Welcome to our weekly PGA Tour gambling-tips column, featuring picks from GOLF.com’s expert prognosticator Brady Kannon. A seasoned golf bettor and commentator, Kannon is a host and regular guest on SportsGrid, a syndicated audio network devoted to sports and sport betting, and is a golf betting analyst for CBS Sportsline. You can follow Brady on Twitter at @LasVegasGolfer, and you can read his picks below for the 2025 Open Championship, which gets underway next week at Royal Portrush.
“Glory’s Last Shot” and “Champion Golfer of the Year” are two of my favorite phrases associated with a sporting event. And both are in play next week with the start of the Open Championship, which is the last men’s major of the year (hence “Glory’s Last Shot”) and honors its winner distinguishedly. (“Champion Golfer of the Year” is hard to beat.)
So, who will win at Royal Portrush?
I started making plays to win the Open immediately following the U.S. Open last month. My first move was on Jon Rahm.
Jon Rahm (14-1)
Rahm played tremendous golf from tee-to-green at Oakmont — one of the very best in the entire field — but his putting was awful. He finally found a hot putter on the final day, shot a 67 and finished seventh. Not only am I looking for the top players and good current form, but I also want golfers who are well-versed in links-style golf. Rahm fits the bill as he has finished top-7 at the Open Championship in three of the past four years and has won the Irish Open three times.
Tyrrell Hatton (30-1)
Rahm’s LIV colleague nearly won the U.S. Open at Oakmont. Hatton exuded excitement and confidence after the fact, feeling this was as close as he’d ever come to winning his first major. He was pretty close at Royal Portrush in 2019 when he finished sixth. Having spent many years on the DP World Tour, Hatton is plenty familiar with links golf. He’s finished top-5 at the Irish Open twice and won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship a record three times.
Jordan Spieth (50-1)
The American was crowned Champion Golfer of the Year in 2017 at Royal Birkdale. He has seven other top-25 finishes at the Open Championship, including a 20th at Royal Portrush in 2019. He clearly has the artistry it takes to play links golf, and I have liked what I have seen out of the former world No. 1 as of late. It feels like he could be ready to win a major championship again. He finished seventh at the Memorial last month, which was his third top-10 of the season. He had three consecutive top-20 finishes among the Valero Texas Open, The Masters and the RBC Heritage, and he was impressive in finishing 23rd at Oakmont.
Jason Day (80-1)
We saw 44-year old Australian Adam Scott make what I thought was going to be a winning run at the U.S. Open back in June. Why not 37-year old Aussie Jason Day in July? Day has been playing his best golf this season in the biggest events. He has a top-15 and two top-10 finishes in Signature Events this season. He has a top-10 and a top-25 in major championships. He has twice finished top-5 at the Open Championship, including a runner-up finish in 2023 at Royal Liverpool.
Ryan Fox (85-1)
As our selections continue to represent the globe, I have landed finally on a New Zealander. Next week will mark the ninth time that Fox has played in the Open Championship. His best-ever finish was at Royal Portrush in 2019 when he took 16th. He has played plenty of links golf all over the world, finishing top-5 at the Irish Open four times, including runner-up twice. As for current form, Fox’s past six starts have been win-28-20-win-19-17.
