The season's final men's Major championship is here and each of the 156 players in The Open field has one last chance to write their names into the history books during 2025.
Current Champion Golfer of the Year, Xander Schauffele is among the favorites at Royal Portrush this week and will likely be among many people's outright picks to win The Open once again.
However, due to the level of attention on many of the world's top-10 - and, in particular, Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy - there is plenty of excellent value to be found slightly lower down the betting-odds list.
Any number of Major winners have been priced at +6000 or above early on in the week, with Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and Adam Scott all less than +8000 during the practice days.
Justin Rose, Jason Day and Patrick Reed are not far behind, either, as the strength of this Major field means several big names could easily fly under the radar.
Prior to Schauffele's victory at Royal Troon last year, the vast majority of recent Open winners have not been grouped among the initial batch of favorites. Should that pattern continue at Royal Portrush, one of the following selections could easily lift the Claret Jug.
Some of the Golf Monthly team have selected a couple of names each for you to look out for if placing an each-way bet on The Open Championship is something you are considering.
THE OPEN SLEEPER PICKS 2025
Prices via FanDuel Sportsbook (odds correct at time of publication)
Justin Rose (+8000)
Justin Rose has reminded us all over the last 12 months that he is still very serious about winning Major championships, and I have bought into the idea of him getting a second one that he so deserves.
After his T2nd at Royal Troon a year ago, he put up a superb fight to take Rory McIlroy to a playoff at Augusta National. The Englishman had three missed cuts and a WD in the six starts after The Masters, but a sixth-place in Scotland last week showed he is ready for another charge.
Rose was at Portrush a couple of weeks ago to get some work in, he’s coming in confident and has the ability to turn it on in the biggest events.
Sergio Garcia (+20000)
After a T10th finish at Valderrama last week, Sergio Garcia is now facing a very important four days in Northern Ireland to try and convince Luke Donald he deserves a spot on Team Europe.
The Spaniard remains a world-class player and has an excellent links record - 10 top-10s in The Open, including two runners-up finishes. He will be very excited to play his first Open since 2022 and easily has the game to add another top-10 to his record if he gets off to a solid start.
Cameron Smith (+11000)
Given he's a former Open Champion, at St Andrews no less, as well as securing a T13th at LIV Golf Dallas and a T7th at LIV Golf Andalucia, I can't quite get my head around why Cameron Smith's odds are so high this week.
When The Open was at Royal Portrush in 2019, he finished in a share of 20th, despite firing a poor weekend score of 71 and 76. In perspective, his first two rounds of 70 and 66 show he can go deep around this layout. I know his form has been poor in the Majors but, if Smith can replicate some of his recent LIV form, I can't see why he won't have a good run and a strong finish.
Tom McKibbin (+15000)
I've gone with another LIV player and, once again, I'm basing this pick on form and links experience. Tom McKibbin is one of the upcoming stars in golf and, re-finding some form of late, I expect him to carry that over to Portrush.
Claiming a T5th in LIV Golf Dallas and a T4th at the recent LIV Golf Andalucia, he seems to be replicating the excellent results from the start of the season. What's more, given his history of links golf, The Open is the Major that McKibbin will most likely challenge in. I like his odds this week and feel he won't be afraid to go low over this layout.
Harry Hall (+11000)
Harry Hall is quite simply flying right now, and a first look at The Open has arrived at the perfect time. The Englishman has six top-20s in his past seven pro starts, with the outlier a T24th at the Canadian Open.
He finished T17th at the Scottish Open despite not enjoying his best week from the fairway, but a brilliant short game dug him out of trouble time after time. While an Open debut might terrify some, Hall carries the demeanour of someone who will not be bothered by the extra attention - a potentially valuable trait if he bags another top-10 and eventually convinces Luke Donald he is worth a punt at Bethpage in September.
Marco Penge (+12000)
Marco Penge failed to make the cut in his first two attempts at playing in The Open (2022 and 2023), however, he was nowhere near this much of a complete player back then. The young Englishman possesses a ridiculous amount of power, helpful at Portrush, and is capable of competing in windy and rainy conditions - proved by his six-stroke victory at the 2023 Challenge Tour Grand Final. That will be key in as the weather forecast looks pretty bad this week.
A nice run of top-25s (four in a row) was capped off by a runner-up finish at the Genesis Scottish Open, with a much-improved putting performance suggesting his short-game skills might translate more efficiently on the more natural surfaces of links golf courses.
Patrick Reed (+9000)
Patrick Reed has played some sublime golf of late, winning his first LIV title in Dallas before posting a top-10 finish when in contention at Valderrama last week.
Reed's resurgence has been coming for some time, with impressive performances in the International Series as well as on the DP World Tour. He was 10th at Royal Portrush back in 2019, which is still his best Open Championship performance to date, so he clearly has the ability to navigate this type of track.
Reed will know that this final Ryder Cup push could come at Portrush, so that added motivation certainly can't hurt his chances.
Tom McKibbin (+15000)
McKibbin is an unbelievable price here, especially considering he is reported to be a Royal Portrush member who has played the course since he was 10 years old! His course knowledge could provide a huge strategy advantage, and we know he has the technical ability to make the most of it.
His recent form on LIV Golf is impressive, with back-to-back top-five finishes, and he will surely be buoyed by support from the home crowd. It would be a huge step up in his career if he were to win a first Major Championship here, but I believe he will be right in the mix, so I'm taking advantage in the each-way, top-10 and top-20 finish markets.
