2025 British Open golf predictions, odds and PGA Tour picks for Thursday, 07/17/25

Superb links exponent Jon Rahm looks short enough in the market, so the best value could lie with last year’s Claret Jug winner at Royal Troon — Xander Schauffele. Since winning both the PGA Championship and the British Open, Schauffele has had a difficult run, not helped by the rib injury that ruled him out for 3 months after the Sentry at the start of the year. Still, he’s performed solidly in the 3 Majors this year, finishing 8th at the Masters, 28th at the PGA, and 12th at the US Open, and his performance in Scotland last week, where he finished 8th and topped the field in strokes-gained approach, suggests he’s on the verge of peaking for this title defense.

His Open record is excellent. He was runner-up to Francesco Molinari at Carnoustie in 2018, and he was in the hunt for a place at Portrush 6 years ago before slumping to a closing 78 in a rain-affected final round, finishing in a share of 41st place. A brilliant iron player, Schauffele looks close to clicking into top form once more, and it’s surprising to see him available at +2500 after last year’s stellar showing at Troon. A repeat could well be coming on Sunday afternoon.

Tommy Fleetwood is the shortest-priced English contender, but Tyrrell Hatton also brings strong Claret Jug credentials. Hatton’s trip to tree-lined Valderrama last week for LIV Andalucia wasn’t ideal preparation for Portrush’s very different test, but he’s a seasoned links operator with 3 Dunhill Links titles to his name. He could quickly adjust to these conditions. He finished 5th at Troon in 2016 and 6th at Portrush in 2019. While he was good enough to contend in the final round of last month’s US Open — eventually finishing 4th behind JJ Spaun — the British Open remains his best chance of Major glory.

Another Englishman, Matt Fitzpatrick, looked sharp at the Scottish Open, where he finished 4th. He has a modest British Open record, though his best performance came at Portrush in 2019, finishing 20th. A talented links player with a sparkling short game, he’s looked back to his best in recent outings, with top-10 finishes at the PGA Championship and Rocket Classic coming prior to his Scottish Open outing.

Confirmed links lover Ryan Fox also deserves another chance despite a quiet performance last week. The Kiwi’s best British Open finish came at Portrush in 2019, when he placed 16th despite being ranked outside the world’s top 100. Like Hatton and Fitzpatrick, he’s a Dunhill Links winner and also boasts a runner-up finish in the Irish Open at Ballyliffin. With 2 PGA Tour wins under his belt in recent months, Fox looks capable of contending.

At huge odds, don’t discount Rickie Fowler. He has the all-around game to be a factor in County Antrim. Despite the ups and downs in his career, Fowler boasts an eye-catching British Open record — he was a runner-up behind McIlroy at Hoylake and 6th at Portrush in 2019. The 36-year-old is inconsistent, but that’s factored into his odds. He secured his Open spot with a 7th-place finish at the Memorial Tournament and has 4 top-20 finishes in his last 7 starts.