2026 British Open picks: Best bets, predictions for First-round leader at Royal Birkdale

Viktor Hovland. Getty Images There’s nothing quite like the Open Championship. Links golf and erratic weather make the year’s final major the most volatile event on the calendar. And if trying to forecast four rounds at the Open is unpredictable, things only get more uncertain when you try to whittle it down to just 18 holes. That’s what makes betting the first-round leader market so much fun (and so maddening). The field is level for the players. But it’s also level for the punters, as there’s no real science to getting this one right. Anyone in the field can catch the right side of the draw, get a favorable wave of weather and go low on Thursday. Need proof? Just look at the first-round leaders from the past three Opens: 2025: Harris English, Matt Fitzpatrick, Haotong Li, Christiaan Bezu