The Open Championship 2024 Tips: Our experts' best bets for Royal Troon

• Has Steve Rawlings found a Wyn-ner at 89/190.00?

• Troon winner Rory may have last laugh at 8/19.00

• Lowry a great bet to lift second Claret Jug at 33/134.00

• Dave Tindall backs Finau for fast start at 66/167.00

• Pick your places on Open each-way bets with the Betfair Sportsbook

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Golf Only Bettor - The Open Championship Preview

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Open Championship 2024 Betting Tips and Predictions

Wyndham Clark can triumph at 89/1

Steve Rawlings: "The 2022 winner, Cam Smith, had poor previous Open form figures reading MC-78-20-33 and Morikawa was playing in his first Open. Prior to 2021, however, previous Open Championship form had been a huge pointer and 15 of the last 18 winners have recorded a top-10 in the Open previously.

"Shane Lowry and Francesco Molinari had both finished ninth previously, but those finishes could be construed as slight anomalies given 13 of the last 18 winners have finished inside the top-six in an Open and remarkably, eight of the last 18 winners had finished inside the top-three...

"Clark won the weather-shortened Pebble Beach Pro-Am back in February when he shot 60 around Pebble Beach in the third and final round and he advertised his wellbeing nicely on Sunday. That 12-under-par knock is the lowest ever recorded around the iconic Californian links and he gave off a similar vibe at the Scottish Open on Sunday when he shot an eight-under-par 62 around the Renaissance Club.

"Turning for home in two-under-par, he climbed into the top-10 with a sensational 29 on the back-nine and he's a bafflingly big price at 90.089/1. The world number five finished 76th in his first Open Championship appearance two years ago and he finished 33^rd last year when struggling with his game. But he enjoys links golf and he's been dismissed far too readily after finding a bit of form.

"Last week's tied 10^th followed a ninth placed finish in the Travelers Championship and he's scrambling and putting nicely too. In his last two starts he's ranked 12^th and eighth for Scrambling, seventh and 15^th for Putting Average, and seventh and second for Strokes Gained: Putting."

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Each-Way Tips: Lowry has a great chance at 33/1

Dave Tindall: "Lowry didn't make the cut at Royal Troon in 2016 when still perhaps raw from letting a winning chance go in the US Open at Oakmont but all other evidence suggests his game stacks up extremely well. He's 14th in Total Driving this year, ranking 16th in Driving Accuracy, and the eye test tells us he's a wonderfully creative chipper even if his stats around bland PGA Tour courses suggest otherwise.

"Lowry, who was ninth in the 2014 Open, followed up his Portrush victory with finishes of 12th and 21st in his next two tilts at the Claret Jug. And with 11 top 25s in his last 15 Majors and one already tucked away in the bag, he's very much at ease at this level.

"He's had three top sixes in that run which is why I'm inclined to play him in the market paying 8 places to secure the bigger price of 33/1. Quite simply, with plenty of Open winners over the age of 35 (Stenson was 40 when he won at Royal Troon), the 37-year-old Lowry is in his prime years in terms of adding more Claret Jugs. This looks a great chance to hoist aloft a second."

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Taylor is a bizarre price at 939/1

Steve Rawlings: "Like the last 12 Open champions, Nick Taylor is ranked inside the top-40 of the Official World Rankings, he is the exact same age as last year's winner, Brain Harman, and he's in search of his first major.

"He's not in the greatest of form at present but he's won on the PGA Tour four times already and he has plenty of bottle. Having won the Sanderson Farms Championship ten years ago, he had to wait six years for next win, but he's won three times in the last four years and all three have been impressive victories.

"He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am by four shots in 2020, so we know he can handle a links type layout, he became the first Canadian to win his national title in donkey's years last year when he beat Tommy Fleetwood in a playoff, and he won at TPC Scottsdale in extra time in February so he's quite frankly a bizarre price at in excess of 900.0899/1"

Place order to lay 8 Us @ 10.09/1 & 12 Us @ 2.01/1

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First-Round Leader Tips: A trio of 66/1 picks

Dave Tindall: "Tony Finau has had a string of fast starts in recent months, finishing in the top six after the opening lap four times in his last five events. That includes the two Majors. A 65 put him second after day one of the US PGA Championship while he was sixth after the first round of the US Open.

