Dustin Johnson will look to continue the winning streak that has lifted him atop the FedEx Cup standings as he prepares to tee off Thursday perched alongside Australian Jason Day as a +800 co-favorite on the odds to win the British Open at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Johnson earned his first major tournament victory last month, eliminating a three-stroke deficit entering the final round to pick up the win at the U.S. Open and paying out on healthy +1200 odds. He followed that up with a win as a +750 bet at this month’s Bridgestone Invitational.
Those victories have vaulted Johnson to No. 2 on the Official World Golf Ranking, trailing only Day heading into this weekend’s 145th British Open at Royal Troon Golf Club in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
Johnson also is deadlocked with Day at -115 on the British Open head-to-head matchup odds but will need to erase the memory of some disappointing performances at golf’s third major tournament of the season.
Day, who picked up his first major crown at the 2015 PGA Championship, will aim to build on a fourth-place finish at last year’s British Open. The 28-year-old has recorded wins at this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational, World Golf Championship-Dell Match Play and The Players Championship, but he has failed to make the top five at this year’s majors, finishing tied for 10th at the Masters and eighth at the U.S. Open.
Despite those struggles, Day holds the edge on rivals Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth — who sit at +900 and +1000, respectively — on the British Open odds, and he is a +260 wager to win at least one major this year.
McIlroy claimed the British Open two years ago, but he was forced to withdraw from last year’s tournament because of an ankle injury. The Northern Ireland native has tallied four top-five finishes this season, but he missed the cut at the U.S. Open and is a narrow underdog on the head-to-head matchup odds against Day, Johnson and Spieth.
Defending champion Zach Johnson currently sits well back of the favorites at +5000, trailing 2010 Open champion Louis Oosthuizen, one of two players he topped in a four-hole playoff at last year’s tourney and who makes the list of British Open sleeper picks at +4500.
Adam Scott and Branden Grace lead the middle of the pack at +2200, followed by Sergio Garcia at +2500, while Henrik Stenson and Rickie Fowler lag, knotted at an attractive +2800.
Thumbnail photo via Ian Rutherford/USA TODAY Sports Images
