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Day one of the 150th Open Championship (aka the British Open) is in the books, and we’ve got ourselves quite the leaderboard.
Cameron Young (-8) is in the pole position after Thursday and despite holding a two-stroke lead over Rory McIlroy (-6), it’s actually McIlroy that will wake up on Friday atop the oddsboard at +340. McIlroy was the pre-tournament favorite at +1000.
The Northern Irishman — who was the +1000 favorite before the tournament started — is now sitting at +340. But McIlroy has plenty of company at the top of the odds with Cam Smith (+700), Scottie Scheffler (+750), Young (+850), Xander Schauffele (+1200), Dustin Johnson (+1600) and Jordan Spieth (+1800) all lurking.
But if the Open Championship has taught us anything over the years it’s to expect the unexpected. One mistake or bad break can ruin a round and send someone tumbling down the leaderboard. Contrarily, if you can keep your cool and avoid those big numbers, you can make a charge up the leaderboard and find yourself in contention seemingly out of nowhere.
With that in mind, here are a couple of players at big prices that could be worth a gamble after Day 1 of the Open Championship:
Shane Lowry (+8000, BetMGM)
The 2019 Open champion was all over the place on Thursday but was able to escape the day at even par and now finds himself eight strokes behind Young with three days to play. That may seem like too tall of a mountain to climb, but Lowry’s numbers suggest he played better than his scorecard lets on. The Irishman gained 2.44 strokes on the field with his approach and 3.01 strokes tee-to-green, but gave back 2.75 strokes with the putter. If Lowry can sort his putting out, he’ll be able to make his move.
Shane Lowry chips during the Open Championship. Getty ImagesSi Woo Kim (+10000, BetMGM)
A bet on Si Woo Kim is not for the faint of heart. The 2017 PLAYERS Champion has a high ceiling, but he’s also got plenty of meltdown potential. That said, Kim had his game going on Thursday, shooting 3-under par and gaining 2.43 strokes on approach. Kim’s putter also seemed to be cooperating pretty well, which is a good sign that he has staying power this weekend.
Webb Simpson (+27000, FanDuel)
If you’re looking for a deep sleeper to add to your card after Thursday, Webb Simpson could be your man. It’s been a down season for Simpson, but he does have some encouraging recent results, including a T13 at the Travelers three weeks ago, so there’s a chance that the Wake Forest alum is rounding into form. Putting that aside, this is just a numbers play on a player with a terrific pedigree. Even though he’s seven shots back, this is the Open Championship so there’s plenty of time for chaos and there’s a chance — albeit a small one — that Simpson could be one of the players left standing when the dust settles.












