The Open Championship
The Open Championship is golf’s oldest major and its most unpredictable, because it’s played on links courses in July where the wind does the judging. A calm morning and a windy afternoon can decide the tournament before the weekend even starts. If the Masters rewards course knowledge, the Open rewards reading the forecast — and it’s the major where outsiders contend most.
You’ll find the Open markets live at Scorebet across outrights, each-way and top-finish bets.
Why links golf bets differently
Links courses — firm, treeless coastal layouts with deep pot bunkers and unpredictable bounces — ask for a skill set you don’t need anywhere else. Players have to flight the ball low under the wind, accept that a good shot can kick into trouble, and grind out scores when the weather turns. Power matters less; control and temperament matter more.
That widens the field of genuine contenders. A player who never threatens at Augusta can thrive on links, which is why the Open throws up surprise names and longer-priced winners more often than the other majors. For your betting, that means the each-way and outsider value runs deep here — don’t just chase the world’s top five.
The draw split — the factor most punters ignore
Over the first two rounds players go out in two waves: half in the morning, half in the afternoon, swapping the next day. On a links coast the weather can be entirely different between waves — calm and scoreable for one half, a stiff gale for the other.
When the forecast points to a clear split, it becomes a real betting edge. A player on the right side of the draw can shoot a number the unlucky half simply can’t match, regardless of how well they play. Sharp Open bettors check the forecast and the tee times before they commit, and will sometimes wait until the wave is set to bet. It’s the kind of detail the casual punter never looks at — and exactly where an edge hides.
The markets that fit the Open
- Outright (each-way) — back a player to win, each-way so a placed finish pays. The staple, and with the big field and unpredictable conditions, the place portion is doing heavy lifting.
- Top-10 / top-20 finish — pure place bets for backing a links specialist to have a strong week without needing the win.
- 3-balls and first-round leader — single-round markets that come alive on day one, when the draw and the forecast create readable matchups.
- Top nationality / top continent — sometimes offered, rewarding knowledge of which players suit links conditions.
The mechanics of each are in the golf bet types guide.
Where the value sits
The favourites are priced on overall class, but the Open punishes the player who can’t adapt to links and the wind. The value tends to sit with the proven links performer the wider market underrates — a player whose ball-flight and temperament suit the conditions, even if they’re cold on a calm parkland course. Add the draw read on top, and you can find a placed finish at a price the field doesn’t deserve.
A worked example. You back a links specialist at 41.00 each-way, seven places at a fifth, staking R40 each-way (R80 total). He rides the good side of the draw to a fifth-place finish: the place half pays at a fifth, so 41.00 becomes 9.00 → R40 × 9.00 = R360 back for your R80 outlay. He was never going to win, but the conditions and the draw delivered a strong week — and a healthy profit. That’s the Open each-way logic in one bet.
How the Open tends to play out
The durable truths: the weather is the great leveller, and the player who handles it best often beats the more talented one who can’t; the leaderboard can flip on a single windy wave; and a links course rewards patience and a flat scoring round over fireworks. None of that names a winner — a prediction is a read on probabilities, never a tip, and anyone selling guaranteed Open tips is selling noise.
Will your Open bet actually pay out?
Open markets at Scorebet are fixed odds — your price locks in when you bet, and an each-way bet settles in two parts once the tournament is official: the win half if your player wins, the place half if they finish inside the places. Winnings land in your wallet, with withdrawals on local rails — Instant EFT, cards, e-wallets — once your account is FICA-verified. The honest caveat: an outright parks your money for four days and most years returns nothing, so stake each-way and keep it small.
Bet the Open the smart way
Read the forecast before the form, factor the draw split, lean toward the links specialist over the bigger name, and take your opinions each-way to bank the strong-but-not-winning weeks. When you’re ready, the Open markets are live at Scorebet — and the Masters rewards a completely different read when April comes around.
Frequently asked
Why is the Open Championship harder to predict?
Because it's played on links courses in July, where wind and weather are huge factors. A morning-afternoon draw split can hand half the field calm conditions and the other half a gale, scrambling the leaderboard. Links golf also rewards a different skill set — flight control and bounce — so outsiders contend more often than at other majors.
What is the draw split at the Open?
Players go out in two waves over the first two days — half in the morning, half in the afternoon, then they swap. If the weather changes between waves, one half can face far tougher conditions, which is why the draw is a real betting factor at a links major. Sharp punters factor the forecast into who they back.
Is each-way betting good for the Open?
Yes, more than ever. The Open's big field and unpredictable conditions mean long outright odds and a wide spread of players who can place. The each-way place portion is where most of the realistic returns sit, and books often extend the places for such a large field.
Why can it pay to wait until the tee times are published before betting the Open?
The draw isn't known when ante-post markets first open, so backing a player early means betting blind on which wave they'll catch. If the forecast points to a hard split — calm one half, a gale the other — waiting until tee times are confirmed lets you back a player on the favourable side of the draw at a price that hasn't yet adjusted. You sacrifice some early value for a real informational edge that's specific to a links major.
Why does firm, fast links turf widen the spread of players who can contend?
Links courses run hard and use the ground, so a low, controlled ball that releases and a deft short game matter far more than raw power and high spin. That rewards a skill set plenty of players never need on lush parkland courses, so names who flounder at Augusta can suddenly look at home. It's why the Open throws up longer-priced winners more often than the other majors, and why fishing below the favourites for a proven links horse is sound value.