2018 Open Championship: 9 Favorites to Watch at Carnoustie

Here are 9 favorites to watch this week in The Open Championship at Carnoustie.

Odds via BetDSI Sportsbook: +1200
Best Finish: T2 in 2011 at Royal St George’s
Finish in 2007 at Carnoustie: DNP
Finish in 2017: T54

Dustin Johnson could easily be the favorite to win this week considering he is the number one golfer in the world, has two wins this season, and has finished in the top 10 in his last three tournaments. However, DJ has only one top 10 finish (T9 in 2016 at Royal Troon) in his last three Open Championship appearances. Even though he probably doesn’t need to, DJ hinted on Twitter that he’ll be hitting his driver quite a bit this week.

Odds via BetDSI Sportsbook: +1500
Best Finish: Win in 2014 at Royal Liverpool
Finish in 2007 at Carnoustie: T42
Finish in 2017: T4

Rory McIlroy is the favorite entering this week. McIlroy has found some form this season and managed to play in the final group at the Masters earlier this year. While he missed the cut at the U.S. Open, he has a win and three top 10s. McIlroy has also finished 1, T5, and T4 in his last three Open Championship appearances.

Odds via BetDSI Sportsbook: +1500
Best Finish: T4 in 1998 at Royal Birkdale (low amateur)
Finish in 2007 at Carnoustie: T12
Finish in 2017: T54

Justin Rose has been on fire this season. Rose has two wins this season and seven top 10 finishes, including his last four starts. Rose finished tied for ninth at the Scottish Open last week. His best finish at the Open Championship was in 1998 at Royal Birkdale when he finished tied for fourth as the low amateur.

Odds via BetDSI Sportsbook: +1600
Best Finish: T2 in 2014 at Royal Liverpool
Finish in 2007 at Carnoustie: DNP
Finish in 2017: T22

Finishing in the top five in majors is becoming a tale as old as time with Rickie. Fowler has finished in the top five, including second this year at the Masters, in three of his last five major championship appearances. The positive for Fowler is that he enjoys links style golf and while he didn’t win last week at the Scottish Open, he still finished tied for seventh.

Keep an eye on Rickie, this could be his week.

Odds via BetDSI Sportsbook: +2200
Best Finish: Win in 2017 at Royal Birkdale
Finish in 2007 at Carnoustie: DNP
Finish in 2017: Win

It’s clear to anyone with any golf knowledge that Jordan Spieth can never be overlooked at a major championship. The 24-year-old who now has three major championships to his name, won the Open Championship last year at Royal Birkdale after winning at the Travelers Championship. However, Spieth finished T42 at the Travelers this season and missed the cut in his two appearances prior. He has only four top 10 finishes in the 17 PGA Tour events he’s entered.

Spieth has struggled mightily with his putter this season, ranking 175th in strokes gained putting. The slower greens at Carnoustie may benefit him this week.

Odds via BetDSI Sportsbook: +2200
Best Finish: T27 in 2017 at Royal Birkdale
Finish in 2007 at Carnoustie: DNP
Finish in 2017: T27

Tommy Fleetwood has emerged as a contender in major championships after finishing fourth in 2017 at Erin Hills in the U.S. Open and second this year in the U.S. Open at Shinnecock. The 27-year-old Englishman put on a show on Sunday at Shinnecock, shooting a ridiculous 63 to climb to a solo second behind Brooks Koepka. Fleetwood has yet to win on the PGA Tour this season, but has four top 10 finishes, three of which were in his last four events.

Fleetwood also owns the record low round score at Carnoustie after he shot 63 in the 2017 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. He didn’t come away with the win that week, Tyrrell Hatton did, but he did show that he can handle Carnoustie.

Odds via BetDSI Sportsbook: +2400
Best Finish: Win in 2000 at St. Andrews, Win in 2005 at St. Andrews, Win in 2006 at Royal Liverpool
Finish in 2007 at Carnoustie: T12
Finish in 2017: DNP

Woods has had plenty of success at the Open Championship over the years, but he’s still in the middle of a comeback season. Woods has played well this year and has three top 10 finishes, two of which were top five’s. Tiger finished tied for 32nd at the Masters earlier this year, but missed the cut last month at the U.S. Open.

Woods was ranked 668th after the Hero World Challenge in December of 2017, but has climbed up to 67th in the world so far, this season.

Odds via BetDSI Sportsbook: +2400
Best Finish: T6 in 2017 at Royal Birkdale
Finish in 2007 at Carnoustie: DNP
Finish in 2017: T6

Brooks Koepka may have surprised many with his second straight U.S. Open victory in June. His U.S. Open win at Erin Hills in 2017 was by four strokes when he finished at 16-under, but he proved he can win under completely different circumstances this year when he finished at one-over to win by one-stroke over Tommy Fleetwood at Shinnecock last month. Brooks has finished T6 and T10 in his last two Open Championship appearances.

Overall, Brooks struggles on his approach to the green, ranking 143rd in that category this season on the PGA Tour.

Odds via BetDSI Sportsbook: +2500
Best Finish: T53 in 2016 at Royal Troon
Finish in 2007 at Carnoustie: DNP
Finish in 2017: MC

Justin Thomas has two wins and six top 10s in 16 events on the PGA Tour this season, but has not had success in his two Open Championship appearances. He finished a disappointing T53 in 2016 at Royal Troon and missed the cut last year at Royal Birkdale. Thomas is also coming off a T56 finish at the Travelers Championship and T25 finish at the U.S. Open.