Scottie Scheffler seems one round away from his first Open Championship title and his second major of the year. The lingering question, for fans as well as bettors, is whether it will even be close.

Scheffler entered the third round with a one-shot lead over Matt Fitzpatrick and put on another near-flawless display at Royal Portrush, shooting a 4-under 67 to take a four-shot cushion over Haotong Li into the final round. Scheffler has been brilliant all week, making just three bogeys and none over his last 25 holes.

After entering the day with a -175 price tag at FanDuel Sportsbook, Scheffler has distanced himself to a -750 favorite – implying an 88 percent win probability. Only three other players are shorter than +5000 in the updated odds market:

Odds to win The Open (via FanDuel)

• -750: Scottie Scheffler
• +2200: Rory McIlroy
• +2800: Matt Fitzpatrick, Haotong Li
• +5000: Tyrrell Hatton
• +8000: Xander Schauffele, Chris Gotterup
• +9000: Harris English

Rather than debate the merits of who could potentially keep Scheffler and the claret jug from meeting, let’s look at some secondary markets for potential action. The first place to start is the “Without Scheffler” market, which has been up all tournament long (and frequently this year, considering the world No. 1’s dominance). McIlroy leads the way after his third-round 66 that featured a lengthy eagle on No. 12 and a hidden ball trick one hole prior, but there are others with similarly short odds.

Take Scheffler’s name off the board and this would make for a fascinating run for the trophy:

• +330: Rory McIlroy
• +400: Haotong Li, Matt Fitzpatrick
• +700: Tyrrell Hatton
• +1000: Chris Gotterup
• +1100: Harris English, Xander Schauffele
• +3000: Robert MacIntyre
• +4500: Russell Henley

Lines in both the outright market and “without Scheffler” option remain skewed toward McIlroy, a popular pre-tournament pick who gave the hometown fans something to cheer about on Saturday. Still, my eye drifts toward Chris Gotterup (+1000) as the American continues a stellar follow-up act to his Genesis Scottish Open triumph a week ago.

Gotterup was a +10000 longshot last week before topping the field at The Renaissance Club, and he has now posted rounds of 65-68 to get into contention. Gotterup wallops it off the tee, and his strong ball-striking has been complemented by a hot putter (sixth in Strokes Gained: Putting) through 54 holes.

And while this would have been a wild thing to type less than two weeks ago, I think there could be a trajectory for Gotterup to sneak onto the U.S. Ryder Cup team this fall. Young, brash, strong off the tee for brawny Bethpage with some northeast roots after spending some time in college at Rutgers. A runner-up finish at a major would certainly bolster his case.

Ludvig Åberg (+200) Top 10 Finish

The Swede is too far back to challenge for the title, but I still expect a strong closing round after a 3-under 68 Saturday at Royal Portrush.

Åberg is 11th on TOUR in Final Round Scoring Average, and that figure would be even better were he not being dragged down by a final-round 79 at the Farmers Insurance Open in February. Åberg has five straight rounds in the 60s on Sunday, including weekends of 75-69 (Truist Championship) and 77-66 (Memorial Tournament presented by Workday) in recent Signature Events.

He’ll start the day at 5 under, T14 and nine shots behind Scheffler, likely needing another score in 66-67 range to have a shot at a top-10 result. That feels well within reach for the 25-year-old, whose ball-striking has been elite while waiting for the putter to heat up a bit.

Rasmus Højgaard (-115) for Low Dane

This is an updated prop via DraftKings Sportsbook and essentially amounts to a head-to-head between the Højgaard twins, with Rasmus and brother Nicolai (-140) tied at 6 under. Jakob Skov Olesen is the third member of the market but is nine shots back.

The Højgaard twins were one player away from playing together on Sunday, but instead they’ll be in back-to-back groups. While oddsmakers favor Nicolai, who made the European Ryder Cup team in 2023, I’m siding with Rasmus as he continues his own Ryder Cup bid. Rasmus has been more consistent through the bag this week in Portrush, while Nicolai has overcome an occasionally balky putter.

For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER today.