Can Cameron Smith defend his title at The Open 2023? LIV golfer’s odds explored

Defending champion Cameron Smith will make his sixth appearance at the Open Championship, which will commence on Thursday, July 20 at the Royal Liverpool in Wirral, Merseyside, England.

Last year, Smith triumphed at the 150th Open, beating Cameron Young by a single stroke. This was his first major championship title.

Since then, a lot of things have changed. Smith is now a LIV Golf player and has only appeared in LIV Golf events and three majors.

Despite playing in a handful of 72-hole events in one year, Smith is still one of the favorites this week, and oddsmakers believe he can defend his title. As per SportsLine, he is +1500 to lift the Claret Jug on Sunday, July 20, 2023.

Cameron Smith has made five starts at the Open Championship and has made the cut four times. The only time he missed the cut was on his debut in 2017.

Barring last year's win at St. Andrews, the only other top-20 finish he made at the event was in 2019, when he ended at T20.

Confidence will be high for the 29-year-old Australian, as he is entering this Royal Liverpool with a win in the last event he played.

He claimed his first LIV Golf title of the season in London earlier this month. It will be interesting to see if he becomes the first golfer since Padraig Harrington to defend the Open title.

---

Who is the favorite at the 2023 Open Championship? Odds explored

Here are the odds for the 151st Open (as per SportsLine):

• Rory McIlroy: +525
• Scottie Scheffler: +750
• Jon Rahm: +1200
• Rickie Fowler: +1200
• Tommy Fleetwood: +1500
• Viktor Hovland: +1500
• Cameron Smith: +1500
• Brooks Koepka: +1800
• Xander Schauffele: +2500
• Tyrrell Hatton: +2500
• Collin Morikawa: +2800
• Shane Lowry: +3000
• Dustin Johnson: +3000
• Jordan Spieth: +3000
• Patrick Cantlay: +3000
• Matt Fitzpatrick: +3500
• Tom Kim: +4000
• Justin Rose: +4500
• Cameron Young: +4500
• Tony Finau: +5000
• Adam Scott: +5000
• Bryson DeChambeau: +5000
• Max Homa: +5000
• Wyndham Clark: +5000
• Justin Thomas: +5500
• Min Woo Lee: +5500
• Hideki Matsuyama: +6500
• Jason Day: +6500
• Robert ManIntyre: +6600
• Taylor Gooch: +7000
• Sam Burns: +7000
• Sungjae Im: +8000
• Patrick Reed: +8500
• Denny McCarthy: +8500
• Keegan Bradley: +8500
• Corey Conners: +8500
• Ryan Fox: +9000
• Louis Oosthuizen: +9000
• Padraig Harrington: +10000
• Sepp Straka: +10000
• Branden Grace: +10000
• Russell Henley: +10000
• Sahith Theegala: +125000
• Joaquin Niemann: +12500
• Phil Mickelson: +12500
• Victor Perez: +15000
• Paul Casey: +15000
• Antoine Rozner: +1500
• Harris English: +1500
• Si-woo Kim: +1500
• Rasmus Hjgaard: +15000
• Thomas Detry: +15000
• Yannik Paul: +15000
• Taylor Moore: +15000
• Brian Harman: +17500
• Adrian Meronk: +17500
• Adam Schenk: +17500
• Lucas Herbert: +17500
• Nicolai Hojgaard: +17500
• Jordan Smith: +20000
• Christian Bezuidenhout: +20000
• Richie Ramsay: +20000
• Sergio Garcia: +20000
• Marc Leishman: +20000
• Davis Riley: +20000
• Thobjorn Olesen: +20000
• Thomas Pieters: +20000
• Kurt Kitayama: +20000
• Gary Woodland: +20000
• Brendon Todd: +20000
• Byeong Hun An: +20000
• Alex Noren: +20000
• Aaron Wise: +20000
• Abraham Ancer: +22500
• Keith Mitchell: +22500
• Adrian Otaegui: +25000
• Lee Westwood: +25000
• Ewen Ferguson: +25000
• Danny Willett: +25000
• Seamus Power: +25000
• Tom Hoge: +25000
• KH Lee: +25000
• Richard Bland: +25000
• Harold Varner: +25000
• Rikuya Hoshino: +30000
• JJ Spaun: +30000
• Guido Migliozzi: +30000
• Connor Syme: +30000
• Takumi Kanaya: +30000
• Billy Horschel: +30000