Can Scottie Scheffler Really Win?

Scottie Scheffler, despite never finishing better than a tie for eighth at an Open Championship, is heavily favored by the public to win the final major of 2024 at Royal Troon. The world’s No. 1-ranked player is the clear favorite at most sportsbooks, including BetMGM. Initially opening at +1000 to win The Open, Scheffler’s odds have been driven down to +500 due to significant public backing. He has attracted the most total bets (14.3 percent) and money (23.7 percent) to win this week, making him the book’s biggest liability ahead of former Open champions Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy. Additionally, Scheffler has drawn the most bets to be the first-round leader and to finish in the top five.

Lead golf trader Matt Wall of BetMGM commented, “There’s been relentless support for the World Number 1 Scottie Scheffler, but we’re happy with our position with him at +500 currently.” Wall also noted that Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau, and Akshay Bhatia are significant liabilities for the book. He added, “Needless to say, we are hoping for strong performances by the European players this weekend at the British Open.”

Koepka, a five-time major winner with his best previous finish at the Open being a T4 in 2019, has been backed by 1.2 percent of the money, with his odds holding steady at +4000. He is the third-most popular play among LIV Golf players in the field, behind Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Smith. All of them are chasing Scheffler, who is the first player to win six times in a single season since Tiger Woods in 2009. The last player to win seven times in a season was also Woods, in 2007.

Scheffler is also favored at +500 at DraftKings, where he leads the field with 16 percent of the money backing him to win. He has the most support to be the first-round leader at +1600, with 8 percent of the money, and a significant 30 percent backing him at +240 to be the top American finisher.