British Open Odds 2015: Latest Vegas Lines for Underrated Sleepers in the Field

With Rory McIlroy sidelined as a result of his ankle injury, the lion's share of the focus will be on Masters and U.S. Open winner Jordan Spieth as he tries to bring home his third major championship of the year at the British Open.

Spieth certainly has an excellent opportunity to make a great run at St. Andrews, but expecting him to win a third consecutive major in the same calendar year seems a bit much to ask of a 21-year-old golfer.

If Spieth doesn't win, it means there is a wide-open field with a number of high-level players who will have a chance to win The Open Championship.

In this piece, we look at the underrated sleepers who are going to try to put themselves in a position to win the Claret Jug. For our purposes, we are only looking at players with odds of 40-1 or higher, as determined by Odds Shark.

Player	Odds	Skinny
Brandt Snedeker	40-1	Solid all-around game and has been putting well this year
Matt Kuchar	45-1	Can make every shot in the book
Patrick Reed	50-1	Bad boy has the game to make a run
Jimmy Walker	55-1	One of the tour's most consistent and unheralded players
Jim Furyk	70-1	Have to take a shot with those odds
Brooks Koepka	50-1	Solid ball striker who may provide a solid return
Victor Dubuisson	66-1	Has the game to make things happen around the green
Ian Poulter	80-1	69.947 scoring average gives him a chance
Billy Horschel	80-1	20th-ranked golfer will provide a huge payoff
Kevin Kisner	80-1	Has finished second three times this season

Brandt Snedeker (40-1)

Snedeker is always going to give his supporters a run for their money. Based on what he's done throughout the majority of his career, Snedeker is going to keep the ball in play, and he is going to come up with some very clever and creative shots. The difference between contending and finishing on the outside for Snedeker is often putting.

Snedeker may have long odds, but he is eighth on the FedEx Cup points list, so he seems like a strong play here. His putting has been one of his best attributes this season, as he gains .633 strokes with the flat stick and that ranks fifth among PGA Tour golfers. He is also averaging 69.863 strokes per round, and that's 10th best.

Snedeker has played 19 tour events this year and he has one victory, one second-place finish and eight top-10 finishes. He has made the cut 16 times this year.

Matt Kuchar (45-1)

While Kuchar is still looking for his first major championship, he is a consistent golfer who is capable of putting four solid rounds together at St. Andrews. The question is whether he can come through in the late going on Sunday if he is in contention.

Kuchar ranks 15th in the world golf rankings, and he has made the cut in 16 of the 17 events he has entered this year. Kuchar finished second in the Franklin Templeton Shootout and third in the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Kuchar has a chance to do a lot of damage with his putter. He gains an average .609 strokes once he is on the green, and that could be a big factor if he gets off to a good start.

Patrick Reed (50-1)

Reed may be in a foul mood at the British Open. He probably will do his best to cover up those feelings and not do anything misconstrued as antisocial, but just a couple of years ago, he and Spieth were viewed as the young lions who were ready to create an impression on the tour.

Spieth has done a lot more than that, but Reed is still waiting for his big opportunity. He is playing well enough and is seventh in the FedEx Cup points standings, but he wants a huge victory in one of the majors.

Reed won the Hyundai Tournament of Champions in January, and he also has a second-place finish, but he has not dominated the tour. He has made the cut in 18 of 20 tournaments this year. 

Reed can certainly get hot and turn it on in any tournament. He is averaging 4.13 birdies per round, and that ranks 11th on the tour. He has also won more than $2.8 million this season, and that ranks 13th on the tour.

Jimmy Walker (55-1)

Golf fans should be paying attention to Walker in The Open Championship. Even though he has very long odds, he ranks second in the FedEx Cup standings, and he has an impressive 69.820 scoring average.

Walker has been among the most consistent players on the tour in the last two years, and that's because he is a big hitter off the tee and does better with his putter than any other player. Walker is averaging 301.3 yards per drive, ranking 17th on the tour, and he also gains .844 strokes putting.

Walker has two first-place finishes (the Sony Open in Hawaii and the Valero Texas Open) this year, and he has also finished second twice. Walker has made the cut in 15 of the 16 events he has entered.

Jim Furyk (70-1)

If you are looking at this feature or the numbers presented by Odds Shark, you may think that the 70-1 odds are a misprint or typo. It doesn't make sense, since Furyk is sixth in the official world golf rankings.

Furyk won the RBC Heritage Open in April, and he has made the cut in 10 of the 12 events this year. However, Furyk is 45, and the only major he won was the 2003 U.S. Open. It doesn't seem likely that he will get another one 12 years after the fact.

Still, Furyk gains 1.419 strokes tee to green, and that ranks eighth on the tour. He also finds the fairway on 71.17 percent of his drives, placing him 10th on the tour.

Furyk has been through the wars, and if he finds himself in contention on the final day of the tournament, he has the experience to stand up to the pressure.