He\u2019s expecting another fast start for Justin Rose, who did the job for us in the first round at Augusta, in one of his headline bets.<\/p>\n
So, with tee time ticking ever closer, let\u2019s see what Martin\u2019s *ahem* going fore\u2026<\/p>\n
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.<\/p>\n
Open\u00a0Championship 2026 tips<\/p>\n First Round Leader \u2013 Justin Rose First Round Leader \u2013 Justin Rose<\/p>\n In the Open Championship, more than any other Major, the weather forecast is key, specifically the wind. With breezes predicted to pick up throughout the day, Justin Rose who tees off at 9.36am, should have a good chance at being first round leader.<\/p>\n Rose has a history of making fast starts in Majors, and we benefitted from this last year at Augusta, when he bagged us a big return.<\/p>\n He arrives at Birkdale having finished third, tenth and 11th in the year\u2019s three Majors to date, and there\u2019ll be optimism in his camp that he can finally bag an elusive second Major at the venue where he announced himself to the world as a 17-year-old old amateur when finishing third back in 1998.<\/p>\n Whether he can fulfil that dream I\u2019m not sure,, but I expect a strong week, and fancy him to get out of the gates quickly in his trademark manner.<\/p>\n First Round Leader \u2013 Joe Dean<\/p>\n I\u2019m sticking to the AM starters for my second selection, Englishman Joe Dean, who tees off at 7.08am.<\/p>\n Dean will be the answer of quiz questions for years to come as he was the winner of the first ever \u2018last chance qualifier\u2019 at Birkdale on Monday to bag his place in the field.<\/p>\n The fact Dean won this event should not come as a huge surprise, as he arrived in fine form, with three top 12 finishes in his last four starts on the DP World Tour.<\/p>\n With the advantage of a competitive round already under his belt on the course, he can continue to ride his momentum from that early start.<\/p>\n Top American \u2013 JT Poston<\/p>\n With only one American player, Russell Henley, in our outright team there\u2019s scope to get involved in the top American player market and I like JT Poston.<\/p>\n Poston had a low key start to 2026, but caught fire recently to produce a shock win at the Memorial Tournament. He followed that up with a fourth place finish at Shinnecock Hills in the US Open, a venue that certainly had some links characteristics to it.<\/p>\n That US Open effort could at first glance be seen as a fluke. However, if you add in the fact Poston finished fifth at the PGA Championship last year, it shows that when on song his game translates well to the biggest events.<\/p>\n What Poston lacks in length off the tee he makes up for in accuracy, so he should find himself on the fairway more than most. He also possesses a great touch on the greens.<\/p>\n With five each way places on offer in this market the 33yr old American makes plenty of appeal.<\/p>\n Top Oceania \u2013 Cameron Smith<\/p>\n I\u2019m taking a chance on Cameron Smith. He memorably won the Open at St Andrews in 2022, before immediately defecting to LIV Golf. In case we didn\u2019t already know, that win showed he\u2019s at his best in firm fast links conditions.<\/p>\n Since joining LIV it\u2019s fair to say the Aussie has seen a big slump in form, and in recent years he\u2019s pretty much been a non-factor in the biggest events.<\/p>\n However, Smith started 2026 with a new coach, Claude Harmon III, and there\u2019s been definite signs of improvement most notably when seventh at the PGA Championship in May.<\/p>\n Ahead of Smith in this market are Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott. Woo Lee is another Aussie who enjoys links golf, but keep in mind the conditions facing the field this week, which are perfect for Smith and the each way safety net could be key here.<\/p>\n Top 20 Finish \u2013 Joaquin Niemman<\/p>\n Joaquin Niemman has struggled to translate his success on LIV Golf to the Major stage, however, after the ignominy of receiving a two shot penalty at the US Open for unsportsmanlike conduct, he charged on to finish seventh. He\u2019s since backed that up with a third and seventh on the DP World Tour.<\/p>\n Niemman\u2019s Open record is poor, but his low ball flight is ideal for links golf, and I can see him building in his US Open performance and going strongly here.<\/p>\n Open\u00a0Championship 2026 tips<\/p>\n First Round Leader \u2013 Justin Rose *All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n Tap here for the latest odds on PP.com<\/a><\/p>\n The Paddy Power Guide To Safer Gambling \u2013 Everything You Need To Know<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/992x300-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n
First Round Leader \u2013 Joe Dean
Top American \u2013 JT Poston
Top Oceania \u2013 Cameron Smith
Top 20 Finish \u2013 Joaquin Niemman<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Collage-Maker-19-Jul-2023-09-41-AM-6048.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Cameron](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Cameron-Smith.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Joaquin-Niemann-Chile\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Joaquin-Niemann-Chile.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
First Round Leader \u2013 Joe Dean
Top American \u2013 JT Poston
Top Oceania \u2013 Cameron Smith
Top 20 Finish \u2013 Joaquin Niemman<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1430x194-V2-1.webp.webp\"\/)
<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A few flutters off the beaten track ahead of Thursday morning\u2019s tee off. The 2026 Open Championship tees…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":694962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-694961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=694961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/694962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=694961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=694961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=694961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}