The Open 2026 matched betting: the best extra-place event of the summer

If the Stewards' Cup is the best extra-place race of the summer, The Open is the best extra-place tournament. A golf major has a field of more than 150 players, and the big firms compete by extending each-way terms far beyond the standard 5 places — often to 8, 10 or 12. That huge gap between the bookmaker's places and the exchange's is what makes extra-place golf so profitable. This guide covers the confirmed schedule, the offer types, and a worked example.

The 2026 schedule

• Venue: Royal Birkdale, Southport.
• Practice days: 12–15 July.
• Round 1: Thursday 16 July — the day to get your each-way bets on, before the cut.
• Round 2 & the cut: Friday 17 July — the field is cut to the top ~70; this is when miss-the-cut money-back offers settle.
• Weekend rounds: 18–19 July, with the champion crowned Sunday.

The offers to expect (recent-major pattern)

• Extra places (the big earner). bet365's “Each Way Extra” has paid up to ~12 places at 1/5 on recent majors; William Hill, Paddy Power, Sky Bet and others run their own extended-place offers. This is the core play — the mechanics are identical to the racing extra-place strategy in the extra places guide.
• Miss-the-cut money-back. “Money back as a free bet if your player misses the cut” is a major-championship staple. You get a second go at the value if your first pick bombs out on Friday.
• Each-way terms boosts & price boosts. Enhanced win prices and boosted each-way fractions on big names. Matchable only when they beat the exchange — check the calculator.
• Welcome free bets. The usual sign-up offers, placed on the outright market. Full list on the sign-up offers index.

Why extra-place golf pays so well

The extra-place windfall lands when your player finishes inside the bookmaker's extended places but outside the exchange's standard places. Your each-way place bet wins at the bookie while your place lay also wins on the exchange — both sides pay. With a 156-man field and the bookie paying, say, 10 places against the exchange's standard 5, there are five whole finishing positions where that double payout triggers. Across a dozen each-way bets on different players, the windfall lands often enough to turn a healthy profit.

Worked example: £10 each-way at 10 places

You back a 50/1 outsider £10 each-way (so £10 on the win, £10 on the place) where the bookmaker pays 10 places at 1/5 and the exchange place market settles on the standard 5. You lay both the win and the place on the exchange:

• Player wins or finishes top 5: bookie and exchange roughly cancel — a small qualifying-style loss of a pound or two.
• Player finishes 6th–10th (the window): the place part pays at the bookie (£10 at 10/1 place odds = £100 back) and your place lay wins on the exchange. Net result: roughly +£80–£90 from one bet.

The win part is a normal matched bet; all the value is in that place window. Place a spread of each-way bets across several players, lay every leg, and the maths grinds out profit across the field. Run each one through the calculator first — each-way bets need the win and place laid separately.

Golf-specific traps

• Dead heats. Golf produces ties for places far more often than racing. A dead heat for the last paid place reduces your return — factor it in; it nibbles at the edge but doesn't kill it.
• Exchange place markets settle differently. Confirm how many places the exchange place market pays before you lay — your whole edge depends on it paying fewer than the bookie.
• Rule 4 / non-runners. Withdrawals before the off can trigger deductions. Place your bets close to Round 1 once the field is settled.
• Each-way terms vary by firm. One bookie's “10 places” at 1/5 is very different from another's “8 places” at 1/4 — compare before you pick where to back.

Realistic expectations

A methodical golfer working extra places across a spread of players, plus the miss-the-cut money-back, has historically been worth £50–£150 over the four days — with extra-place variance meaning some majors land well above that. It's on top of the ~£550 of sign-up profit a newcomer banks first. For the year-round version of this strategy, see the extra-place strategy in the racing guide — the win/place mechanics carry straight over to golf.

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