"Also second after 18 holes at Colonial and sixth on the closing Thursday leaderboard at the Travelers, Finau boasts some strong FRL history in this event too.

"Here at Troon on his Open debut in 2016 a 67 put him in fourth spot while he was second after day one at Carnoustie in 2018 and third through the first 18 holes at Royal Portrush in 2019.

"He's thrown in rounds of 66 (day two at Royal St George's and day four at St Andrews) in two of the last three Opens so he's used to going low on the links.

"Finau, who ranks 13th in Early R1 Scoring Average on the PGA Tour this season, looks a great bet at 66/167.00 (1/5 Odds, 6 Places) from his morning tee-time."

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Special Bets: Back Hovland to miss the cut

Steve Rawlings: "A player who looks opposable is Norway's Viktor Hovland, who's been a shadow of the player he was at the end of last season for much of 2024.

"He finished third at the PGA Championship in May but that's his only top-14 finish in 12 starts this year and he missed the cut at both the US Masters and the recent US Open.

"He was an unimpressive tied 46^th at the Scottish Open last week and another weekend off at a major championship is a distinct possibility."

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Top 5 and Top 10 Tips: Home in on Hatton

Dave Tindall: "Tyrrell Hatton has had some of his finest moments when playing the famed links courses of Scotland.

"His record at the Home of Golf includes two wins and two further second places in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (played at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns) and a fifth here at Royal Troon in the 2016 Open.

"Add in 6th, 11th and 20th in three of the last four Opens, as well as his recent fine form on the LIV Tour (win and a third in the latest two events), and he looks more than capable of landing a top 10 finish at 4.57/2."

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10-year trends point to...

Dave Tindall: "The top four in the most recent Open to be held at Royal Troon ranked 7th, 1st, 4th and 3rd for Scrambling. Wind back and six of the first seven home in the 2004 Open there ranked in the top 12 for Scrambling. It's a key weapon on the famed Scottish links.

"Stenson, the 2016 winner at Troon, had been 2nd for Scrambling at the BMW International Open in Germany two starts earlier. Being sharp around the greens is important and seven of the last 10 Open winners had ranked 10th or better for Scrambling in at least one of their three previous starts. Two others had ranked 13th and 19th...

"Rory McIlroy turned 35 in May and while that counted against him in the American majors where younger players have done best, the trends say it's an attribute when trying to solve the nuances of links golf. Many will say the Northern Irishman is now damaged goods after somehow losing the US Open last month but a fifth place at Royal Troon in 2016 suggests he may have the last laugh."

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Player Profiles: Scottie Scheffler

Matt Cooper: "We don't have the Strokes Gained stats for the World No.1's Open debut but what we have from the last two championships backs up his career patterns because, while he ranked seventh and third for Tee to Green, he was only 69th and 74th for Putting. His traditional stats for that first start (he ranked 26th for GIR) suggest he might have learned a few things regarding the long game on the links so can his improved putting in 2024 see him contend? He was top five with 18 holes to play at both Sandwich and the Old Course and a repeat of his form this year will obviously make him a significant threat if he's in that position again.

"He might have upgraded his putting but he's yet to fix his poor Sand Save stats. Royal Troon's bunkers are a genuine threat that have ruined the hopes of many contenders in the past. He also didn't play the Scottish Open."

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Major form stats for this week's tournament

Andy Swales: "Consistency is not something usually associated with young golfers, unless your name is either Nicklaus or Woods, but the 24-year-old Swede seems to have it in abundance. Warmed up for The Open by finishing tied-fourth in Scotland on Sunday."

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Course details and current form stats

Andy Swales: "Since Royal Troon last hosted The Open in 2016, a number of changes have been made to the course. These include lengthening the par-five, sixth hole, to more than 620 yards. Nine new tees have been built, while the overall length of the course has increased by almost 200 yards.

"Deep fairway bunkers, many of which are not visible from the tee, puts a great emphasis on accuracy with the driver - and it certainly doesn't get any easier therein. The putting surfaces are some of the smallest on The Open rota, while coastal winds will make the task of hitting greens in regulation even harder. Length off the tee is unlikely to be the decisive factor this week, with many pros expected to hit irons on a number of par fours..."

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Get in-play Open Championship betting updates from Steve Rawling across the four days

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