The Bearded Talisman's Open Championship Bets

The Bearded Talisman’s 4 bets for the 152nd Open Championship in Troon, England.

Xander Schauffele to WIN (12-1) – The reigning PGA Champion has 11 Top 10s and zero missed cuts in 16 starts in 2024.      X-man tied for 2nd at The Open in 2018.   He had a nice tuneup at The Genesis Scottish Open last week, finishing T-15th.    On a side note, I had a dream 2 weeks ago that I found Schauffele’s Open scorecard – it had nothing but circles on it.    18 birdies.   Reminded me of the time I had a dream the night before the 2015 NCAA men's basketball tourney, and in the dream I won a bunch of money, and all of the $100 bills had Coach K’s face on them, not Ben Franklin’s.    So I bet on Duke to win the Natty the next day, and they won the title 2 ½ weeks later.  

Patrick Cantlay to WIN (40-1) – The 8th ranked player in the world finished T-3rd at The US Open and followed it up with a T-5th at The Travelers.   He also got a perfect draw, being paired with Tiger and best friend on Tour Xander Schauffele for the first 2 rounds.   He really steps it up in big moments when he is playing well, and I expect him to play really well this week.

Brooks Koepka (40-1) – Sometimes golf results are counterintuitive.    Koepka has not finished better than T-26th in all 3 majors this year.   His last 2 LIV events he finished T-42nd and T-27th.   But as we all know, Koepka is Mr. Major; and, he thrives on being under the radar, and being disrespected, and this seems like the perfect setup for him.    40-1?   I’ll buy that for a dollar.

Sungjae Im to WIN (60-1) – In his last 11 events, Im has finished in the top 12 in 8 of them, including T-4th at The Genesis Scottish Open last week.    Im has missed the cut in all 3 majors this year, but he has a decent track record in majors, with 2 Top 10s at Augusta.    With his raw talent and driving accuracy, Im, at 60-1, is the live longshot.