Royal Troon Hosts the 152nd Open Championship: Best Bets
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00:00The final major championship this year in men's golf. The
00:07oldest major championship of them all. The 150 second
00:11playing of the Open Championship this week over in
00:14Scotland at Royal Troon. Keith Stewart is here on this Tuesday
00:18on the early line to take that early look and a preview of
00:23everything we will see this week at the Open. Keith, we
00:26appreciate the time as always. Thanks for being here on TEL.
00:30Ben Donnie. It's a pleasure to be with you guys this morning.
00:33They're up and running 5 hours ahead of us across the pond
00:36over there. Lots of storylines to go over. Let's roll. Practice
00:40rounds underway. Press conferences underway on this
00:44Tuesday morning. It will be a very early start for those
00:48covering the Open this week and for all of us that will place a
00:51wager on what we will see in the fourth and final major
00:54championship of this season. Let's start with the weather
00:58and the golf course. Royal Troon on the Open Rotunda has
01:02been a frequent host of the Open Championship. It's Lynch
01:06style golf. It's on the ocean there in Scotland. Of course,
01:10weather will always play a factor. Keith, what we what are
01:13we expecting in terms of those conditions this week at the
01:17Open Championship? Ben, for this tenth return to Royal
01:21Troon and the Open Championship this summer, we're sitting on
01:24the West Coast. So, we are open there to the Firth of Clyde or
01:27just the sea and the the links themselves especially the first
01:31six to nine holes run right along the shoreline and the
01:34weather already so far this week has been mild temperature
01:37wise uh anywhere from the high 50s to the low 60s and there's
01:41been a little bit of rain. It has been a very mild Scottish
01:44summer or spring so far with a ton of wet weather. So, the
01:48grass is extremely healthy over there. You better hit those
01:50fairways but more importantly, we gotta talk about the wind.
01:53There isn't going to be a ton of wind this week so far in the
01:56forecast. Now, we all we know that all of that can change in
01:59a heartbeat over there but what's most interesting is that
02:02the predominant wind usually runs from out of the northeast
02:06or out of the northwest down to the southeast which means the
02:09opening nine kind of plays downwind and then you play back
02:12into the wind coming home for the for the final nine. What's
02:15interesting is that they're predicting wind coming out of
02:18the southwest right off of the water which means that almost
02:21all of these holes are going to play with a crosswind. It's
02:24going to be kind of wild. It's not what the guys would have
02:26expected if they played there in 2016 and it's definitely not
02:30you know, something that they're that they're used to.
02:32You know, there's just not a lot of landmarks to aim at when
02:35they go to hit and with having all these crosswinds and coming
02:38up with a game plan and then knowing that they need to adapt
02:41and adjust, it's definitely going to favor the top players
02:44and the elite guys at the top of the board. Keith, let's take
02:48a look at the top of the board here on the Open Championship
02:50here at the FanBlue Sportsbook. Scottie Scheffler plus 450
02:53Next closest is Rory McIlroy at an eight to one price. They're
02:56the only players currently right now with a ten to one
02:59price or better. Shawflay Morikawa, Oberg, and also
03:02DeChambeau. Looking at the top of that leaderboard, are we
03:05seeing things correctly? Should Scottie still be that heavy
03:08favorite here at the Open? Scottie should still be the
03:12heavy favorite based upon the resume that he's put together
03:14so far this year and I'm a little afraid because of it,
03:17Pinehurst, that T41 result might be a little bit
03:21motivating more so than the rest of the guys want. We had a
03:24great week last week in Scotland, not having Scottie
03:26around and having those short odds. I know that he'll be in
03:30contention come Sunday, but you have to look at in three Open
03:33Championships. He has a what an eighth, a twenty-first, and a
03:38twenty-third, right? So, it hasn't been his best major
03:41championship so far in his career and when you start to
03:44win and the putting and the slower greens over there, those
03:48types of challenges. One thing, Scottie's being the, you know,
03:53super favorite in this field. You know, I might lean a little
03:57more towards a guy that grew up in Northern Ireland. Top ten
04:01minus 165 for Scottie Scheffler over at the Open Championship.
04:06It is in minus money at minus 165. You mentioned you might
04:10lean to another favorite that grew up in Northern Ireland. Is
04:14that Roy McIlroy? Second best price on the board at plus
04:17750. Of course, the end of the US Open, the disaster at
04:22Pinehurst that allowed Bryson DeChambeau to win the 2024
04:26United States Open. We saw Rory return to professional and
04:29competitive golf last week at the Scottish Open finished in
04:33the top ten. The last time he won a major championship was
04:37way back in 2014. He won two, the PGA Championship and the
04:42Open Championship as the champion golfer of the year.
04:45There is always drama and narrative following around
04:49Rory McIlroy Keith at a major championship because it's been
04:52that decade-long drought. Might it be snapped this week at
04:56Royal Troon? I think it's his time, Ben. That's my early lean
05:00on the early line. That's for sure. I think that Rory and I
05:03am not usually a Rory fan and or backer but after the reset
05:08and what we saw last week in Scotland, his T4 finish and the
05:12ball striking and everything else and what seems like the
05:15revitalization or the rehab to his brain seems to have
05:18finally taken place. Forget the piff, forget the divorce
05:22rumors, forget all of that stuff. A month off, Rory's back
05:25at home across the pond where he likes to be, where he learned
05:28to play the game. I think he's completely revitalized and I
05:32really do think that that plus 800 number is super live this
05:36week for him. I mean, he has been so consistent in major
05:39championships. Rory's had nine top tens in his last 13 major
05:43starts. Since he won twice before the PGA, look at what
05:46he's done. 12th, 4th, 15th, second at Pinehurst, fourth
05:50there at the Scottish Open. I mean, he's definitely trending
05:53from a ball spark, ball striking perspective and guess
05:56what? You know, if there's one championship and a fan base
06:00that is gonna completely support him and push him through
06:03there at Royal Troon for this test this week, I think that
06:06Rory's the man to beat. There's not a doubt in my mind. Let's
06:10take a look at another guy, Keith, who we always like to
06:13take a look at still playing in major championships. That's
06:15Tiger Woods. If we take a look at yesterday's odds, 300 to 1
06:19overnight, an improvement for Tiger Woods at 250 to 1. Now,
06:24the expectations to win it are certainly different than the
06:26expectations to play quality golf. Keith, what are we seeing
06:29from Tiger Woods or what should I say is what do we expect out
06:32of Tiger Woods this week? Well, there's one trend that doesn't
06:35look good and that's his performance in majors so far
06:38this year. He only made the cut at the Masters, finished T60,
06:40miscut at the PGA, miscut at the US Open. But one trend that
06:44I do like is that he continues to look more and more healthy.
06:47The practice rounds look really solid and the weather, although
06:50it's damp and a little bit cool, it looks like his body is
06:53prepared and ready for this challenge. So, I actually like
06:57Tiger to challenge the cut line but that's probably about it,
07:00Donnie, for this year. If Tiger Woods can see the weekend, that
07:05is success and a victory in itself, at least to have a
07:09little bit of enthusiasm into a weekend at the Open Championship
07:13at Royal Troom. Keith Stewart, we appreciate the time. As
07:16always, thanks for being here on this Tuesday.