2024 British Open predictions, picks, favorites: One of these nine golfers will win at Royal Troon

The field of the 152nd Open Championship is loaded, so let's trim it down to the players most likely to hoist the Claret Jug on Sunday

By Kyle Porter Jul 18, 2024 at 8:39 am ET• 5 min read

It may be considered a fool's errand to try and predict even a group of players from which the 2024 Open Championship winner will emerge given how wide open this golf tournament seems to be each year. However, that is exactly what we are going to attempt to do today as the 152nd Open gets underway on Thursday at Royal Troon in Scotland.

Not everyone in the massive field can win the golf tournament, of course. There are past champions like John Daly and Todd Hamilton whose chances are as close to 0.0% as they can possibly be. There are other amateurs like Gordon Sargent and Calum Scott who, while they have a better shot than Daly and Hamilton, will not win the Claret Jug, either.

As a fan, one can start to narrow the field down. It's difficult, for example, to see 50 or 70 golfers beating Scottie Scheffler this week. He's finished outside the top 31 in a tournament just one time in his last 25 starts worldwide. Is that going to happen again at Royal Troon? I'm dubious. So, who are the players you believe can beat him? 

Here are nine (including Scheffler) that will be the group that ultimately includes the eventual Open champion.