Xander Schauffele ran away with the The Open Championship Sunday, sinking six birdies to shoot a 6-under 65 and clear the next best player by two strokes.
The win is his second major in a span of two months after he also captured the PGA Championship in May for his first career major championship. He was present at the top of the leaderboards for the other two majors too, finishing top 10 at both the Masters and U.S. Open.
The winning putt. pic.twitter.com/NG7n73Ukgm
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 21, 2024
Yet, despite Schauffele playing like one of the world’s best golfers all season — two runner-ups and 11 top-10s in 17 tournaments — it’s been Masters champ Scottie Scheffler dominating the betting splits at every major.
A +500 favorite entering play Thursday, Scheffler commanded 13.4% of tickets on a winner and 20.8% of the handle at BetMGM, which was almost three times more than the next player. He ultimately finished tied for seventh at 1-under. Schauffele was a distant fourth in betting, getting 5% of the tickets and 5.7% of the handle after opening at +2500.
After his latest victory, those splits should start to even out as the season winds to a close. Schauffele might not be a better player than Scheffler, but with consistently longer odds, he might be a better bet.
It’s not a surprise Scheffler has received so much action from bettors with the way he played in 2023 and kept it rolling this year, collecting six tournament wins, two runner-ups and 13 top-10s. At the same time, only one person can claim each tournament. With Schauffele’s latest triumph proving there’s more than one person playing at the top of their game right now, bettors may begin to see his odds as a better gamble going forward.
