Top 10 British Open Contenders of the Past 5 Years

10 best players at the British Open over the last 5 seasons


The best players in the world have descended upon Royal Troon in Scotland for the 152nd Open, the final men’s major championship of the year. Reigning Champion Golfer of the Year Brian Harman returned the Claret Jug earlier this week and has a lot of work to do if he wants it back.

World No. 1 and Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is the betting favorite at +450 (9/2) and is joined in the field by PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele, U.S. Open winner Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka, among others. Also in the field is 15-time major champion Tiger Woods, who missed the cut at the PGA and U.S. Open after making it to the weekend at the Masters in April.

Royal Troon is a par-71 track measuring 7,385 yards. This week’s winner will earn $3.1 million of the $17 million purse and 750 FedEx Cup points.

Here’s a look at 10 of the best players at The Open over the last five seasons (note: there was no tournament in 2020, so we went back to 2018).

Jordan Spieth

Finishes since 2018 (five starts): 23rd (2023), 8th (2022), 2nd (2021), 20th (2019) and 9th (2018) Odds to win in 2024: 55/1

Tommy Fleetwood

Finishes since 2018 (five starts): 10th (2023), 4th (2022), 33rd (2021), 2nd (2019) and 12th (2018) Odds to win in 2024: 25/1

Xander Schauffele

Finishes since 2018 (five starts): 17th (2023), 15th (2022), 26th (2021), 41st (2019) and 2nd (2018) Odds to win in 2024: 11/1

Rory McIlroy

Finishes since 2018 (five starts): 6th (2023), 3rd (2022), 46th (2021), MC (2019) and 2nd (2018) Odds to win in 2024: 17/2

Jon Rahm

Finishes since 2018 (five starts): 2nd (2023), 34th (2022), 3rd (2021), 11th (2019) and MC (2018) Odds to win in 2024: 22/1

Tony Finau

Finishes since 2018 (five starts): MC (2023), 28th (2022), 15th (2021), 3rd (2019) and 9th (2018) Odds to win in 2024: 45/1

Louis Oosthuizen

Finishes since 2018 (five starts): 23rd (2023), MC (2022), 3rd (2021), 20th (2019) and 28th (2018) Odds to win in 2024: 60/1

Viktor Hovland

Finishes since 2018 (three starts): 13th (2023), 4th (2022) and 12th (2021) Odds to win in 2024: 30/1

Brian Harman

Finishes since 2018 (five starts): 1st (2023), 6th (2022), 19th (2021), MC (2019) and MC (2018) Odds to win in 2024: 60/1

Cameron Smith

Finishes since 2018 (five starts): 33rd (2023), 1st (2022), 33rd (2021), 20th (2019) and 78th (2018) Odds to win in 2024: 40/1