British Open Field 2015: Tee Times, Odds, Predictions for Favorites and Sleepers

The British Open descends upon the Old Course at St. Andrews for the 29th time in its esteemed history, with the 2015 edition of the year's third major gearing up for an early Thursday morning start time near the east coast of Scotland.  

Many of the world's best golfers are fresh off appearances at the Scottish Open or the John Deere Classic, but the focus has undoubtedly been squarely on St. Andrews ever since Jordan Spieth walked off the course at Chambers Bay as U.S. Open champion. The entire field looks up at him as a seismic favorite among a star-studded field, but there's no shortage of contenders as he looks to continue his Grand Slam quest.

Here's a look at pre-tournament odds as well as early tee times for the notable groupings.

2015 British Open Tee Times

Tee Time (ET, BST)	Group
3:33 a.m., 8:33 a.m	Ernie Els, Tom Watson, Brandt Snedeker
4 a.m., 9 a.m.	Ian Poulter, Charl Schwartzel, Bubba Watson
4:11 a.m., 9:11 a.m.	Sergio Garcia, Lee Westwood, Patrick Reed
4:33 a.m., 9:33 a.m.	Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth
4:55 a.m., 9:55 a.m.	Tiger Woods, Louis Oosthuizen, Jason Day
7:50 a.m., 12:50 p.m.	John Daly, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Jason Dufner
9:12 a.m. 2:12 p.m.	Adam Scott, Jimmy Walker, Martin Kaymer
9:34 a.m. 2:34 p.m.	Phil Mickelson, Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson

Full list of tee times available at TheOpen.com.

2015 British Open Odds

Player	Odds
Jordan Spieth	9-2
Dustin Johnson	11-1
Rickie Fowler	16-1
Justin Rose	18-1
Adam Scott	20-1
Henrik Stenson	20-1
Louis Oosthuizen	22-1
Tiger Woods	25-1
Jason Day	28-1
Bubba Watson	33-1
Hideki Matsuyama	33-1
Paul Casey	33-1
Phil Mickelson	33-1
Sergio Garcia	33-1
Martin Kaymer	35-1
Shane Lowry	35-1
Branden Grace	40-1
Brandt Snedeker	40-1
Matt Kuchar	45-1
Brooks Koepka	50-1
Patrick Reed	50-1

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark. 

Favorite: Jordan Spieth

Jon Super/Associated Press

The amount of attraction following Spieth as he enters his first St. Andrews British Open will be unlike anything the tournament has seen hawking an American golfer since the emergence of Tiger Woods.

But entering the Old Course, Spieth has a chance to do something Woods never has. Should he sweep both The Open Championship as well as the PGA Championship later this summer, he'll become the first Grand Slam winner in the Masters era. 

All in all, Spieth will enter the tournament on a win streak of two following his feats at the U.S. Open as well as the John Deere Classic last weekend. He can etch his place in history in that regard by winning this weekend, as ESPN Stats & Info observed:

Spieth's numbers in the PGA Tour are something to marvel at and put him in a great position for success at St. Andrews. He ranks third in strokes gained from tee to green and eighth in putting, and his birdie average is second on the tour.

The putter in Spieth's bag has been on fire all year long, and that doesn't seem likely to stop as he enters some of the world's most famous greens. He'll dominate them just as he has every other course as he cruises to a Day 1 co-lead.

Day 1 prediction: Five-under (tied for the lead)

Favorite: Rickie Fowler

Peter Morrison/Associated Press

Every major begins with a narrative surrounding Rickie Fowler that he hopes to dispel as quickly as possible. Before each event, the question is inevitably asked—will this be the one?

Fowler's near-misses in major championships have been a thorn in the side of an otherwise star-studded beginning to his career. He's posted a top-five finish at every single major, with his best outings at each major coming throughout his 2014 campaign—including a runner-up finish at last year's Open.

Since then, he's broken through at both The Players Championship and last weekend's Scottish Open, marking the first year in which he's won multiple titles. 

Fowler's struggles on the greens—he ranks 126th on tour in giving up minus-.067 strokes putting—could inevitably doom him at St. Andrews, but he has confidence to build on from it. His first Open appearance came in 2010, when he bounced back from an opening-round 79 to finish 67, 71, 67.

His inconsistent putter will prevent him from logging a low round Thursday, but Fowler will keep himself in contention regardless.

Day 1 prediction: One-under (21st place)

Sleeper: Jonas Blixt

Andrew Redington/Getty Images

He comes in so under the radar that Odds Shark didn't even post odds for him to win the tournament, but Jonas Blixt will have folks whispering his name once again following a breakout Thursday round.

Everything in Blixt's game at the moment indicates he'll be able to step right in and thrive at St. Andrews. He's coming off a strong three-under performance at the John Deere Classic, posted a seventh-place finish at the Nordea Masters in June and finished in the top 30 in the Masters Tournament earlier this year.

Blixt has proved in two PGA Tour victories and a second-place finish at last year's Masters that he can not just compete with the world's best, but thrive against them. His affinity for playing on the European Tour should also suit him, as he's well-versed in the links-style course structure.

Expect the 31-year-old Swede to be among the biggest surprises from Thursday.

Day 1 prediction: Four-under (tied for second place)