As we prepare for the 2023 professional golf season, it looks like the LIV Tour and the PGA Tour may be working towards an uneasy detente as at least some of the major tournaments look less likely to keep the LIV players out. It’s hard to bestow major titles when so many of the top golfers would not be able to participate, so it will be interesting to see how the world of pro golf adjusts. This weekend brings the 64th installment of The American Express, starting the Tour’s West Coast swing, but we are looking forward to the majors in this article. We have the schedule for you as well as some thoughts about the Open Championship that may influence your PGA betting choices.
Golf News: 2023 Majors Rundown and Open Championship Preview
Majors Schedule
- The Masters: April 3-9, Augusta National, Augusta, Georgia
- PGA Championship: May 15-21, Oak Hill Country Club, Rochester, New York
- U.S. Open: June 12-18, Los Angeles Country Club (North Course), Los Angeles, California
- Open Championship: July 17-23, Royal Liverpool, Hoylake, England
The 2023 Open Championship
The Open Championship returns to Royal Liverpool for the first time since 2014, when Rory McIlroy won his first claret jug and his third major title, beating Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia by two strokes.
One significant change at Royal Liverpool comes at the 15th hole, which used to run from west to east, measuring about 160 yards and usually playing downwind. There was a lot of grass on the hole, with five bunkers guarding the green. Ahead of the Open, though, the hole has been flipped around and shortened to around 135 yards. It runs east to west and faces the Irish Sea. The new name of the hole is Little Eye, taken from one of the islands that you can see in the distance, and it will play as the 17th hole for the Open. There are grassy paths running among sandy bunkers that sit short, to the left and long.
Another change comes on 18, where a new set of back tees has been added, making the hole 607 yards now. On the fourth hole, the front of the green is being elevated. The seventh green has been moved to the left so that a new tee can adorn the eighth hole and the 13th hole can receive a new run-off. Architect Martin Ebert has overseen the changes, but by far, the most dramatic is the set of changes for 15. Coming as the next-to-last hole, what will be 17 for the pros will break up a series of lengthy finishing holes, but hitting into a wind off the Irish Sea may be anything but calming as the round nears its end.
Cameron Smith is the defending champion, but Rory McIlroy is currently the favorite to win (+1000). Jon Rahm (+1200) and Scottie Scheffler (+1400) are right behind him on the odds list. McIlroy looked like he was going to win last year, but Smith overcame some disastrous luck in the rough to post a 64 on the final round and take the title on Sunday.
Top Contender Odds
| Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith | +1600 |
| Jordan Spieth | +1800 |
| Xander Schauffele, Matthew Fitzpatrick | +2000 |
| Shane Lowry, Patrick Cantlay, Collin Morikawa | +2500 |
| Tommy Fleetwood, Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Tony Finau | +2800 |
| Viktor Hovland, Will Zalatoris | +3000 |
| Tyrrell Hatton, Cameron Young, Tom Kim | +3300 |
| Sungjae Im | +4000 |
| Sam Burns | +4500 |
| Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Joaquin Niemann | +5000 |
| Adam Scott | +6000 |
| Max Homa | +6600 |
| Louis Oosthuizen, Patrick Reed | +7000 |
| Taylor Montgomery, Jason Day, Tiger Woods, Robert MacIntyre, Ryan Fox | +8000 |
| Paul Casey, Seamus Power, Corey Conners | +9000 |
| Richard Mansell, Marc Leishman, Billy Horschel, Justin Rose, Jordan Smith | +10000 |
PGA Tour Betting Odds
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