Rory McIlroy Consensus Open Favorite in Native Northern Ireland, Star Shot 61 at Royal Portrush at Age 16

Posted on: July 17, 2019, 01:54h. 

Last updated on: July 17, 2019, 01:54h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

Rory McIlroy is the consensus betting favorite for this week’s Open Championship being played in his native home country of Northern Ireland at Royal Portrush Golf Club.

Rory McIlroy The Open golf odds
Rory McIlroy is back at one his favorite courses in the world. (Image: Peter Morrison/AP)

The Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas says McIlroy has attracted the most money and printed the most ticket slips. As a result, the casino has his odds short at just 8/1. A $100 bet nets $800 on Rory becoming “Champion Golfer of the Year” for a second time in his career.

DraftKings and MGM sportsbooks also have McIlroy at 8/1, while FanDuel has him slightly longer at 17/2 (+850). The SuperBook has Brooks Koepka next at 10/1, followed by Dustin Johnson (12/1), Jon Rahm (14/1), and Tiger Woods rounding out the top five at 18/1.

Heavy Favorite

There’s plenty of reason for the enthusiasm surrounding the four-time major winner’s chances this week. McIlroy has two wins this year including The Players Championship and Canadian Open, and a staggering 11 finishes inside the top 10 in just 14 events played.

The 30-year-old finished T8 at the PGA, and T9 at the US Open. Oh, and one other thing: McIlroy has home-course advantage this week, as he holds the course record at Royal Portrush – a 61 he shot in the 2005 North of Ireland Amateur at the young age of 16.

Whenever I think about Royal Portrush and about links golf and my development, I always think about that round of golf,” McIlroy told TheOpen.com. “There are not many golf rounds where I remember every shot, but for that round I do.”

The R&A will setup the course much harder than the one McIlroy played 14 years ago. The over/under on the low round of the week is at 64 (both -110). As for the winning score, the over on 272.5 is at even money, and under -120. That number comes to 68.125 strokes a round for the Claret Jug winner.

Other Contenders

“The confidence I had, and the cockiness I had at 16, sometimes I think I have to rediscover that a little bit,” McIlroy added. Bettors feel confident he’s the man to beat this week.

He’s favored in numerous one-on-one matchups including versus DJ (-170), Justin Rose (-190), Koepka (-155), Rahm (-180), and Woods (-200).

With a ton of liability on McIlroy, there are some more attractive lines on other strong favorites, as oddsmakers look to reduce their potential exposure should McIlroy indeed win.

Francesco Molinari – the defending Open champ – has missed just one cut in 12 PGA Tour starts this year. He won the Arnold Palmer Invitational, finished third at the WGC-Dell Match Play, and T5 at the Masters. The Italian is at 25/1 to defend his Claret Jug.

McIlroy has the lowest score in relation to par at The Open since 2014 at -32. But despite his well-publicized struggles, Jordan Spieth is next at -30. However, because Spieth hasn’t won since the 2017 Open, he’s at a distant 40/1.

40/1 is also where Louis Oosthuizen is at, and with the SuperBook revealing that the South African and winner of the 2010 Open has generated the fourth most money, a victory by him would also presumably be a blow to the casino.