PGA Tour Leaderboard: British Open 2015 Preview, Odds, Tee Times and Predictions [VIDEO]

The PGA Tour returns to the birthplace of golf.

Seventy-nine of the top 80 golfers will be in attendance at St. Andrews this weekend—the one outlier being an injured Rory McIlroy. The current world No. 1 and defending champion was forced to skip the tournament after rupturing a ligament in his left ankle. All eyes will be on Jordan Spieth, who is looking to win his third consecutive major.

Preview

Where: Old Course at St Andrews in Fife, Scotland

Purse: $10 million (winning share: $1.8 million)

FedEx Cup Points: 600 to winner

Odds

If you win four tournaments in 2015, including the first two majors on the calendar, you're going to be the odds-on favorite. Spieth enters the weekend a 9/2 favorite according to OddsShark.com. His closest competition, Dustin Johnson, enters at 11/1. Other potential favorites include Rickie Fowler (16/1), Justin Rose (18/1) and Henrik Stenson (20/1).

An irrelevant Tiger Woods opens at 25/1.

Prediction

Romanticism leans toward Spieth, but winning a third consecutive major is a tough ask. Louis Oosthuizen will be able to take advantage of the mounting pressure heaped on his 21-year-old counterpart. Oosthuizen has five top-10 finishes this year and put on a solid showing in the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.

Notable Thursday Tee Times