Golf Betting Tips: Second-round three-balls predictions, preview and best bets for the Open Championship

Friday at the 2025 Open Championship promises a continuation of the theatre witnessed on a captivating opening day at Royal Portrush. With the weather shifting rapidly between calm skies and swirling gusts, round two is poised to offer both opportunity and peril in equal measure. Read on for our expert preview and to find the best tips and analysis and don’t miss out on the best bookmaker offers as listed below.

Golf betting tips: Second-round three-balls Predictions for the Open

Can Precision and Poise Trump Power on Portrush’s Tricky Links?

• Guido Migliozzi hits approaches inside 100 yards to an average of just 3’4″, highlighting elite control with wedges.
• Despite erratic driving, he still maintains a 36.11% one-putt rate, underscoring potential to recover from missed greens.
• His scrambling success from 10–20 yards stands at 63.64%, crucial for navigating Portrush’s unpredictable short game demands.

Our Tips

The second round commences early, with the world’s elite returning to a course that already forced several household names to recalibrate. Five players currently share the lead at -4, including Harris English, Matt Fitzpatrick, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Haotong Li and Jacob Skov Olesen. Hot on their heels are Scottie Scheffler and Tyrell Hatton, both just one stroke back and ready to capitalise on any missteps from those above them.

Rory McIlroy, playing what could be considered his ‘home major’, bounced back admirably from past demons at Portrush with a respectable 70, despite struggling to find fairways. Scheffler also battled wild drives but made up for it with sublime iron play, underlining why he remains a favourite to contend.

The crowd will again be drawn to marquee groups throughout the day. Expect Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, and Jon Rahm to receive plenty of vocal support, while Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood aim to replicate their past fast starts on links courses. All the while, the course itself remains the great equaliser — unrelenting and unforgiving to those who stray from control.

Amidst the chaos, subtle skill may prove more valuable than brute force. And in one lesser-known but crucial three-ball matchup, that could make all the difference.

---

Best Bet for Friday: Giulio Migliozzi to Win 3-Ball vs Louis Oosthuizen & K.J. Choi (Round 2)

Here at BettingTips4You, we believe in delivering a single, well-reasoned prediction per event. Instead of overloading readers with options, we prioritise precision and credibility — and that allows us to be clear and accountable about our tips’ performance. For today’s second round action, our standout selection comes from a quietly intriguing three-ball contest: backing Giulio Migliozzi to outperform both Louis Oosthuizen and K.J. Choi.

Why Giulio Migliozzi is the Value Play

While not carrying the same name recognition as his playing partners, Guido Migliozzi enters the second round with underlying metrics that suggest potential for a strong bounce back — particularly when compared with Oosthuizen and Choi, neither of whom appear in peak form. Despite a poor overall scoring average of 75.75 this season, deeper examination into Migliozzi’s data indicates that his ceiling remains considerably higher than the raw numbers suggest.

His ball-striking, though inconsistent, does show glimmers of efficiency. On approaches inside 100 yards, he averages just 3 feet 4 inches from the pin — an exceptional proximity that points to sharp wedge play when in position. While his accuracy off the tee is subpar at 46.3%, this is a common issue on links courses, where fairway hit rates tend to decline due to narrow landing zones and firm ground.

More importantly, Migliozzi’s short game stats are quietly encouraging. He scrambles at a respectable 45.95% and boasts a sand save rate of 50%, which suggests he’s equipped to deal with the unpredictable lies and tight-runoff areas that Royal Portrush so frequently presents. His putting — an area where many links novices falter — is also reasonably consistent, with a one-putt rate of 36.11% and an overall putting average of 1.943.

In comparison, both Oosthuizen and Choi are seasoned but fading forces. With conditions growing tougher and Friday’s winds expected to swirl more unpredictably, youthful resilience and sharper touch around the greens could well give Migliozzi the edge. Backing the Italian to edge this group, despite his inconsistency, could be the sharpest angle for value on day two.

Enhance your betting game with our daily free betting tips, predictions, and accumulators.

For more betting tips and news, check out:

• Golf Tips
• Our Comprehensive Betting News

Don’t forget to visit our Free Bets page for the best possible value as well as our Predictions.

Subscribe To Our Newsletter For Exclusive Tips

Want to have exclusive tips from experts tipsters delivered right into your inbox? Subscribe Now To Our Newsletter. We will never spam, we fully respect your privacy!

Selected Bookmakers Offers