Preview and picks for the 150th Open Championship

The final major of 2022 is the 150th Open Championship at St. Andrews. The oldest golf championship draws major betting action at the leading online sportsbooks. I've chipped in Open Championship coverage for a number of media outlets and sportsbook affiliates, including Forbes, and included some of the betting data and popular golfers taking the most bets and money to win. 

Will the leading favorites and most bet golfers like Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Smith, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Scottie Scheffler or red hot Xander Schauffele emerge with the Claret Jug? How 'bout Dustin Johnson, Matt Fitzpatrick, Will Zalatoris, Patrick Cantlay, Viktor Hovland or Brooks Koepka? Only Spieth (2017) and McIlroy (2014) have won the British Open from that elite group. 

I've added long shots greater than 40/1 to my bag like Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood or Tony Finau - all looking to capture their first major title. 

Nine of the last 10 Open Championship winners had at least one top-10 finish in the British Open before winning. Somehow Collin Morikawa won on debut last year, but that experience or success profile fits all those players mentioned except for Fitzpatrick, Cantlay, Thomas, Zalatoris and Hovland.

Tiger Woods returns for his third major this year at age 46, and he's a three-time British Open winner including twice at St. Andrews. Woods is a major win liability at most online sportsbooks, but come on now, he's not winning or capturing the Claret Jug again. 

BookMaker is offering Tiger Woods to win odds of +8250 - best of the leading online sportsbooks and longer odds than any U.S. Sportsbook. 

Check out the dozens of head-to-head tournament match-ups offered at BetOnline and BookMaker, which also offer match-up odds laying -1.5 strokes and live betting options.  

I'll chip-in some tournament match-up bets here along with laying strokes to reduce odds on selected match-ups.

Cameron Smith (-103) over Will Zalatoris
Dustin Johnson -1.5 (-108) over Collin Morikawa 
Jordan Spieth -1.5 (+113) over Will Zalatoris
Tony Finau -1.5 (-107) over Louis Oosthuizen

Follow my posted Open Championship golf match-ups as we shoot to improve on our 15-9 tournament match-up mark this year. I chip-in more coverage, and any added picks on Twitter and through the weekend at St. Andrews as we shoot for more birdies and try to avoid the hazards and rough that are in play more at the Open Championship.

FairwayJay is a proven sports handicapper including winning PGA Tour results. FairwayJay chips in additional sports betting coverage and reporting on industry news and events. Read more great insights from FairwayJay and follow him on Twitter: @FairwayJay