Betting on The Open Championship from Ireland
Guide to betting on The Open Championship from Ireland, including St Andrews 2027, each-way betting, weather, markets and Irish golfers.
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Key Takeaways
- The 2027 Open Championship returns to St Andrews, where the championship course is being extended to 7,445 yards and several strategic bunkers are being changed.
- Each-way terms, tee-time weather and links-course fit all deserve attention because The Open combines a large field with conditions that can vary considerably during the day.
- Irish and Northern Irish golfers have a strong recent Open history, including wins by Pádraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.
Betting on The Open Championship from Ireland
The Open Championship returns to St Andrews in 2027, with the world's best golfers heading to the Old Course for the 155th edition of golf's oldest major.
Championship week runs from 11 to 18 July 2027, with the four competitive rounds scheduled from Thursday 15 July through Sunday 18 July. St Andrews will host The Open for the 31st time.
Ryan Fox arrives as the defending Champion Golfer of the Year after winning at Royal Birkdale in 2026, but the course awaiting the field in 2027 is a very different links test.
For Irish bettors, The Open also has a particularly strong history. Pádraig Harrington won back-to-back titles, Rory McIlroy lifted the Claret Jug in 2014, Darren Clarke won in 2011 and Shane Lowry produced one of Irish golf's great weeks at Royal Portrush in 2019.
Our golf betting guide for Ireland explains the main markets across the sport. This page looks specifically at how The Open differs, from each-way places and the weather draw to St Andrews and the Irish players in the field.
The Open 2027 at a glance
| Detail | The 155th Open |
|---|---|
| Venue | Old Course, St Andrews |
| Location | St Andrews, Fife, Scotland |
| Championship week | 11 to 18 July 2027 |
| Competitive rounds | 15 to 18 July 2027 |
| Governing body | The R&A |
| Defending champion | Ryan Fox |
| Previous St Andrews Open | 2022 |
| 2022 champion | Cameron Smith |
| St Andrews hosting | 31st time |
| Planned championship course | 7,445 yards, par 72 |
The field itself will continue to take shape through exemptions and qualifying during the months before the tournament.
The R&A has already confirmed Final Qualifying at Gailes Links, Prince's, Burnham and Berrow and West Lancashire.
A new Last-Chance Qualifier is also scheduled for Monday 12 July at St Andrews, with 12 players competing for the final place in the field.
Why The Open is different from most golf tournaments
Every major has a strong field.
The Open adds links golf and weather to the problem.
Instead of one permanent course, the championship rotates around a group of coastal venues including St Andrews, Royal Portrush, Royal Birkdale, Royal Troon and Royal Liverpool.
Firm turf, deep bunkers, unusual bounces and wind are not side details. They can decide how the course has to be played.
A 170-yard approach might require a normal iron in calm conditions and a completely different shot when a strong wind arrives.
The ground can be used as part of the shot too. A golfer may deliberately land the ball short and run it towards the green rather than flying it directly to the flag.
That is part of why simply comparing yardages does not tell you much about an Open venue.
What will St Andrews look like in 2027?
The Old Course will not be exactly the same championship setup Cameron Smith won on in 2022.
The R&A and St Andrews Links Trust have made a series of changes ahead of The 155th Open.
The championship yardage is increasing by 132 yards, from 7,313 yards in 2022 to 7,445 yards in 2027.
Six holes are being lengthened:
- 5th
- 6th
- 7th
- 10th
- 11th
- 16th
The 12th is being shortened slightly.
The changes are not simply about length.
Bunkers have been moved or added on several holes to bring them back into play for elite drivers. The 16th is also being adjusted to restore an older strategic route, while the famous Road Hole Bunker on the 17th has been restored.
The course remains a par 72.
That makes historical St Andrews form useful, but it should not be treated as though players are returning to an identical championship setup.
What makes the Old Course difficult?
St Andrews does not look intimidating in the same way as a narrow tree-lined course.
Much of the difficulty comes from angles and position.
Several holes share enormous double greens. Fairways can appear extremely wide. A drive can be technically "in the fairway" while still leaving a poor angle into the flag.
The bunkers change the calculation.
The Old Course contains deep hazards that can force a player sideways or backwards rather than allowing an aggressive recovery.
Then there is the 17th.
The Road Hole is a 495-yard par four in the planned championship setup.
The tee shot asks players to drive over the corner of the Old Course Hotel. The approach is then played to a shallow green protected by the Road Hole Bunker at the front and the road and wall behind.
The closing 18th looks simpler at 356 yards, but pressure changes everything on Sunday.
St Andrews therefore creates an odd mix.
Some holes can be attacked aggressively when conditions are calm. Others can punish one slightly misplaced shot far more harshly than their length suggests.
Why each-way betting matters so much at The Open
The Open regularly produces long outright prices because the field is large and deep.
That makes the each-way part of the market particularly visible.
Instead of relying only on your golfer winning the Claret Jug, an each-way bet divides the stake between:
- The player winning.
- The player finishing inside the bookmaker's stated places.
Suppose a golfer is a fictional 30/1 and the terms are one fifth of the odds for eight places.
A €10 each-way bet costs €20.
