​As if I, Christopher Powers, the man writing this, the guy who can’t hit an outright to save his life, wasn’t enough of a kiss of death, it seems that the entire betting community is on Matt Fitzpatrick to win the Open Championship this week.What could go wrong?AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementRELATED: British Open picks 2026: Our DFS expert’s contrarian strategy on Scottie SchefflerWell, Scottie Scheffler or Rory McIlroy having a week, for starters. But Fitzy has been arguably better than both this year, though the best way to prove that emphatically would be with a major victory.The Golf Digest betting panel is comprised of Pat Mayo of Underdog/Mayo Media Network, Andy Lack of the Inside Sports Network, Ryan Noonan of Betsperts, your two authors and Keith Stewart, the CEO of Read The Line.RELATED: British Open picks 2026: 5 longshot bets I love for Royal BirkdaleScroll down for our complete betting analysis of the 2026 British Open:Read The Line’s Keith Stewart joins Pat Mayo’s show to explain the keys to winning the Open Championship this week:Watch the full show here.British Open picks 2026: Our Experts’ Outright PredictionsPat Mayo, Underdog/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst: Matt Fitzpatrick (18-1, DraftKings) — Despite the three wins and constant contention, the majors have all gone sideways on him. Things looked promising last month when he entered Saturday playing alongside Wyndham Clark in the group. After his first three holes I don’t think he was shown TV the rest of the week. That said, I’ll go to the well one more time. He’s a major winner, posted multiple excellent results at the Open in the past, and is the best combination of accuracy, long-irons, and chipping (No. 1 in scrambling from short grass in the field). Even in the midst of the best year of his career, it’ll be a lost season if he doesn’t make a single major run. Just pray it’s one of those weeks where he can make a few five-footers, not those other ones.AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementKeith Stewart, PGA, Read The Line: Matt Fitzpatrick (18-1, DraftKings) — I bet Tom Kim at the John Deere and the Scottish Open, and my persistence paid off. Matt Fitzpatrick finished T-3 at the Scottish Open and showed us he’s ready for The Open. I’m almost excited he didn’t win in Scotland, because carrying the weight of winning it back-to-back is rough. The PGA Tour’s leader on approach and scrambling, what better complement of skills for Royal Birkdale? Following a T-4 at Royal Portrush last year with three top-four finishes in his last four starts, the planets are aligned for a major Sunday in England. Ryan Noonan, Content Manager 4for4/Betsperts: Viktor Hovland (34-1, DraftKings) — I’m not sure that he’s all the way back to that late summer run of 2023, but it certainly feels close. Over the past two months, Viktor Hovland has gained strokes with his ball-striking in 87.5 percent of his rounds, the best rate in the field per Be