Andy Roberts took Jon Rahm at 14/1 as his only other outright for The Open. He cited Rahm’s links résumé—three top-seven finishes in his last four Opens and two Irish Open titles—and his current consistency: 13 straight top-15 finishes across LIV events and majors, including a bogey-free 65 to finish solo second at LIV Golf Andalucia. Although Rahm has not won in almost a year, Roberts emphasized that the Spaniard has yet to finish outside the top 10 in any LIV start. With majors already at Augusta (2023) and Torrey Pines (2021), Rahm is hungry to inch closer to the career Grand Slam, and Roberts views 14/1 as the standout price to challenge McIlroy at Portrush.

Andy Roberts said Rory McIlroy is the man everyone has to beat at Royal Portrush and backed him outright at 7/1. Roberts pointed to McIlroy’s three-event run of 19-6-2, the bounce-back second at the Genesis Scottish Open after two weeks off with family, and the fact that the Northern Irishman owns the Portrush course-record 61 he shot as a 16-year-old. With the career Grand Slam box now ticked at Augusta, Roberts believes the emotional pressure is gone and the home crowd will turn the week into a celebration. He expects McIlroy to use the missed cut here in 2019 as fuel, noting the player’s intimate course knowledge and prior Open win at Royal Liverpool. Roberts thinks those factors, plus McIlroy’s sharper mood and recent form, make 7/1 ‘a huge price’ to lift a second Claret Jug.