2025 The Open Preview and Free Pick

Last Updated on July 16, 2025 9:37 am by Erwin Noguera

We’ve arrived at the final Major of the season: The Open Championship, which will see 156 of the world’s best golfers compete from July 17–20 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland.

This par-71 course spans 7,381 yards and will host this prestigious Major for the third time. Now in its 153rd edition, The Open is the oldest golf tournament, first held in 1860. The venue for the event rotates across the United Kingdom, but in Northern Ireland, it has only ever been played at Royal Portrush. In the two previous editions held here, the winners were an Englishman and an Irishman.

The defending champion is Xander Schauffele, who won by two strokes over Billy Horschel and Justin Rose in 2024. The most successful golfer in the tournament’s history is Harry Vardon, with six titles—his last coming in 1914. Since Ernie Els captured his second title in 2012, no player has managed to win it again.

2025 The Open Betting Odds and Info

2025 The Open Top Contenders

It hasn’t been the year he hoped for, but Scottie Scheffler remains the top favorite. The world No. 1 was coming off a phenomenal 2024 and aimed to keep the momentum going into 2025. While it’s still been a strong year, it hasn’t quite matched the previous one.

He’s claimed three titles this season, all in May and June, with the standout being the PGA Championship, his third Major, having previously won the Masters twice. However, The Open has not been his best event: he debuted in 2021 with an 8th-place finish, followed by 21st, 23rd, and 7th last year.

So far in 2025, Scheffler has played in 15 tournaments, finishing in the top 10 in 12 of them. He’s won three, finished runner-up once, and placed third another time. He’s riding a streak of 10 straight top 10s, with his worst result being 25th at the WM Phoenix Open in February. Most recently, he placed 8th at the Genesis Scottish Open.

In second place is the hometown hero, Rory McIlroy. The Northern Irishman has won three PGA Tour events this year, highlighted by the Masters, which completed his career Grand Slam. While he missed the cut the last time The Open was held at this course, he’s expressed excitement about playing in front of a home crowd.

McIlroy won The Open in 2014 and has also finished 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th, proving he’s always a contender and knows how to handle the pressure in Majors. He’s coming off a 2nd-place finish at the Genesis Scottish Open, two strokes behind Chris Gotterup.

McIlroy also holds the course record at Royal Portrush—though it was on the old layout—shooting a 61 back in 2005 at just 16 years old during the North of Ireland Amateur Open.

Rounding out the list is the player who shows up at PGA Tour events exclusively for the Majors: Bryson DeChambeau. The American has nine PGA Tour titles, including two U.S. Opens. This year, he finished 5th at the Masters and runner-up at the PGA Championship, although he missed the cut in the other Major.

DeChambeau’s season has largely taken place on the LIV Golf Tour, where he’s won in Korea and finished in the top 10 in seven of the 10 events he’s played. However, he’s coming off a disappointing showing at LIV Golf Andalucía, where he placed 30th.

2025 The Open Outside picks

Just like DeChambeau, Jon Rahm also plays on the LIV Golf Tour and only appears for the Majors. He finished 14th at the Masters, 8th at the PGA Championship, and 7th at the U.S. Open—showing steady improvement. Rahm is already a champion at both the Masters and the U.S. Open, with 11 PGA Tour titles and 22 overall across all circuits. However, he hasn’t claimed a single title in 2025. He’s coming off a runner-up finish at LIV Golf Andalucía, and in 11 LIV events this year, he’s only finished outside the top 10 once, in 11th place. In other words, his worst result this season was 14th at the Masters.

One player who’s not among the favorites but could pull off a surprise is Justin Thomas. A two-time PGA Championship winner and a former Players Championship champion, Thomas won the RBC Heritage earlier this year—his 16th PGA Tour title—and has added six more top-10 finishes, including three runner-up results.

Lastly, we have Shane Lowry. The Irishman only has three PGA Tour titles, but one of them was The Open in 2019, held on this very course. He’s had a solid year with two runner-up finishes at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Truist Championship. However, he missed the cut in two of the three Majors this season.

2025 The Open Podium Picks

Prize bag

This PGA Tour event features a total purse of $17 million. The champion will take home a prize of $3,100,000. Additionally, the winner will earn 750 FedEx Cup points.