The 151st Open odds: Field chasing Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler

Matt Fitzpatrick of England was candid when asked about his chances ahead of The 151st Open Championship this week.

"I think everyone would like to be playing golf like Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler right now, but that's pretty rare for the rest of us," the 2022 U.S. Open champion said Monday.

McIlroy and Scheffler enter the week as the two hottest players on the planet, and they're understandably the pre-tournament favorites.

McIlroy -- whose victory at the Scottish Open on Sunday was his sixth consecutive finish of T9 or better -- also won his lone Open title to date at Royal Liverpool, the site of this week's championship. He's the +650 favorite at DraftKings and +700 at BetMGM.

Not far behind at +700 and +750, respectively, is Scheffler. His T3 in Scotland was Scheffler's 18th consecutive finish of T12 or better. He also has a pair of victories this season and remains No. 1 in the world -- with McIlroy in hot pursuit after moving up to No. 2 this week.

McIlroy has been backed by the most total outright winner bets at BetMGM with 8.5 percent. Scheffler leads the field with 16.2 percent of the money backing him to claim a second major title. McIlroy leads both markets at DraftKings, with Scheffler second.

FALLING FOR FOWLER

Scheffler is BetMGM's second-biggest liability as of Monday, behind only Rickie Fowler.

Fowler is coming off a T42 in Scotland, breaking a streak of five consecutive results of T13 or better that was highlighted by a win at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. He also tied for fifth at last month's U.S. Open.

That run helped Fowler's odds to win The Open shift from +15000 to +2200 at BetMGM, where he is third in both total bets (6.3 percent) and money (8.1 percent) backing him.