The Official Barstool 2024 Open Championship At Royal Troon Betting Preview

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Open Championship time!!!

Golf's oldest major is back and it's the last one of the year. Kinda wild how quickly major season comes and goes and we're about to go into an 8 month dark hole. Let's enjoy the heck out of it while we can.

This year brings us to Hoylake at Royal Troon. This is the 152nd Open overall and the 10th hosted here.

Last time we were here in 2016 we got one of the great duels in modern golf. Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson had already separated themselves from the pack through 3 rounds at -12 and -11 respectively, well ahead of the pack at -6 and below.

Both balled out on the front 9 to create an ocean between themselves and the pack and found themselves tied on the 14th tee. Stenson birdied 14, 15, and 16 with Mickelson narrowly missing an eagle putt on 16. That opened up a 2 shot lead for Stenson that he would close out with authority with a birdie for 63 on 18. It was a record low aggregate score of 264 that at the time stood alone as the lowest in major championship history, which was since matched and then broken by Xander Schauffele this year at Valhalla.

Brian Harman is our defending champion after a snoozer of an Open at Royal Liverpool last year.

Last year's and 2016 leaderboard, along with recent Champion Golfers of the Year.

2023 Open Championship Leaderboard

2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon Leaderboard

Recent Champion Golfers of the Year

Open Championship Winners at Royal Troon

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The Course

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Troon is a tough test on the west coast of Scotland. It measures 7,385 as a par 71 for this championship, which measures about 200 yards longer than it did in 2016. Like most courses in any championship rota, this has gone through a series of changes since the last time we saw it to keep up with the length and overall talent of the modern pro. There are 9 new tee boxes that add the length and change the complexion and difficulty of tee shots. For example, the tee shot on 10 is now completely blind. They threw some new bunkers into the mix as well, including on the fairway of #6, which has been lengthened to 623 yards to become the longest in the Open rota.

Links courses are often known for wide open fairways and large greens that favor long hitters with tight short games. Troon is probably the course that that notion applies to the least. It requires an all-around game. The fairways are tighter and the greens are smaller than most. Mid to long iron play and ball-striking are more impactful here than say… St. Andrews. Of course, you'll still want to bomb it and get creative around the greens, but this isn't a course guys are guying to simply be able to overpower.

This course is generally viewed in thirds - the opening 6 holes typically play downwind and provide scoring opportunities with 3 short par 4's and a pair of par 5's. The middle third turns inland and turns up the heat a bit more with crosswinds, thicker gorse, and vegetation. 10 and 11 are both blind tee shots, with 11 having been the toughest hole to par in 2016 and being lengthened by 20 more yards this time around. The final 6 holes run parallel to the opening 6, which means you're usually playing back into the wind. Doesn't help that those are some of the longest holes on the course as it is.

Generally speaking, you gotta make your hay on the front and hold on for dear life on the back. The front 9 is 3,539 yards as a par 36, and the back is longer at 3,846 and gives you one less stroke to par. And that doesn't even factor in the wind. Wild.

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Best Hole - 8th hole, 123 yard Par 3

David Cannon. Getty Images.

There will be a lot of fuss about the Postage Stamp this week, and rightfully so. We don't get to see it as often, but it's right up there with the most iconic par 3's on the planet. 12 at Augusta, 17 at Sawgrass, 7 at Pebble is the gold standard and this is probably right behind those. Proof positive that you don't need length and long irons to make a great par 3. These pros aren't hitting anything more than 8 or 9 on any of those holes. From the media guide:

It’s a wonderful hole. There are so many stories over the years of success and failure. Gene Sarazen aced the hole in his penultimate appearance in The Open in 1973, but in qualifying for The Open in 1950 the German amateur, Hermann Tissies, racked up a record score of 15. The reality of the hole is that if the field hits the middle of the green it’s a straightforward par. But if players miss the green long, left, short or right, then they’ll do well to come off with a bogey. Part of the challenge is that given the first seven holes are generally downwind or side wind, players are then suddenly faced with a shot of 123 yards into a 15-20 mph wind. It’s also an intimidating tee shot sitting about 22 feet above the height of the green. The depth of the bunkers and the slope of the green from left to right are clearly visible too, especially the aptly named “Coffin” bunker on the left side. The size of the hitting area is small, so walk off happy with your par. 

The Coverage (all times Eastern)

The Open is an NBC operation, which means we get Peacock and USA Network in the mix. Early and late coverage will be on the Cock, as well as featured holes coverage throughout.

Thursday: Peacock 1:30 to 4 AM, 4 AM to 3 PM on USA Network, back to Peacock 3 to 4:30 PM

Friday: Peacock 1:30 to 4 AM, 4 AM to 3 PM on USA Network, back to Peacock 3 to 4:30 PM

Saturday: 5 to 7 AM on USA | 7 AM to 3 PM on NBC

Sunday: 4 to 7 AM on USA | 7 AM to 2 PM on NBC 

The Weather

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From the official media report:

Looking like some PROPER Open golf weather here. Temps ranging somewhere between 50 and 70 degrees with high variability of wind and rain mixed in throughout the week. Tee time splits are never as critical for betting and DFS purposes like they are for this championship, so keep a close eye on the forecast as it evolves. Friday is going to be phenomenal with gusts up to 40 mph as guys grind to make the weekend. Inject that shit in my veins baby.

The Trophy

Oisin Keniry/R&A. Getty Images.

It's one of the most iconic trophies in all of sports. One of the oldest too. Most simply call it the Claret Jug, but it's actual name is "The Golf Champion Trophy". How's that for a name? It's got some of the greatest players to ever play engraved on it. You can drink out of it too. That's a huge prerequisite for any great trophy. This is a surefire 10/10 trophy. 

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Also, fun fact… they used to play for a Championship BELT. Somehow the custom came to be that if you won it 3 times in a row, it was yours forever. At one point Young Tom Morris won it for the 3rd straight year, so they just straight up didn't have a tournament the next year. Guy literally canceled the 1871 Open Championship. From there, the concept for the Claret Jug was born in 1872, but it wasn't ready yet for the 1872 Open… which Young Tom won. So they gave him a medal instead. Sure enough, some cat named Tom Kidd won the 1873 Open at St. Andrews and was the first Champion to be given the Claret Jug, and Young Tom passed away in 1875 at the young age of 24 having never won the Claret Jug. Tragic. 

The Board

Naturally, Scottie is the favorite at +500, which isn't as short as what he's been in the other majors so far this year, but that likely lends itself to the idea that Scottie has hardly contended in one of these so far. All the ingredients are there though - obviously he's far and away the best golfer on the planet, but his experience playing in the high winds of Texas should do nothing but help him here. Fade at your own risk.

With that said, Ludvig Aberg is my guy here at +2000. He's obviously shown the nuts to contend on a big stage both at the Ryder Cup and majors this year and is coming off a T-4 at the Scottish Open last week after having the lead going into Sunday. It's wild that this is his first Open and there used to be a stigma that this tournament was an old man's game, but recent champions suggest otherwise. He's got the all around game and his absurd ascension to #4 in the world is proof positive of that. Love the value at that number and +360 Top 5.

Other Plays

Tony Finau +4500 To Win/Top 5 +900

Bob MacIntyre +5500/Top 10 +450

Sahith Theegala +6500/Top 5 +1200

Jason Day +10000/Top 10 +750

Aaron Rai Top 10 +500

Ryan Fox +1100 Top 10

Will Zalatoris Top 10 +1200

Brooks Koepka Top LIV +800

Akshay Bhatia Top Lefty +350

Tiger To Make The Cut +175 

That's what I got… enjoy the Open!!