British Open Round 1 3-Ball Bets: Bet Against Tiger Woods in the Opening Round

Tiger Woods will play alongside Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay in Thursday's opening round at Royal Troon.

Tiger Woods will play alongside Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in the opening round of the British Open. / Jack Gruber-USA TODAY Sports

We are less than 24 hours away from the opening tee shot at this year's British Open.

I have broken down my favorite bets for this week including my picks to win, my favorite prop bets and my prediction for who will be the first-round leader. There's one type of bet I have left to give out: 3-ball bets for the opening round.

These wagers are bets on golfers to finish with the low score of the day in the group they're playing in. It's a great way to make the first round more entertaining to watch, especially if you can find a “featured group” stream for the threesome you have a wager on.

I have three 3-ball bets for Thursday's opening round locked in. Let's dive into them.

British Open Round 1 3-ball bets

• Tony Finau +130 vs. Henley/Pavon (via FanDuel Sportsbook)
• Tommy Fleetwood +150 vs. Rahm/MacIntyre (via BetMGM Sportsbook)
• Patrick Cantlay +185 vs. Woods/Schauffele (via DraftKings Sportsbook)

Tony Finau +130 vs. Henley/Pavon

Not enough people are talking about just how good Tony Finau has been playing of late. His last five starts dating back to the PGA Championship have been T18, T17, T8, T3 and T5. He's gaining strokes in all four major areas and now he's playing at a major he's had some great success at in his career. He has finishes of solo third, T9, T15 and T18 at the Open.

Russell Henley and Mathieu Pavon are coming into this event in below-average form. Henley finished T48 in his latest start at the Travelers Championship and he has never finished better than T20 at the Open. Pavon was horrific at the Scottish Open, missing the cut and losing strokes in all four major areas.

I'll back Finau at +130 odds on Thursday.

Tommy Fleetwood +150 vs. Rahm/MacIntyre

This is less of a bet on Tommy Fleetwood and more of a bet against Jon Rahm and Robert MacIntyre.

Rahm hasn't been himself since signing with LIV, finishing T45 at the Masters and missing the cut at the PGA Championship. Meanwhile, MacIntyre is coming off a win at the Scottish Open but he admitted he'd be spending most of the week partying and celebrating his win, rightfully so. With that in mind, I don't expect him to be in peak form and ready to compete Thursday.

Fleetwood has also played well at the Open, finishing T12 or better in four of his last five starts at this event. I'll back him at +150 odds to finish with the lowest score in his threesome in the opening round.

Patrick Cantlay +185 vs. Woods/Schauffele

I think we can go ahead and discount Tiger Woods. I'd be shocked if he can beat both Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay in the opening round. That means it will basically come down to Cantlay vs. Schauffele.

Cantlay is coming into this major in good form, finishing T3 at the U.S. Open and T5 at the Travelers Championship. He also has both a T12 and a T8 finish at the Open in his career. Schauffele has still been playing well, but a T13 finish at the Travelers Championship and a T15 finish at the Scottish Open makes me think he's hitting a bit of a slump by his standards.

Should Schauffele be favored? Sure. Should he be favored by this much? Absolutely not. I'll take Cantlay at +185 odds.

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Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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You can check out all of Iain's bets here!