British Open 2023: First-Round Leader (FRL) Bets
BetMGM's Ryan Hannable highlights some of the best first-round leader (FRL) bets for the Open Championship
British Open 2023: First-Round Leader (FRL) Bets
The British Open will begin Thursday, July 20, from Royal Liverpool in England.
All the top players in the world are in the field, with Rory McIlroy having the best odds to win this week at +700. He won last week’s Genesis Scottish Open and won the British Open the last time it was played at the course back in 2014.
The British Open has a $16.5 million purse.
Scoring at Royal Liverpool will be weather dependent. The current weather forecast for the British Open doesn’t call for very high winds, but if that changes, par will be a good score. As it stands now, there could be more birdies made than in a typical British Open.
Royal Liverpool is a par-71 that plays a little over 7,300 yards, with a few short par-4s and some reachable par-5s. Players will need to take advantage of these scoring holes.
So, who could post the best score in Thursday’s first round? Below are my first-round leader bets for the week.
British Open: First-Round Leader (FRL) Bets
Rickie Fowler +3300 First-Round Leader
Fowler was a co-leader after the first round of the U.S. Open and fired a 62, so why not make it two majors in a row? The 34-year-old finished runner-up to McIlroy here in 2014, so he has course history on his side.
He’s also fresh off a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic a few weeks ago, so he has plenty of things going his way this week.
Cameron Young +5500 First-Round Leader
Based on the season he had a year ago, it’s been a bit of a disappointing year for Young, with only one top-10 finish since the Masters. But he did finish second to Cameron Smith a year ago at St. Andrews, so he’s enjoyed some success with links golf.
The 26-year-old has the ability to go super low every time he tees it up, so he’s certainly worth considering
Ryan Fox +6600 First-Round Leader
The 36-year-old from New Zealand is a relatively unknown player to those on the PGA Tour, but he’s had a lot of success on the DP World Tour. He hits the ball a mile, so he could have some short clubs into a lot of holes at Royal Liverpool.
Fox is currently No. 42 in the Official World Golf Rankings and is coming off a T-12 finish at the Genesis Scottish Open.
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Ryan Hannable is a Content Managing Editor on the Web Content Team for BetMGM. Previously, he was a New England Patriots beat writer for WEEI in Boston. He also has published a golf book, “The Ultimate Book of Golf Trivia: 600 Questions and Answers.”