Best Bets to Hammer and Fade for the 2026 Open Championship

We're back with the final major edition of Hammers and Fades for 2026. And last time out, we actually made you a little bit of money. Let's do that again, shall we? Hammer, Matt Fitzpatrick to win. Look, I've gone 0-4 on this one at the majors this year, but the fourth time is the charm. Fitz has now finished fourth or better in three of his last four starts as he continues to play the best golf of his life. And those are his words, not mine. It would be just plain wrong if he doesn't capitalize with a second major title this week. Fade, Jordan Spieth to miss the cut. I'm sorry I have to do this, folks, but there will be no Royal Berkdale magic for Spieth this year. Yes, we all remember his win here in 2017 fondly, but he's not that guy anymore, pal. In fact, everyone has desperately tried to claim he is still that guy, and all he's done is fail to post a single top 10 in all of 2026. He's actually looked as bad as he has all year this past month. Hammer, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas to finish in the top 20, including ties. Are we hammering a parlay? We sure are. We've hit the Xander top 20 in every single major this year, which obviously means it's a puck. So let's toss in JT to juice up the odds a little bit. Thomas has been a top 20 machine since he returned from surgery earlier this year, and he should have finished top 20 at the Scottish Open this past weekend, but he made a brutal triple bogey on Sunday. Now that he's acclimated to the time difference, to the length style of golf, I expect him to return to that top 20 form this week. Fave Ludvig Oberg finishing position, 32nd or worse. You can find these prop bets on Bet365. You could normally pencil in Ludvig for a top 30 finish in a major every single time, but something just seems off with the young Swede right now. He just missed only his second cut of the year at the Scottish Open. He should have no problem making the cut this week on his talent alone, but his shoddy around the green play and putting will keep him well out of contention. Hammer Alex Fitzpatrick finishing position, 51st or better. Take this one and say thank you. Last week he missed only his second cut of 2026, a year where he's finished 51st or better 13 times in 16 starts worldwide. It's a fitzy week at Royal Birknail, folks. Fade! I am taking Chris Gotterup over Jon Rahm in a 72-hole matchup at Even Money. This is a clear-cut case of wrong guy favor here, as Rahm is getting respect on his name alone. Gotterup has been the better player by a wide margin in 2026, and he proved that again last week with a T11 to Jon Rahm's T36 in Scotland. Rahm could certainly flip the switch, but as crazy as this sounds, Gotterup is a far more trustworthy player right now. That's it for hammers and fades at the majors in 2026. We will be back for the FedEx Cup.