The Open Championship, the fourth and final major of the year, is being staged at Royal Birkdale on the Lancashire coast in England this week, with world No.1 Scottie Scheffler defending his title.
The American star knows it will be tough to fend off a world-class field featuring the likes of 2026 major winners Rory McIlroy, Aaron Rai and Wyndham Clark plus many more.
What they all know is that they are in for a proper Open Championship links test with the sandy course baked hard by weeks of sunshine and a breeze set to pick up over the weekend.
The Open Outright Winner Predictions and Best Bets
Chris Gotterup each-way 1/5 1-8 (+2500)
Royal Birkdale this weekend doesn't look like the type of test where you can trust Rory McIlroy or Scheffler and without the two market giants on a shortlist, that leaves the Claret Jug well and truly up for grabs.
You'll all have your own ideas of big names who can challenge and outsiders destined to give it a run.
Chris Gotterup is one standout name who seems to have the ideal identity to break his major duck this week.
Certainly he seems better placed than Scheffler, who just seems to have a bad round in him week in, week out.
His form figures are still pretty incredible - or were until he missed the cut at last weekend's Scottish Open.
But Birkdale will be quirky, with bad bounces and bad breaks to accompany the good things, and it will be interesting to see how the world No.1 deals with it all so soon after his Renaissance flop.
As for McIlroy, he is just too aerial to be a great links golfer. His short game has improved no end, but he misses too many fairways and lacks the imagination many others do for this type of test.
So back to Gotterup, enjoying the strongest of purple patches right now and on form a hard man to oppose, certainly each-way at odds of +2500 to make the top eight.
He certainly enjoys this time of year, landing the Scottish Open 12 months ago and then almost backing it up by finishing third at The Open at Royal Portrush on debut when he went 13 under for his last three rounds.
He is a top-10 player now, clearly enjoys the challenge of links golf and seems critically sanguine about the bad breaks that come your way.
He's got the mindset, the game - and the price.
Brian Harman each-way 1/5 1-8 (+9000)
The Americans are bossing The Open of late, with four Claret Jugs in the past five runnings, including Brian Harman, who sailed in by six strokes at Royal Liverpool in 2023.
That is now four top-20s in the past five years (off the back of four missed cuts) to show he's more than mastered this type of test.
The leftie has had a solid if unspectacular year with nothing better than a T11 at The Players and he was T36 at the Scottish Open on Sunday.
He was certainly in better shape when he won in 2023 just along the coast, but he so evidently has the right game for this test - straight, low ball flight, imagination around the greens and a top putter.
Harman can definitely outrun +9000 odds.
Joe Dean Top 30 Finish (+600)
There wouldn't be a more popular Open winner on that side of the Atlantic than Tommy Fleetwood, the hugely likeable Ryder Cup star who was born a mile up the road in Southport.
Justin Rose will have his fans, so too Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton, but a Fleetwood win would be off the scale for the English.
And they are due a win at their major. Since Tony Jacklin won in 1969 only one Englishman - the great Nick Faldo - has lifted the Claret Jug and Sir Nick did it three times.
All of the current crop will have their backers - though all have question marks over them.
If there is an Englishman to have a think about in a different market, look at last-minute qualifier Joe Dean for a Top-30 Finish at +600.
Dean stamped his ticket on Monday in the inaugural Last-Gasp Qualifier at Birkdale, where he shot 68 to fend off some fellow top pros.
And if he can do it round Birkdale on Monday in a high wind, under pressure, then why not over four days.
It isn't as though he is playing badly. The world No.268 finished T12 at the Austrian Open, T3 at the KLM Open and T9 at the BMW International Open.
Yes, this is a more august field, but he is clearly hitting the ball well and can now relax - and make the top 30.
Read more betting picks and predictions for Golf on site.
The Open Outright Winner odds
Scottie Scheffler | +800 |
Rory McIlroy | +825 |
Matt Fitzpatrick | +1500 |
Tommy Fleetwood | +1700 |
Jon Rahm | +2400 |
Xander Schauffele | +2400 |
Chris Gotterup | +2700 |
Collin Morikawa | +3000 |
Robert MacIntyre | +3000 |
Justin Rose | +3000 |
Wyndham Clark | +3000 |
Ludvig Aberg | +3200 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
