With the best players in the world teeing off at St. Andrews’ Old Course, there is a variety of british open betting prop bets available at online sportsbooks. You can bet on somewhat predictable things like who the top player from a specific country will be or who will end up the top senior player.
Then you can also bet on things like the color of the winner’s top, which – unless you are sure Tiger will win – seems almost impossible to predict. With that in mind, here is a look at the 2010 Open Championship prop bets as offered by bodog.
Place Betting
Place betting could be the most lucrative out of the offered bets. Graeme McDowell and Justin Rose both are available at 9/2 to finish in the Top 5, and they both have a good shot at ending up at the top of the leaderboard.
Steve Stricker has an even better value at 11/2 and he is coming off a win at the John Deere Classic. He has shown he can succeed in links golf. He finished in the Top 10 at the Open Championship in 2007 and 2008. He is worth a look to finish in the Top 5.
Bodog offers a Top 10 finish for Padraig Harrington at the Old Course at odds of +180. He played well his last time out on the PGA tour, finishing 5th at the Travelers Championship. He finished 22nd in the US Open and has played very consistent golf as of late.
Justin Rose seems to offer even more value. The Englishman has been on a roll lately and you can get $200 for your $100 bet if he finishes in the Top 10. He has won two of the last three tournaments he played and finished in the Top 10 in the third.
Beat your countrymen
Take a look at betting the best player out of a specific country. One of the more interesting bets here is South Africa. While Ernie Els is the heavy favorite here, Retief Goosen has a definite shot of finishing the top South African.
Els’s value at 6/5 is minimal, but I think Goosen has a better shot of finishing ahead of Els and his other fellow countrymen than the 10/3 odds that bodog offers. Goosen’s putting skills and driving accuracy will help him out at the Old Course. His driving distance isn’t the greatest, but he definitely has a shot to finish as the best South African.
Margin of victory
Tiger Woods beat the field at St. Andrews by eight shots in 2000 and by five shots in 2005. However, he hasn’t played a lot of golf this season and skipped the Scottish Open – a great tournament to prepare for the Old Course links golf. I can’t see him beating the field like this again.
On the other hand, seven of the last 15 Open Championships have gone to extra holes, so a close finish is very possible. You can bet on a play off (+250), a one shot victory (+250), a two shot victory (+350), a three shot victory (+500), and a victory of four shots ore more (+350).
The three shot victory stands out with the most possible return, but with the plethora of playoff in the past and lots of rain forecast for the weekend, which could level the playing field, a play off seems like a good choice. I wouldn’t put too much money on this, but a small wager will make for an interesting tournament.
Lowest round
Bodog sets the total for the lowest round played at 65.5. The over is offered at +165 and is definitely worth a look. Watch the weather for this one and pay close attention to the wind and rain forecast. Strong winds and rain can make it tough for the players to shoot low scores.
Tiger won the tournament by five strokes in 2005 without ever breaking 65.5. His best round was a 66 on Thursday. David Frost was the only golfer to shoot a 65 all weekend and we saw only five rounds of 66 total.
On top of that, the 17th hole – the so called Road Hole, has been made even tougher. The tee has been moved 40 yards back and is technically out of bounds. The move has come in light of many players being able to reach the green with an iron off the tee and a short iron to the green.
Now the players have to use the driver, and they have to clear the Old Course hotel for the ideal line to the green. The building sits in the way of the ideal line and makes it impossible for golfers to see the green from the tee. Add this to the scary road-hole-bunker, which is about 6 feet deep and has a sodden wall to the green.
This hole could cause many players to scramble and add some shots to their rounds. I think the over is a good play here, but remember to watch the weather before making your decision.
Besides Bodog, there are other sportsbooks like Bookmaker offering interesting british open betting options including matchups and outright winner golf bets.
