Photo by Flickr, CC by 2.0
Few events on the British sporting calendar generate the interest and traction that the Open Championship does and Royal Portrush is set to stage the 2025 incarnation of the famous tournament.
First held back in 1860, the Open Championship is the oldest golf competition on the planet, and it holds a special place in the hearts of punters and the best golf betting sites.
Played on links golf courses across the UK, the Open poses a unique test to the best golfers in the world, with the infamous Claret Jug up for grabs for the winner.
The standing of the Open Championship as one of the four majors on the men’s golfing calendar gives it extra gravitas too and Royal Portrush should provide the perfect backdrop.
Having hosted the event just twice previously (in 1951 and 2019), having the Open Championships in Northern Ireland tends to bring the nation to a standstill and the eyes of the sporting world will be fixed on County Antrim.
Naturally, the presence of home favourite Rory McIlroy in the draw at Royal Portrush will be a significant one, fresh off the back of his Masters win earlier in the year – completing the career Grand Slam.
World number one Scottie Scheffler is seeking his first Open Championship title, while defending champion Xander Schauffele is searching for his best form ahead of this one.
There are plenty of big names leading the way here at Portrush but as ever with links golf, this should be an open few days of golf, with the majority of the field sure to be believing they have more than an outside chance of being in the mix on Sunday.
2025 Open Championship – The Favourites
Since the beginning of 2025, the gap between the top two players in the world and the chasing pack has widened, with both Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy having won majors already this season.
American Scheffler remains the best player on the planet, with his metronomic ability to go deep in tournaments and win events making him a very tough prospect to come up against.
He will be the first to admit that playing on a links course is far from his comfort zone, but he is such a clean ball striker that anywhere near his ‘A’ game sees him contend here at Portrush.
Storylines are seldom written in sport, but Rory McIlroy comes into his home major, having won his first Grand Slam event in more than a decade at the Masters and having got rid of the career Grand Slam monkey off his back.
When the event was last held at Royal Portrush back in 2019, McIlroy endured a well-publicised dip in confidence and form, but he should be raring to go in his home event here.
McIlroy will be backed to the hilt on both sides of the rope over the next few days and if he can channel that energy, he should be in the mix for the Claret Jug.
British interest continues with Tommy Fleetwood, a player who continues to be there or thereabouts in big events and how he could do with notching his first major title, especially with conditions sure to suit his game this week.
He along with big-hitting American Bryson DeChambeau look best placed to trouble McIlroy and Scheffler, while Spaniard Jon Rahm can never be ruled out in this company either.
2025 Open Championship Odds – Outright Winner
2025 Open Championship – Ones to Watch
Few golf tournaments on the calendar have enjoyed such a broad tapestry of winners as the Open Championship historically and there should be plenty of fringe players in the mix here at Portrush.
Shane Lowry’s victory in this tournament, at this course, back in 2019 will go down in Open Championship folklore and the Irishman has developed into one of the finest players on the PGA Tour since.
Home interest continues in the likes of Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton, two Englishmen who will be on the receiving end of plenty of support out in Antrim and both men are well accustomed to the quirks of playing links golf.
Fresh off the back of a second place finish at the US Open, Scot Robert MacIntyre feels like a major winner in the making, and he should feel as if he has the game to compete here at Portrush.
Transferring form and playing skill from the PGA Tour through to the big events is never easy, especially when it comes to the Open – as the links nature of the course is a leveller for every player.
In addition, weather conditions in the UK are always unpredictable and everything will need to go well for a certain player, if they are to end up with the Claret Jug in their hands.
A few Americans that are looking to buck that trend though are Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, three potentially key members of the US Ryder Cup team in September.
With seven major tournament wins between them, they are a trio that can always force their way into contention in any event, and they should all be keenly tracked in the betting markets.
Scandinavian golf is in an excellent place and two young firebrands will be looking to make their mark here at Portrush.
Swede Ludvig Aberg and Norwegian Viktor Hovland are yet to win a major in their respective careers, but both have the game and the belief to compete over the course of the event in Northern Ireland.
