PGA Odds – Can Johnson Stay Hot Ahead of British?

As humbling as the game of golf can be, there’s always another round and another shot at redemption just around that dog-leg left. For Dustin Johnson, a year after choking away the US Open at Chambers Bay, he got his redemption at Oakmont, winning his first-ever major by three strokes.

Johnson’s win marked the fourth different major winner in as many tournaments. For all the excitement last year about the PGA becoming a two-horse-race between Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, new challengers keep rising up from the field, if only for a weekend.

Who is in need of some redemption at next month’s Open Championship at Royal Troon?

Last year, Zach Johnson prevailed in a three-way playoff over Marc Leishman and Louis Oosthuizen. Both Leishman and Oosthuizen have been average this season, with just one and two top-ten Tour finishes, respectively.

The real story of last year’s Open was how close Spieth came to continuing his Grand Slam hunt, falling one stroke short of getting into that playoff. Not nearly as many eyes will be on Spieth this time around, as he’s failed to win a major this year. But the young golfer had his own choker moment at the Masters, and winning his third career major would help turn around a season that’s gone downhill since then.

The Open Championship hasn’t been to Royal Troon since 2004, when Todd Hamilton defeated Ernie Els in a playoff to win his only major. Hamilton shot -10, and the course hasn’t undergone any major changes since then, so low scores should be in the forecast once again.

If weather isn’t causing the course to play too tough, then look for Dustin Johnson to continue his run. The longest driver in the game will have a big advantage on the links-style course, and the pressure will be off after getting his major monkey off his back. Now that his short game has rounded into form, he should continue to be a Sunday contender for the foreseeable future.

You can’t preview a tournament without talking about world number-one Jason Day, of course, who had another top-ten finish at the U.S. Open last weekend. Day is the model of consistency, missing just one cut this season while notching three first-place finishes.

Adam Scott, Justin Rose, and Rickie Fowler round out the “usual contenders” category, while the board of longshots is full of familiar names. We’ll give some picks closer to the date, but for now, here are the early odds to win the 2016 British Open.

Odds to win the 2016 Open Championship

Rory McIlroy: 7/1

Jason Day: 15/2

Jordan Spieth: 8/1

Dustin Johnson: 12/1

Adam Scott: 20/1

Rickie Fowler: 20/1

Justin Rose: 22/1

Danny Willett: 25/1

Henrik Stenson: 25/1

Sergio Garcia: 28/1

Phil Mickelson: 33/1

Louis Oosthuizen: 33/1

Shane Lowry: 40/1

Bubba Watson: 40/1

Zach Johnson: 50/1

(Photo credit: Keith Allison (flickr) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/legalcode]. Photo has been cropped.)