Open Championship 2025 Find Me a 100 Winner: Three longshots chanced at between 259/1 and 529/1

• South Africa's Thriston Lawrence was fourth last year

• Daniel Brown can enjoy another Open

• Italy's Matteo Manassero is a huge price

• Read Steve Rawlings's preview here

• Bet £5 in our Birdie Bonus market and every first round birdie your selection scores=free bet 

• Pick your places on each-way bets

Watch Golf...Only Bettor 2025 Open Championship preview

Hello from Royal Portrush itself where the weather this Monday has, roughly every 35 minutes or so, veered from sunny, warm and blustery to overcast, muggy and gusty. And back again.

As I write these verry wods, the sun is shining outside the window, rain is rattling the roof, and the klaxon has called the players and spectators off the course because lightning is in the air.

Locals tell me that this part of the world is always climactically volatile and here's hoping that the destiny of the Claret Jug is similarly unpredictable.

Well, to some degree, at least. We want it to head in the direction of an underdog, but preferably one of this trio:

The Open Longshot Fancy #1 - Thriston Lawrence @ 260.0

Ahead of any major championship I like a golfer who has recent experience of contending in the tournaments that define a career.

It's a stipulation that obviously pulls in the stars, but it also drags in plenty of the surprise winners, too.

Open winners also tend to have have at least one decent effort in the championship (or on high quality linksland).

And this week I like Harry Colt as an angle. The golden age architect was responsible for Royal Portrush and also Wentworth's West Course - and Shane Lowry won his Claret jug at the former and is an expert at the latter.

First up using those three notions is the South African Thriston Lawrence who headed into the final round at Royal Troon 12 months ago one shot back of the lead and hung around to finish fourth.

Shortly after he played nicely at Royal County Down in Northern Ireland (fourth after 18 holes, finishing T26) and he was second at Wentworth.

A month ago he spent the first 54 holes of the US Open in the top six before finishing T12.

The Open Longshot Fancy #2 - Daniel Brown @ 420.0

I like Dave Tindall's Tom McKibbin each-way pick and I'm very keen on Ryan Fox this week, but he's not quite three figures.

So instead I'll give Daniel Brown a chance to yet again display his linksland skills.

He was the first round leader in last year's Open at Royal Troon and he was also fourth at both St Francis Links and Royal County Down last year. He was even third at the new links course in Mauritius in late 2023.

I was in Germany two weeks ago when he won so emotionally and talked to him about this week.

"It's the biggest stage, the best players and I think I proved that I was capable of going toe-to-toe with them," he said of last year. "Hopefully I can do it again."

He told me that he'd played at Royal Portrush in the 2014 Amateur Championship. "I actually won the stroke play and then got to the quarter finals," he said. "I was back a year or two later in the home internationals. My dad absolutely loves it there. He came with me when I was a kid so it will be a nice closing of the loop for him to return there to see me in the Open."

Good links form, championship form, course knowledge and a winner two weeks ago. It will be an emotional challenge but he's worth a go at a huge price. And, as if we needed another reason to press the back button, our very own Steve Rawlings has backed him too.

The Open Longshot Fancy #3 - Matteo Manassero @ 530.0

The Italian is very good on the West Course at Wentworth.

He was seventh there in 2011 when the 54-hole leader. He won the BMW PGA Championship there in 2013. And he was the three-shot 54-hole leader there last September when ultimately fourth.

The same month he was the halfway leader in the Irish Open at Royal County Down when finishing third.

His Open record is less steady. The highlights in seven starts are T13 on debut when aged 16 in 2009 at Turnberry and T19 at Royal Liverpool in 2014 when seventh with 18 holes to play.

He missed the cut last week in Scotland but he did scramble very, very well. That's no use if he misses a ton of greens, but if he does find something with his approaches (and the Colt link suggests he has it in him), then it will be an advantage.

He was also a 54-hole co-leader in his penultimate start when sixth in the Canadian Open.

Read Dave Tindall's Open Championship each-way picks here