Playing on his home turf in Northern Ireland, Rory McIlroy is the favorite to sit atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of The Open Championship at Royal Portrush on Sunday.
Playing in his home country, the four-time major championship winner has 8-1 odds of capturing his second Open Championship. Following McIlroy, Americans Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson are listed as co-favorites to hoist the Claret Jug at 10-1.
For Koepka, it would be his fifth major championship. For Johnson, it would be his second major win.
Though some of his colleagues predicted golfers like Tommy Fleetwood, Xander Schauffele and Koepka as winners of The Open, Chris Fallica of ESPN agrees with oddsmakers that McIlroy will end up as champion.
“It’s not an original pick, but I’m fairly certain he will be in contention come Sunday given his past four Opens have each produced top-5 finishes,” he writes. “The local knowledge will come in handy here, and I don’t think the pressure or stage of trying to capture The Open in his home country will be too big for Rory, who leads the Tour in strokes gained: total and tee-to-green. As is always the case with McIlroy, if he makes putts, he wins.”
Following McIlroy, Koepka and Johnson as favorites are Jon Rahm at 16-1 and Tiger Woods at 18-1.
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