Rory McIlroy has mounted a serious challenge for favouritism ahead of The Open this week at Royal Birkdale, with support for the Northern Irishman soaring following a surprise stumble from Scottie Scheffler in Scotland.
The world number one heads into the final major of the season on the back of a rare missed cut at last week’s Scottish Open, his first early exit since 2022, ending a remarkable run of 78 consecutive made cuts.
Despite that setback, Scheffler remains the 13/2 joint favourite with BOYLE Sports, but his grip at the top of the market is loosening by the day, with Masters champion McIlroy now joining him on the same price .
Home interest is also strong in what could be a huge weekend for English sport, with the Three Lions potentially contesting a World Cup final on the same day The Open reaches its climax.
Punters are rallying behind Southport’s own Tommy Fleetwood at 12/1 to land a dream victory on home turf, while Matt Fitzpatrick has been backed into 11/1 third favourite to claim a second career major following an eye-catching performance in Scotland last week.
Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BOYLE Sports, said: “Scottie Scheffler’s missed cut has shaken things up and it’s not beyond the realms of possibility Rory McIlroy goes favourite on his own before tee-off on Thursday. Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood have been well backed too, and a lot of punters are beginning to dream of a huge day for the English on both sides of the Atlantic.”
The Open – EW 1/5 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12
13/2 S Scheffler
13/2 R McIlroy
11/1 M Fitzpatrick
12/1 T Fleetwood
18/1 J Rahm
18/1 X Schauffele
20/1 C Gotterup
20/1 R MacIntyre
22/1 L Aberg
22/1 W Clark
22/1 V Hovland
22/1 C Morikawa
22/1 J Rose
25/1 bar
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