2023 British Open predictions, picks, favorites: One of these nine golfers will win it all at Royal Liverpool
Narrowing the massive Open field down to those most likely to hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday evening in England
By
Kyle Porter
•
6 min read
After evaluating every player, perusing every stat and considering every scenario, it's time to narrow down the field from the 156 golfers competing at the 151st Open Championship to the nine who can actually win the golf tournament. This is, of course, a fool's errand because nobody had Wyndham Clark in their top nine going into the U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. Still, it's a worthy exercise ahead of the year's final major championship at Royal Liverpool.
The top half or so of this nine was relatively easy, but it gets a lot more difficult after that. Forty different golfers have finished in the top 10 in the last five Open Championships, which is a crazy high percentage when you consider the horses for courses model.
The Open is strange, though, and it brings all types of players into the mix. Look no further than the last Open here at Royal Liverpool back in 2014 when Rory McIlroy won but Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Charl Schwartzel and Marc Leishman all finished inside the top 10. Bombers, flighters, movers of the ball and short hitters were all in contention.
With that in mind, let's jump in and try to somehow narrow this field down to the only nine who can win. Check out a full slate of 2023 Open odds, some extensive Open expert picks and predictions from our CBS Sports golf team and Kyle Porter's top storylines entering the Open Championship.
2023 Open predictions, favorites
Odds via Caesars Sportsbook
| 1 | |
| We'll start at the top with somebody who has not finished outside the top 12 at any tournament this season (majors included) since my Oklahoma State Cowboys and his Texas Longhorns were clashing in the middle of last year's college football slate (Pokes won, by the way). He's been truly in the mix at the last two majors (PGA and U.S. Open), but this will almost certainly feel like a letdown of a year if he doesn't capitalize on what has been an all-time flushing season. Odds: 6-1 | |
| 2 | |
| You could talk me into taking the former side of a Scottie/Rory vs. the field bet at the right number. Statistically, this is currently one of the four best seasons McIlroy has ever put together, and in two of the other three, he won The Open and finished third. It is not really a question of whether he'll be in the mix come Sunday. The question that eludes is the same one he's been chasing for the last nine years: Will he slam the door on No. 5? Odds: 6-1 | |
| 3 | |
| Since Tiger Woods did it in 2006, only three other golfers have won two majors in the same year like Koepka will be trying to do at Hoylake. The first was Padraig Harrington in 2008. The second was Rory McIlroy in 2014 (one of which came on this golf course) and the third was Koepka in 2018 when he took the U.S. Open and PGA Championship. All that to say, winning two of four in a single year is difficult, but Koepka has made difficult tasks at majors look rather simple in comparison to his peers. He should thrive this week on a demanding, lengthy golf course. Odds: 18-1 | |
| 4 | |
| Do you believe? It's an odd question to ask about somebody who has won four times this year (including a major). However, there's just not a lot of great play leading into this tournament for Rahm to hang his hat on. That does not always matter when it comes to all-time greats like Rahm, but it's worth noting. The case for Rahm is that he won the Masters after struggling for a month, has perhaps the best and most creative hands in the world and drives it like a monster when he's really on. All qualities you need at an Open Championship. All qualities you must have at Royal Liverpool. Odds: 12-1 | |
| 5 | |
| There are plenty of places for him to get wayward off the tee, and it will take a nearly perfect performance to repeat what he did just one year ago. However, I was compelled by the way Smith spoke about his desire to drink from the Claret Jug once again. He's not someone long on self-reflection or emotional eloquence, which means there's a belief there that is the type you need to win a major (especially a second Open in a row): "It's nice to be back. I just had to hand back the trophy there. I thought I was going to do all right, but I was actually holding back from tears. A bit of a moment, I guess, that crept up on me. ... It'll only be a week, and we'll be drinking out of it again. You never know, sometimes you can play your best golf at major championships and you can run fourth or fifth. Hopefully, it's another week like last year and I'm back with the trophy." Odds: 16-1 | |
| 6 | |
| I'm more bullish on him than most, but I've been swayed by his recent performance at the Rocket Mortgage Classic and also his accuracy off the tee. He has used that to his advantage before at an Open Championship at Royal St. George's and went on to win. If it howls, there could be problems as I'm not positive he's an elite wind player. But if it doesn't, I really like him getting in mix on Sunday afternoon. Odds: 30-1 | |
| 7 | |
| It might be time. Imagine Sunday evening coming with Fleetwood in his cardigan sipping brandy from the Jug talking about he flushed all 271 shots that he hit throughout the week. I don't know that he's going to win, but I do know that if you dress like this, you better be one of the great ball-strikers of your era (he fits that billing). It would be a lovely end to golf's summer if he were to become the first Englishman since Nick Faldo in 1991 to win the Open Championship (and the first since Tony Jacklin in 1969 to do so in England). Odds: 22-1 | |
| 8 | |
| Everybody's sleeping on the worst-dressed golfer on the planet. You should not be sleeping on the worst-dressed golfer on the planet. He nearly won the PGA, did win the Memorial and was awesome at St. Andrews a year ago. He's elite enough off the tee to play his way to the top of this board after 36 or 54. The only thing working against him? It's so difficult to see him coming home on Sunday in that pink and blue sweater with McIlroy, Scheffler, Rahm and Koepka in his dust. Odds: 18-1 | |
| 9 | |
| I genuinely believe the winner is coming from these nine guys, and Fowler rounds out the group. There are a handful of trends working in his favor -- T2 in 2014 at this course, generally a good Open player and has played well at the majors in general this year -- but the most important is that he's playing some of the best golf of his life. Throw in the fact that he won a few weeks ago and all the confidence that comes with that, and suddenly, the path to winning a major is a lot clearer than if it was your first victory in the last four years like he was trying to accomplish at Los Angeles Country Club in June. Odds: 22-1 | |
Who will win the Open Championship, and which longshots will stun the golfing world? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected Open leaderboard, all from the model that has nailed nine golf majors, including this year's Masters.