If the golfer finishes sixth:
- The €10 win half loses.
- The €10 place half is settled at 6/1.
- The place half returns €70 including stake.
The exact number of places and fraction can change between bookmakers and throughout tournament week.
This is where a headline price can be misleading.
A golfer at 30/1 for six places and the same player at 28/1 for ten places are not the same each-way proposition.
Our golf odds comparison guide explains how to compare the price and places together, while the golf each-way guide covers the settlement maths.
What are the main Open Championship betting markets?
The outright is only one option.
Outright winner
You are backing the player to win the Claret Jug.
If the championship requires a play-off, the eventual play-off winner settles the outright market.
Each-way
Your stake is split between the outright win and a finishing-position place bet.
The number of places can expand significantly around major championships.
Top Irish player
Instead of asking an Irish or Northern Irish golfer to win the whole tournament, you are betting on which quoted player finishes highest within the Irish group.
That can include golfers such as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry when they are in the field.
Our Top Irish player market guide explains how the pool, ties and withdrawals are settled.
First round leader
This asks who sits at the top after Thursday.
The Open is one of the tournaments where this market can become especially interesting because the morning and afternoon tee-time waves may face very different links weather.
Our guide to first round leader betting covers the market in detail.
Top 5, Top 10 and Top 20
These reduce the requirement from winning the tournament to finishing inside a set position.
Dead heats can matter at the boundary depending on the market rules.
Nationality markets
You may find markets such as Top Irish, Top American or Top Scandinavian player.
Only the golfers quoted in that specific pool normally count.
Three-ball and two-ball
These are round-specific markets rather than tournament outrights.
Rounds one and two commonly produce three-player groups, while weekend pairings frequently create two-ball markets.
Our three-ball and two-ball guide explains how these settle.
Why the weather draw matters at The Open
The phrase weather draw sounds more complicated than it is.
It simply describes whether one side of the tee-time schedule receives better conditions than another.
Imagine half the field plays:
Thursday morning + Friday afternoon
while the other half plays:
Thursday afternoon + Friday morning
If strong winds arrive only during Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, the second group may face difficult weather twice.
The first group might avoid the worst of it.
Nobody knows this perfectly before the tournament.
Weather forecasts move. Wind can arrive earlier or later than expected.
But the possibility matters far more at a coastal links than on many sheltered courses.
It is particularly important for first round leader betting because there is no second day to balance anything out.
This does not mean you should simply back every golfer in the calmer forecast window.
The market can see the forecast too.
It means tee times are part of the information you should understand before comparing prices.
Can previous links form help?
Yes, but it needs context.
"The player is good on links courses" is too broad to be the whole argument.
St Andrews is different from Royal Portrush.
Royal Birkdale is different from Royal County Down.
Even the same course can play differently depending on firmness and weather.
Previous Open results can still tell you that a golfer has handled links conditions and major pressure before.
The better question is why they succeeded.
Did they control trajectory well?
Did they avoid bunkers?
Did they putt exceptionally for one week?
Did strong approach play hold up in difficult wind?
That tells you more than simply counting top-10 finishes.
The same principle applies to Irish events. Our Irish Open course guide explains why moving between Doonbeg, Royal County Down and the K Club changes what "Irish Open form" actually means.
Irish golfers at The Open
Irish and Northern Irish golf has a serious modern Open history.
Pádraig Harrington
Harrington won at Carnoustie in 2007 after a play-off against Sergio García.
He then defended the Claret Jug at Royal Birkdale in 2008, winning by four.
The two wins also show how misleading one-round form can be.
Harrington was eighth after the opening round in 2007.
In 2008 he was only 38th after Thursday.
He still won both championships.
Darren Clarke
Darren Clarke won at Royal St George's in 2011.
He was 42 at the time and entered the week well outside the group of obvious favourites.
His victory is a useful reminder that The Open has historically produced champions from a wider range of ages and pre-tournament prices than some other majors.
Rory McIlroy
McIlroy won at Royal Liverpool in 2014.
He led outright after every round and finished two strokes ahead of Sergio García and Rickie Fowler.
His St Andrews history is interesting too.
In 2010, McIlroy opened with a 63 and then followed it with an 80. He still recovered to finish tied third.
When The Open returned to St Andrews in 2022, he finished third again.
That does not guarantee another challenge in 2027, but it gives him substantial experience of the exact venue.
Shane Lowry
Lowry won at Royal Portrush in 2019.
He opened with consecutive 67s, shared the halfway lead, then shot a course-record 63 on Saturday to move four shots clear.
A difficult final day in wind and rain followed.
Lowry still won by six.
That week remains one of the strongest pieces of modern Irish links form, but the next Open is at St Andrews rather than Portrush.
Our Irish golfers to follow guide looks at McIlroy, Lowry, Harrington, Tom McKibbin and Séamus Power beyond one tournament.
Who is the defending Open champion?
Ryan Fox will arrive at St Andrews as the defending Champion Golfer of the Year.
Fox won The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale in July 2026.
He began the final hole tied for the lead with Cameron Young, then hit his approach to 12 feet and holed the birdie putt to win by one.
Fox finished the championship on 10 under par.
