the Scotsman a bit, but he should be prepared for the test at Royal Troon this week.

Hovland has had a down year by his standards, as the 2023 FedExCup winner has only recorded one top-ten finish, earning solo third-place at the PGA Championship back in May. The Norwegian has played very well at British Open majors in his career though, going T12, T4, and T13 at Royal Liverpool in 2023.

MacIntyre’s trajectory in British Open events has been the opposite of Hovland, starting off T6 and T8, before sliding to T34 and T71 at Royal Liverpool a year ago. MacIntyre is riding a ton of momentum into Royal Troon, where both of these golfers will be making their debut. Hovland recorded a T46 finish at Renaissance Club last week, the same event MacIntyre won. Plus, he’s 66th SG: tee-to-green and 176th SG: around-the-green.

MacIntyre is in much better form right now, with two outright wins in the last two months. In his native Scotland, he should easily beat Hovland with his strong off-the-tee and putting prowess, so let’s take the plus odds and stake a unit on MacIntyre to beat Hovland following the conclusion of four rounds played at Royal Troon.

Pick: Robert MacIntyre (+120)

Joaquin Niemann vs. Sahith Theegala

Joaquin Niemann and Sahith Theegala offer another attractive head-to-head matchup for us to wager. Theegala is coming off of a strong showing at Renaissance Club, winding up with a T4 finish at 14-under-par. Niemann’s return from LIV golf in this final major of the year sees the Chilean golfer enter with a T22 at The Masters and a T39 finish at the PGA Championship.

In comparison, Theegala recorded T45 at The Masters and a T12 at the PGA Championship, meaning both golfers are 1-1 H2H in previous majors played this season. Theegala also managed a T32 at the U.S. Open, where Niemann did not compete.

Neither golfer has strung together strong finishes at British Open majors in the past, with Theegala posting a T34 at St. Andrews and missing the cut at Royal Liverpool in 2023. Niemann has two more appearances at this event in comparison, including two missed cuts, along with T59 and T53 finishes in 2021 and 2022.

I’m willing to back Theegala at plus odds over Niemann, especially since he looked comfortable playing at a links course last week. Yes, Royal Troon is a much harder test, but Theegala’s a strong putter and very good off-the-tee and on approach. At +105, one final unit should be placed on Theegala to beat Niemann’s final scorecard.

Pick: Sahith Theegala (+105)

Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for BettingPros and FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.