The Open Championship 2025 Predictions: Viktor to Vanquish Rivals

• The tournament takes place at Royal Portrush for just the third time

• Shane Lowry won the last edition held there in 2019  

• This is the 153rd running of the game’s oldest major

The Open Championship 2025 Odds

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The Open Championship 2025 Picks

• Viktor Hovland each-way (1/5 odds, 7 Places) at (+3000) with BetMGM

• Rory McIlroy to beat Scottie Scheffler in 72-hole match at (+105) with bet365

• Tom McKibbin for Top 10 at (+1000) with BetMGM

The Open Championship 2025 Overview

The Irish love a good story and a knees-up.

And they certainly got one the last time the Open Championship visited Royal Portrush in 2019.

The fairytale of Rory McIlroy winning in front of his home Northern Irish fans didn’t materialise when he got off to a disastrous start and missed the cut.

But two days later, the crowds were toasting a glorious victory from another Irishman - Shane Lowry.

Lowry, from south of the border, took the tournament by the scruff of the neck with a third-round 63 and finished the job off a day later to win by six.

He’s prominent in the betting again to win just the third Open to be held on the Irish links.

But the two clear favorites are McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler and both have already won a major in 2025.

The course is a par 71 designed by Harry Colt, whose work includes Wentworth where Lowry has also won.

It features classic links dunes, plenty of undulations and several raised greens.

England’s Max Faulker won the only other edition of The Open to be held there in 1951 while Americans have captured three of the four Claret Jugs.

Eight of the last 10 Open winners had already won that season while all of the last 10 champions had either won or finished runner-up in a previous major.

Last 5 Winners of The Open Championship

• There was no tournament in 2020 due to the pandemic

Tournament/Course Notes

• Royal Portrush is a par 71 and measures 7,381 yards

• The weather forecast suggests patches of rain but fairly modest winds

• Scrambling has been a key stat in past editions of The Open 

• Henrik Stenson’s 264 at Royal Troon in 2016 is the Open’s 72-hole record

• Branden Grace holds the 18-hole Open record of 62 (Royal Birkdale 2017)

Favorites to Win The Open Championship 2025

Scottie Scheffler (+500) at bet365

Scheffler can virtually be pencilled in for a top 10 every time he tees it up these days. He has 10 in a row now after eighth place in the Scottish Open last week. But is he quite sharp enough to be backed at such a short price? His putting wasn’t great at The Renaissance Club and, if looking for other negatives, you’d say he only has a best of seventh in this event (four starts). The positive is that, y’know, he’s Scottie Scheffler.

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Rory McIlroy (+600) at bet365

Perhaps a win at the Scottish would have been the perfect Portrush build-up for Rory but second place while wielding a hot putter (5th SG: Putting) was the next best thing. McIlroy almost overcame his horror start (R1 79) and missed cut here in 2019 by shooting a Friday 65 and as a teenager he once fired a 61 on his local course before it was modified. After a perhaps expected dip in the wake of his thrilling Masters win, McIlroy has form of 19-6-2 in his last three events. There’s every chance that the downward sequence continues and ends in a ‘1’ this week.

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Jon Rahm (+1100) at bet365

Scheffler didn’t play the 2019 Open while McIlroy missed the cut. But Jon Rahm does have positive memories of that event after he carded 3-under to finish tied 11th. Since then Rahm’s Open results read 3-34-2-7 while he’s also a two-time Irish Open winner. The Spaniard was runner-up at his home-soil LIV Golf Andalucia event last week although some still believe that playing 54-hole tournaments on the breakaway tour has taken some of his edge away.

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The Open Championship - My Picks

Hovland Can Be Victorious  

With so many of the same names cropping up time and time again in majors, it’s a slight surprise that of the last 39 contested, 24 have been won by a first-timer.

J.J. Spaun was the latest to make the breakthrough when capturing last month’s US Open at Oakmont and four of the last six Open champions were new to the major winners club. 

And if looking for the next cab off the rank, Viktor Hovland must surely be one of the most likely candidates.

The Norwegian has already established himself as a regular challenger at this level over the last few years.

He placed fourth in the 2022 Open at St Andrews and 12th (Royal St George’s) and 13th (Hoylake) either side.

In 2023 he was seventh at The Masters and runner-up at the PGA, a year later he added third in the PGA while he occupied third spot in last month’s US Open.

He’s warmed up for this with 11th at the Scottish Open and that looks ideal prep given that the last three Open winners finished 15th (Xander Schauffele), 12th (Brian Harman) and 10th (Cam Smith) in the Scottish a week prior to lifting the Claret Jug.

Hovland, a winner of the Valspar Championship in March, is the bet, each-way at (+3000) (1/5 Odds, 7 Places) with BetMGM.        

McIlroy to Beat Scheffler - Again

The decision to back Rory McIlroy at enticing odds of +180 to win his 72-hole match against Scottie Scheffler paid off last week.

Rory won that Scottish Open head-to-head by four.

And emboldened by that, I’m going to play it again, McIlroy the (+105) ‘dog with bet365 this time.

On basic numbers, McIlroy has seven top sixes in The Open while Scheffler has none.

And for all the World No.1’s brilliance from tee-to-green, Rory looks far more assured with putter in hand right now.

In front of his home fans, McIlroy is the play.

McKibbin to Land Top 10

Tom McKibbin is a sneaky Top 10 bet this week.

He’s a Northern Irish local, grew up playing at the same club as Rory McIlroy and has been a member at Portrush for the last decade.

McKibbin has made the top five in the last two LIV events (Dallas and Andalucia) and is 4-for-4 in majors. He’s a value bet to make the Top 10 at (+1000) with BetMGM.

How to Watch The Open Championship 2025

• Tournament: The Open Championship

• Location: Royal Portrush, Portrush, Northern Ireland

• Date: Thursday July 17 - Sunday July 20

• How to watch: Thursday-Friday 1.30 a.m.-4 a.m. ET (Peacock), 4 a.m.-3.30 p.m. (USA), Saturday 5 a.m.-7 a.m. (USA), 7 a.m.-3.p.m. (NBC, Peacock), Sunday 4 a.m.-7 a.m. (USA), 7 a.m.-2.p.m. (NBC, Peacock). And all four days on Sky Sports.