The 2024 British Open at Royal Troon is quickly approaching, with opening tee times set before 2 a.m. ET. The fourth and final major of the PGA Tour season means we’ll get qualified LIV Golf players back into the field, as Bryson DeChambeau bested Rory McIlroy in an epic U.S. Open win to seize the third major title of the year.
Other major winners in 2024 include Scottie Scheffler at The Masters, his second green jacket, and Xander Schauffele at the PGA Championship, finally ending his major slump at Valhalla. Royal Troon is a links course that plays as a par 71 at close to 7,400 yards in length. Pot bunkers, coastal winds, undulating fairways, and red fescue greens, small in square footage area, forces golfers to be precise with their approach shots. Scrambling is crucial to success, meaning we could see a lot of drama down the stretch, especially on a difficult back-nine.
In this article, we’re assessing the best golfers to deploy in one-and-done and survivor league contests during the British Open this week. Make sure to follow me on X @Matt_MacKay_ for more free PGA betting insights and advice throughout the week.
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Big Guns
Rory McIlroy
The putter has not been kind to Rory McIlroy, starting with his finish at the U.S. Open, and as recently as Renaissance Club during the Scottish Open last week. McIlroy had tons of opportunities to climb into the outright lead in Round 3, but nearly all of his birdie putts missed the hole by a few inches.
Expect McIlroy to be a strong contender yet again at the final major of the year, as he seeks to avenge his loss and end his multi-year major drought at Royal Troon, where he last recorded a T5 finish in 2016.
Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa is firing on all cylinders and is arguably the best player on the PGA Tour without an outright win in 2024. Whether it’s off-the-tee, on approach, or scrambling, Morikawa’s putting is the only piece of his game holding him back. If you’ve saved him up until now, it’s time to deploy him with confidence, as he seeks his second Claret Jug win since 2021.
Secondary Options
Tyrrell Hatton
Tyrrell Hatton is an intriguing golfer to use in survivor leagues this week. The Englishman posted a T5 finish at Royal Troon in 2016 and is third in birdie average at LIV this year, including 17th for greens in regulation. A T9 at The Masters and T26 at the U.S. Open are encouraging results, so don’t hesitate to roll Hatton during his return to Royal Troon.
Robert MacIntyre
Two wins in the past two months, including an incredible comeback at the Scottish Open on the final four holes at Renaissance Club on Sunday, make Robert MacIntyre another strong secondary option this week. It’s his debut at Royal Troon and we’ve seen MacIntyre play well at British Open majors, starting his career with a T8 and T6, so using the Scotsman in one-and-done formats makes a lot of sense.
Sneaky Plays
Wyndham Clark
Wyndham Clark has recorded back-to-back top-ten finishes in his past two events, including 8-under-par at the Scottish Open on Sunday. Ranked highly in strokes gained off-the-tee and putting, the approach shots and scrambling could be an issue for Clark to contend this week. However, it may be worth the risk, since we’ve seen Clark rip off numerous birdie putts and strong tee shots when he’s in a rhythm.
Sahith Theegala
Sahith Theegala missed the cut at Royal Liverpool in 2023 but he just recorded a T4 finish at the Scottish Open, despite only going one-under-par on Sunday. A T34 during his debut at the British Open at St. Andrews in 2022 showcased Theegala’s aptitude for links course golf.
Ranked inside the top-3o for strokes gained tee-to-green, on approach, and putting, scrambling is the key for Theegala’s success at Royal Troon this week. He’s a solid sneaky play this week if you’ve been holding onto him this season, with his best major finish a T12 at the PGA Championship.
Favorite One-And-Done: Collin Morikawa
Collin Morikawa is red-hot right now. Ranked second in driving accuracy, 39th on approach, 16th off-the-tee, and 27th scrambling, Morikawa’s putting has been the Achilles heel thus far. We’ve watched Morikawa contend with three top-five finishes in his last five events, while staying inside of the top-25 in each of the 10 events he’s played since mid-April.
The 2021 Claret Jug winner has not made the cut at a British Open since his win at Royal St. George’s, however, Morikawa is playing too well to ignore using him in one-and-done and survivor leagues formats this week.
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Matthew MacKay is a featured writer for BettingPros and FantasyPros. For more from Matthew, check out his archive and follow him @Matt_MacKay_.
