About this Video

• Video Title: BEST BETS: 2025 Open Championship Odds, Picks | Royal Portrush | The Early Wedge
• Channel: SportsLine
• Speakers: Eric Cohen, Patrick McDonald, Jason Soil, CIA
• Duration: 01:08:35

Introduction

This SportsLine Early Wedge video discusses betting predictions for the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush and the Barracuda Championship. The hosts and guests analyze storylines, offer picks for first-round leaders, matchups, finishing positions, and outright winners, including longshots. They also share their "do not bet" lists and discuss various parlays.

Key Takeaways

• Lack of Recent English Open Winners: A storyline focuses on the long absence of an English winner in the Open Championship, sparking discussion on potential English contenders this year.
• European Dominance in Open: The panel highlights the infrequent wins by American golfers in the Open Championship, contrasting the strong performance of European players.
• Scotty Scheffler Discussion: A significant portion of the show analyzes Scotty Scheffler's performance and betting prospects, considering his recent statements and links course history.
• Diverse Betting Strategies: The hosts and guests showcase various betting approaches, including first-round leader bets, matchups, finishing position parlays, outright winner picks, and longshot options, with detailed reasoning behind each pick.
• Value and Longshot Plays: The focus is on identifying value bets and longshots with potential for high payouts. The hosts discuss their criteria for selecting these plays and the potential risks.

The video features many golfers, and the panelists offer various opinions and betting suggestions. To give you a comprehensive answer, I'll separate their choices by category:

First Round Leaders:

• Patrick McDonald: Tommy Fleetwood (45 to 1)
• Jason Soil: Sepp Straka, Ryan Fox (others mentioned but not specifically recommended)
• CIA: Matt Fitzpatrick, Sepp Straka, Adam Scott, Jordan Spieth (mentions Ryan Fox favorably as well) Additional mentions include, but not specific recommendations for: Adam Scott, Matt Fitzpatrick, Sepp Straka, Jordan Smith

Matchups:

• Patrick McDonald: Victor Hovland over Justin Thomas, Patrick Reed over Hideki Matsuyama
• Jason Soil: Matt Fitzpatrick over Collin Morikawa, Harry Hall over Aaron Rai, Justin Thomas (top American at 20 to 1)

Outright Winners:

• Patrick McDonald: Tyrrell Hatton (33 to 1), Jordan Spieth (80 to 1), Victor Hovland (40 to 1), Matt Fitzpatrick, Jason Day (90 to 1)
• Jason Soil: Justin Thomas (20 to 1), Xander Schauffele (25 to 1)
• CIA: Xander Schauffele (25 to 1), Matt Fitzpatrick (55 to 1 & 30 to 1 in "without" market), Adam Scott (80 to 1 & 45 to 1 in "without" market), John Rahm (12 to 1), Tommy Fleetwood (28 to 1), Victor Hovland (30 to 1 & 70 to 1)

Long Shots:

• CIA: Ben Griffin (90 to 1 & 50 to 1 in "without" market), Patrick Reed (90 to 1 & 50 to 1 in "without" market), Matt Wallace, Rory McIlroy (400 to 1)
• Patrick McDonald: Maverick McNeely (110 to 1)
• Jason Soil: Adam Scott, Justin Rose, Tom McKibben, Lorie Canter, Matt Wallace

Barracuda Championship (modified Stableford):

• Jason Soil: Austin Eckroat, Taylor Montgomery, Harry Higgs
• CIA: Kevin Kisner, Hayden Buckley, Nick Hardy, Thomas Rosenmueller, Trevor Cone

Please note that these are not endorsements, but rather a summary of the picks made by the panelists during the video. They provide reasoning for each pick but also acknowledge that betting involves inherent risk.