Who will win the British Open 2019? Odds, betting favorites, sleeper picks, Tiger Woods prop bets

Golf's oldest major will tee off for the 148th time on Thursday when many of the sport's best battle for the Claret Jug at the 2019 British Open.

Northern Ireland's Royal Portrush Golf Club will be the site of this year's tournament, the second time the course has hosted the British Open.

A deep field that features the top 31 golfers in the World Golf Rankings immediately makes the tournament a big draw, with three players — Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka and Gary Woodland — vying to win their second major of the year. Francesco Molinari will try to become the first golfer to win back to back Claret Jugs since Padraig Harrington in 2007 and 2008.

The British Open has featured a wide variety of recent champions, with underdogs experiencing a similar amount of success as some of the favorites. Using the betting odds for this year's tournament, here is the competition sized up with favorites, sleepers and past champions to guide your picks. 

MORE: Watch the British Open live with fuboTV (7-day free trial)

Who will win the British Open in 2019?

It makes complete sense to pick Brooks Koepka to win. He is No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings, won the PGA Championship this year, and finished in second place in the other two majors. His British Open history, however, pales in comparison to his showings in the other three majors. He has two career top-10 finishes, but hasn't finished better than a tie for 39th in his other three appearances.

Rory McIlroy — who has a PGA Tour-leading 11 top-10 finishes this year — is another favorite to win the Claret Jug in his home country, especially since he already has familiarity with Royal Portrush. He set the Old Course record by shooting 61 as a 16-year-old in 2005. It's a new decade, but a more mature McIlroy is still very capable of winning his second British Open.  

British Open 2019 betting odds

Despite being No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings, McIlroy (+800) is the favorite to win at Royal Portrush. Koepka, who is hoping to add a British Open win to an already stellar resume, is not far behind at +1000. Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Tiger Woods (+1600) aren't far behind the top two. Johnson and Rahm are still looking for their first British Open win, while Woods will be trying for his fourth Claret Jug. 

While McIlroy has a richer history at Royal Portrush than others in the field, it's more difficult than usual to base any picks off past success at the course, since the only other time the British Open was played there was in 1951, so obviously nobody in the field this year and then overlap.

MORE: Expert picks to win the 2019 British Open

Open Championship sleeper picks

Some enticing values outside of the favorites include 2010 British Open winner Louis Oosthuizen (+5000), U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland (+6600) and Tony Finau (+6600), who always seems to be right in the thick of things during big tournaments. Finau has four top-10 finishes in majors over the last two years.

For reference, the odds that the last three winners had entering the tournament were: Francesco Molinari (+2500), Jordan Spieth (+1200) and Henrik Stenson (+2500).

Here is the full list of odds for the 2019 British Open.

(Odds via Bovada)

Tiger Woods prop bets

Woods' performance in majors has been lacking since his win at the 2019 Masters. It's been nearly 13 years since he won a British Open, but a victory at Royal Portrush would be the exclamation point on what has been a comeback year for the greatest golfer of the generation. You can put money on a variety of Woods prop bets ranging from whether he will win or finish in the top five to if he will even make the cut.

Tiger Woods British Open props

(via Bovada)

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*Tiger Woods prop bets via golfodds.com

List of British Open winners by year

The British Open's rich history dates back all the way back to 1860, when Willie Park Sr. won over an eight-man field at Prestwick Golf Club, which hosted the first 12 tournaments. Old Tom Morris holds the record for largest winning margin (13 strokes), a mark that has been untouched since 1862.

Harry Vardon holds the record for most British Open victories (6), and Peter Thomson and Tom Watson are among the group of golfers who have hoisted the Claret Jug five times. Woods (2000, 2005, 2006) is the only golfer with three-plus British Open victories in this year's field.