Royal Liverpool will be hosting the Open Championship for the first time in nine years this weekend. Below we will continue our PGA Tour odds series as we give you the Open Championship best bets prediction and pick.

It has been quite some time since the Open Championship was held at Royal Liverpool and some things have changed. One major change is the 17th hole is now a par-3. This hole should be one of the more interesting holes on the course, but overall it will be a fun weekend. The weather for Thursday and Friday looks alright, but there is a chance for some rain over the weekend. This means golfers have to play their best on Thursday and Friday because it is going to be tough to shoot low on Saturday and Sunday.

We have already given our prediction and pick as to who the overall winner will be, so this post will focus more on the best bets. Along with that, I will be handing out one longshot winner who might win the whole event.

Here are the Open Championship odds, courtesy of FanDuel

The Open Championship odds – Best Bets

Tyrrell Hatton round one score: Under 70.5 (+100)

Brooks Koepka Finishing position: Top-10 (+210)

Justin Thomas to make/miss the cut: Miss the cut (+166)

Top senior player: Phil Mickelson (+320)

Longshot Winner: Russell Henley (+11000)

Why Tyrrell Hatton will shoot under 70.5 in round one 

Hatton has been playing very well as of late. He has finished in the top-20 in seven of his last eight events, including a three top-6 finishes. Playing in his home country, I think Hatton will be that much more focused, especially out the gates. His appraoches and putting are pretty good, but he will get in to trouble from time to time. With all that said, he averages a score of 69.44, which is 11th best on tour. He does average a 70.56 in round one, so this line will be close. However, I think Hatton can do it.

Why Brooks Koepka will finish in the top-10

Koepka has played in three majors this season and has placed in the top-20 in all of them. Koepka tied for second at Augusta in April and followed that up with two-stroke win at the PGA Championship in May. His performance in PGA events has been very good, and that is what I am going off here. If he can continue to play well in these majors, Koepka should finish in the top-10 pretty easily.

Why Justin Thomas will miss the cut

I have been pretty low on Thomas all season. He has struggled in a big way lately. In his last five starts, Thomas has missed the cut three times. He did not make the cut at the Masters or the U.S Open this season. Thomas also finished tied for 65th at the PGA Championship, so the cut was barely made there. He is still ranked in the top-20 of the OWGR, but that is mainly due to reputation. Royal Liverpool can be very unforgiving to players who make a lot of mistakes, and Thomas has been that player recently. He is 102nd in scoring average and his putter has been one of the weaker parts of is game. Justin Thomas missing the cut in this event would not be surprising, and at +166, I will take that bet.

Why Phil Mickelson will be the top senior player

This bet almost seems like a no brainer. Mickelson missed the cut at the U.S Open, but he tied for second at the Masters and squeaked into the weekend at the PGA Championship. The other players within this prop are Ernie Els, Stewart Cink, Richard Bland, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, and John Daly. Harrington is the favorite here, but Mickelson at +360 is hard to pass up. If he can bring back the way he played in the Masters just a little bit, he will easily be the best senior player at the Open Championship.

Why Russell Henley can win the Open Championship

Henley has been playing well lately, and he has been playing well in majors. He finished tied for 14th at the U.S Open and tied for fourth at the Masters. He did not make the cut at the PGA Championship, but has made all five cuts since missing that one. In those five cuts made, Henley has finished in the top-20 four times. His driver is one of the best on tour. He is first in driving accuracy and 25th in scoring average. He lacks a little bit with his putter, though. However, if he can get hot with the flatstick, it would be no surprise to see Henley at the top of this leaderboard.