The result is also a useful warning against reading too much into Thursday.
Fox had opened with a two-over round before working his way back into the championship and eventually winning on Sunday.
The first round leader and tournament winner are very different bets.
What do the early 2027 odds look like?
Markets are already open even though the final field is many months away.
On 11 September 2026, Paddy Power's early outright market had:
| Player | Early 2027 price |
|---|---|
| Scottie Scheffler | 5/1 |
| Rory McIlroy | 6/1 |
| Jon Rahm | 16/1 |
| Ludvig Åberg | 16/1 |
| Cameron Young | 16/1 |
| Tommy Fleetwood | 20/1 |
The market was showing one fifth of the odds for six each-way places at the time.
Prices and terms correct on 11 September 2026. Check the current market before betting.
These numbers should not be treated like a forecast carved into stone.
Qualification is not complete. Form will change. Injuries can happen. St Andrews conditions will not be known until much closer to the event.
The usefulness of an early market is that it shows where expectations sit today, not where they will necessarily sit next July.
Why St Andrews history needs a little caution in 2027
Cameron Smith won the last St Andrews Open in 2022 with a final-round 64.
Before him, the recent Old Course champions included Zach Johnson in 2015, Louis Oosthuizen in 2010 and Tiger Woods in 2005.
Those results are useful history.
The 2027 course has also been deliberately altered.
The extra 132 yards, new championship tees and bunker changes are designed to restore strategic questions that elite driving distances had begun to remove.
So "won at St Andrews before" and "fits the 2027 St Andrews setup" are related ideas.
They are not identical.
How does the cut work with betting?
The cut arrives after 36 holes.
A golfer who misses it does not get to play Saturday and Sunday.
For an outright bet, that normally ends any chance of winning.
For markets that settle earlier, it may not matter.
A golfer could:
- Win a Thursday three-ball.
- Finish first round leader.
- Then play badly on Friday and miss the cut.
The Thursday markets would already have settled.
That is why you should always ask what period the bet covers rather than simply looking at where the golfer eventually finishes.
How are ties settled?
The market decides.
A tie for the tournament lead after 72 holes is resolved by The Open's championship play-off format, so the golfer who wins that play-off wins the outright.
A tie for first round leader normally uses dead-heat rules.
A tie for Top Irish can use dead-heat rules too.
Each-way place ties can reduce the active part of the place stake depending on how many golfers share the final paid positions.
There is no single "golf tie rule" that applies to every market.
Our golf dead-heat guide covers the differences.
Is Open Championship betting regulated in Ireland?
Remote betting operators serving Irish customers now sit within the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland licensing framework.
Remote betting licensing has been live since 1 July 2026.
The GRAI does not decide who qualifies for The Open, what odds a golfer should have or how St Andrews is set up.
Those come from The R&A, the tournament and the bookmaker's published market terms.
The regulator's role concerns the licensed betting operator.
Our guide to the GRAI and Irish gambling regulation explains what that means in more detail.
Frequently asked questions
Where is The Open Championship in 2027?
The 155th Open will be played on the Old Course at St Andrews in Scotland.
It will be the 31st time St Andrews has hosted the championship.
When is The Open in 2027?
Championship week runs from 11 to 18 July 2027.
The competitive rounds are scheduled for Thursday 15 July through Sunday 18 July.
Who won The Open in 2026?
Ryan Fox won at Royal Birkdale.
He birdied the 72nd hole to finish 10 under par and beat Cameron Young by one stroke.
Who won the last Open at St Andrews?
Cameron Smith won in 2022.
He shot a final-round 64 and finished on 20 under par.
Has Rory McIlroy won The Open?
Yes.
McIlroy won at Royal Liverpool in 2014. He led after every round and finished two strokes clear.
How many Opens has Pádraig Harrington won?
Two.
Harrington won at Carnoustie in 2007 and successfully defended his title at Royal Birkdale in 2008.
Has Shane Lowry won The Open?
Yes.
Lowry won at Royal Portrush in 2019 by six strokes after taking a four-shot lead into the final round.
Why are each-way bets so common at The Open?
The field is large and outright prices can be long.
Each-way betting creates a separate place return if the golfer finishes inside the bookmaker's stated positions even without winning.
Do morning tee times have an advantage at The Open?
Not automatically.
The better weather window can be early or late depending on the forecast. The important point is that links conditions can change enough for different waves to face materially different tests.
Safer gambling
The Open lasts four days and produces a large number of markets before and during every round. Having more betting options does not create more certainty.
Set your total budget before the championship rather than treating every day as a new opportunity to recover earlier losses.
If gambling is causing difficulty for you or someone you know, the National Gambling Helpline is free and confidential on 1800 936 725, 24 hours a day. You can also find support through GamblingCare.ie.
Alan Woods
Content Editor
Alan reviews Irish casinos the same way he used to assess security risks: nothing gets the benefit of the doubt until it holds up under scrutiny. His cyber security background means he checks the things most reviews overlook, like licensing, how a site handles your data, and what the withdrawal terms actually deliver once the welcome offer is out of the way. He’s a published author as well, so you get the verdict in plain English instead of a technical checklist.
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