2022 British Open Odds, Sleeper Picks: 7 Longshot Targets, Featuring Keegan Bradley & Danny Willett

Handicapping the best golfers in the world as they play some of the greatest courses and most prestigious tournaments is no easy feat on any given week.

When those players, with their 350+-yard drives and seemingly magical levels of ball control, are asked to play a course where golf has been played since the early 15th century (!!), picking a winner gets a little tougher.

The Open Championship played at the Old Course at St. Andrews is one of the purest and most spectacular forms of golf.

We're about to witness the land on which the game was invented, hosting the world’s best players over 500 years later, for the 150th edition of the oldest of the major championships.

It feels like anything is on the table this week, from an all-time great champion to a fantastic underdog story on the sport’s greatest stage. In the past, the Old Course has typically leaned more toward the legends of the game, with Tiger Woods (twice), Jack Nicklaus (twice), Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Sam Snead and Bobby Jones all winning here.

But the door is open for a surprise. The Old Course has also seen Zach Johnson and John Daly crowned as champions. If we’re going to see a lesser name lift the Claret Jug this weekend, these seven names jump off the board as sleepers with a chance to win.

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Christiaan Bezuidenhout +11000 (FanDuel)

The South African is hitting his stride this season, playing some of his best golf.

In six tournaments since the start of May, Bezuidenhout has four finishes of T16 or better. That list includes a tie for second place at the John Deere Classic and a T16 last week at the Scottish Open.

Over the past three months, Bezuidenhout ranks second in the world in Strokes Gained: Putting. The flatstick has always been a weapon for him but can especially help this week with the myriad of opportunities to putt from collars and fairways offered by the Old Course.

His history at the Open Championship and the Old Course isn’t stellar, yet he’s never arrived at this championship playing as well as he is right now.

Keegan Bradley +11000 (FanDuel)

One of the best-kept secrets in golf: Keegan Bradley is playing out of his mind this summer. Dating back to the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, Bradley has played 12 tournaments with seven top-20 finishes and three top-fives.

That stretch includes fifth at the Players Championship, which offered messy Open-like conditions, and T7 at the brutal US Open.

Bradley ranks 16th in the world in Strokes Gained per round over the last six months, according to metrics from DataGolf. That isn’t a fluky sample size (16 tournaments for Bradley) or thanks to some wonky putting stats. If anything, his putting has been his downfall. He ranks 13th in Strokes Gained: Tee to Green and Approach over that span but 86th in Putting.

If he can hole some putts, Bradley will be a factor.

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Robert MacIntyre +13000 (DraftKings)

Like the crop of players who seem to feel at home at Augusta every April or those that seem to thrive in the hell of a US Open, some players just seem to elevate their play at the Open Championship for whatever reason.

MacIntyre, through an early sample, appears to be that kind of golfer. In his two appearances at the Open, he’s finished in the top 10 both times.

The native Scot missed the cut last week at the Scottish Open but played well enough for a T13 finish at the Irish Open the week prior.

Someone seems to like his chances: FanDuel has him listed all the way down at +6000. It feels wrong to pass on him at this number elsewhere.

Haotong Li +15000 (DraftKings)

What a journey it has been for Li since his last moment in the sun.

He grabbed headlines at the 2019 President’s Cup for sleepwalking through the event. He then was unable to return home to China once the pandemic settled in, and his game greatly suffered. He found himself in the wilderness in 2021, missing 15 cuts in a row at one point, mostly on the DP World Tour (then European Tour).

He ended last year with a runner-up finish at home at the China Open and has since found his form. He’s missed only two cuts in 13 chances this year and won the BMW International Open last month.

Best of all: he seems to love links golf. Li finished third at the 2017 Open Championship and has excelled at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the annual DP World Tour event here at the Old Course. In three appearances at that event, he’s made three cuts, finished no worse than T23 and ended T6 in 2018.

I love his chances to linger on the leaderboard this week.

Danny Willett +15000 (BetMGM)

This is probably my favorite number on the board.

Willett has been stellar at the Old Course in his career. He won the Dunhill last year and also has a runner-up and a T5 to his name. At the 2015 Open Championship here, Willett finished T6. He has two other top-15 finishes at this event at other courses as well.

His form certainly leaves something to be desired.

Willett has missed 4-of-5 cuts, yet I can’t ignore his history here. He also seems to be ready for the spotlight of majors. His best worldwide finish this year came at the Masters.

Victor Perez +20000 (DraftKings)

There’s not a ton of evidence for this pick, but there's certainly enough to like Perez at this number.

He won the Dunhill back in 2019, gaining nearly two strokes per round via approach here at the Old Course. That would serve him well this week.

His form is also worth noting. Perez won the Dutch Open in late May and finished T3 in his next start.

It takes some squinting to turn that resume, which includes a missed cut in his only Open Championship, into a winner. But deep down, it’s enough to justify at this number.

Again, if we price compare, he’s listed at +15000 at BetMGM and +11000 at FanDuel.

Matthew Jordan +50000 (BetRivers)

You wanted a sleeper, so let’s go into a deep slumber here.

Jordan fired a 64 at the Old Course en route to a top-five finish at the Dunhill in 2019. He has also won here, collecting the St. Andrews Links Trophy, an annual amateur event held at the Old Course, back In 2017.

Now, let’s not let a win at a 36-hole amateur event five years ago sway us too much. Matthew also comes in playing fairly well of late. He was T24 at the Irish Open two weeks ago and made the cut at the Scottish Open last week.

He has four top-15 finishes on the DP World Tour this season, which is just enough for me to jump on him at a number like this. FanDuel, which seems to have more of an eye on past links golf success, has him listed down at +17000. He’s perhaps more attractive to bet to top-10 (+2200 at DraftKings).

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