Updated British Open odds after Round 1: Jackson Suber leaps oddsboard while Scottie Scheffler steadies

Thursday’s opening round of The Open was a day of many firsts for Jackson Suber. 

It was the American’s first time competing in golf’s oldest tournament, his first trip to Europe, and he walked off the 18th in first place after firing a 5-under 65 at Royal Birkdale. 

Suber, who hadn’t played a links course before this week, surged from 350/1 odds to win the Claret Jug to 18/1. 

After an even-par front nine, the debutant caught fire on the back nine, highlighted by an eagle on the 17th hole that gave him the outright lead. It marks the fourth time in five years that The Open’s first round leader or co-leader was a player making their debut at the major. 

Scottie Scheffler hasn’t wavered as the opening outright favorite, improving from 7/1 opening odds to +450 after carding a 2-under 68. The defending champion responded to missing his first cut in 78 starts last week with four birdies on the front nine.

Scheffler has finished in the top 15 of the three previous major tournaments and has recorded a top-10 finish in 10 of his last 14 major appearances.

The Open odds after Round 1

The world No. 1 shares T13 with 10 other players, including Collin Morikawa, who sliced his opening odds in half to 15/1. Morikawa strung together a brilliant stretch, sinking five birdies in his first 10 holes to share the lead at 4 under before a couple of late bogeys dropped him back.

Behind Scheffler, Cameron Young fields the next-best overall odds at +1050. Upon losing the swagger that he kicked off 2026 with over the last month, Young rolled three straight birdies on Nos. 9-11 to move into T4 with a 3-under-67.

Robert MacIntyre is one of the eight players tied with him and is now available for 15/1 at DraftKings. The 29-year-old Scot set the tone early by draining a 46-foot birdie putt on the first hole and avoided pot bunkers all day.

U.S. golfer Scottie Scheffler watches his iron shot from the 12th tee on day one of the 154th Open Golf championship at Royal Birkdale Golf Club near Southport in north-west England on July 16, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Bryson DeChambeau, who missed the cut in all three prior majors this year, shook off the bad mojo with five birdies and a more strategic approach to links golf following criticism of his course management.

That’s all it took for the market to trust him again; it launched him to +1275 from 65/1 — the third-shortest price on the board as he also shares a slice of T4.

As for Rory McIlroy, the Grand Slam winner endured a frustrating opening round at Royal Birkdale, shooting a 2-over 72. A cold putter and costly mistakes left him seven shots off the lead as he dropped valuable shots in tougher afternoon conditions.

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Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.