British Open Odds 2017: Predictions for Top Favourites Going into Royal Birkdale

Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy are joint 10-1 favourites to win the 2017 British Open, closely followed by Jordan Spieth at 11-1.

The usual suspects are followed by a trio of Jason Day, Sergio Garcia and John Rahm, all of whom are slated at 16-1 to win at Royal Birkdale, Southport, England, this weekend.

Rickie Fowler follows at 18-1, while four players have 20-1 odds: defending champion Henrik Stenson, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Hideki Matsuyama.

They and the remainder of the field will battle it out in the year's third major, so let's take a look at how the top favourites are shaping up ahead of the tournament and how they might get on.

For a full set of odds for the field, visit OddsShark's official website.

Johnson and McIlroy's Struggles Set to Continue

All three of the top favourites come into the tournament on the back of a disappointing showing at the U.S. Open last month, in which Johnson and McIlroy failed to make the cut and Spieth finished T35.

Johnson has had a miserable few months since missing out on the Masters in April, and aside from a T2 finish at the Wells Fargo Championship in early May, his form has largely been poor, having also missed the cut at the Memorial Tournament prior to the U.S. Open.

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According to his coach Butch Harmon, he has now finally recovered from the back injury suffered prior to the Masters. He told The Scotsman: "He still wasn't 100 per cent at Erin Hills. He still had a little hesitation in his swing from his injury, which he doesn't have any more."

He added: "At the U.S. Open, he said he felt fine, but there was still the anticipation that when he swung at it hard, was it going to hurt, was it not and so now he's over all those fears."

While Harmon is anticipating a good performance from the American at Royal Birkdale as a result, it's far from the ideal course for him to resume his winning ways or even build up much of a rhythm. 

It's a difficult links course where the weather can make all the difference. The last time the course held the Open was in 2008, and because of the conditions, Padraig Harrington's winning score was three over.

With wet and windy conditions forecast for Friday and Saturday in particular, per the Met Office, it might be tricky for him to get back to his best right away.

McIlroy has been in a similar boat, as he's had a rib injury to contend with, and his form has suffered as a result.

Golf analyst Ron Mintz noted his struggles at the Scottish Open, where McIlroy admitted he had endured a difficult spell:

Given his poor form, he has a great deal of work to do in order to turn things around quickly enough to be a contender at the Open this year.

Spieth, on the other hand, despite being considered slightly behind his two rivals by the bookies, looks to have a better chance of lifting the Claret Jug.

While his U.S. Open was fairly disappointing, he finished it strongly with a three-under 69 on the final day.

He followed that up with his 10th PGA title by winning the Travelers Championship to offer a timely reminder of what he's capable of. 

The 23-year-old holed out from the bunker in the play-off with an incredible shot, per the PGA Tour:

Golf Channel's Rich Lerner hailed his effort:

While he has skipped the John Deere Classic to give him more time to prepare for the Open this year, he is still carrying more momentum into it than Johnson or McIlroy.

His putting will, as ever, be a key part of his arsenal at Royal Birkdale. Spieth has boasted the third-best putting average on the PGA Tour this year and sits fourth in birdie or better conversion percentage, per PGATour.com.

Amid what could be difficult conditions, his excellent play on the green could give him an edge over his rivals.

He'll still need to up his game from his performances at recent majors, but he could be in contention on Sunday.