The best golfers of the world will compete in the Open Championship, aka the British Open this week. The players will face off on The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland. The par-72 Course stretches over 6,721 yards and the unpredictable weather could post some tough tests for the world’s top players again. We will take a look at the current British Open Odds
The British Open are held on one of nine classic link courses in Great Britain every year, with St. Andrews hosting the event every five years. Tiger Woods has won the Open three times and has come out on top the last two times the event was held at St. Andrews in 2005 and 2000.
Tiger hasn’t played a lot of golf this season, and he opted out of the Scottish Open, a tournament many golfers use to prepare for the links golf at St. Andrews, to spend time with his kids. He played a practice round Sunday, which marked the first time he has stepped foot on the course since his 2005 championship.
Nevertheless, Tiger seems to do well whenever he plays St. Andrews, and he should be in the mix come Sunday. Woods is the top choice to win the tournament at 5/1, but his play this season doesn’t really warrant the high-risk low-reward pick.
I’m not saying he won’t win, but the competition is stiff, with 15 former British Open champions teeing off. Tiger missed the cut at last year’s Open Championship when it was held at Turnberry’s Ailsa course. He changed his putter for the first time in 11 years leading up to this year’s tournament at St. Andrews to adjust for the slow greens.
Phil Mickleson has struggled on links courses throughout his career. He missed the cut in last weeks Scottish Open and has yet to win the Open Championship. He has only one Top-10 finish in 16 tries at the British Open. His game is very well suited for the wide fairways at St. Andrews, and his long tee shots should help him here too.
However, it seems like he always struggles at the Open Championship, and a lot will depend on whether he can overcome his poor links play. If he can get his game together, he is an interesting pick at 16/1, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Look at some of the british open betting odds prop bets for Mickleson, as a Top-10 (+165 odds) seems possible.
Justin Rose is definitely worth a look at 20/1. The 29-year-old, who was born in South Africa, has been on a roll lately, winning two of the last three events he played. He finished first at the Memorial Tournament and at the AT&T National, and came in ninth at the Travelers Championship. He is on his game right now and offer good value at 20/1.
Steve Stricker is coming off a win at the John Deere Classic, but had several mediocre results before that. Nonetheless, he is worth a look at 33/1. His strong putting could help him at the Old Course, and he finished in the Top-10 at the Open Championship in 2007 and 2008.
Stricker’s biggest problem could be the strains of traveling. He played the John Deere Classic last weekend and flew across the Atlantic Monday. Everyone with a little bit of travel experience knows, that jet lag can take its toll on your body, and Stricker will most likely still be battling it when the tournament starts.
Graeme McDowell is also worth a look at 25/1. He won the U.S. open at Pebble Beach and is looking for back-to-back major wins. He has shown that he can play well on the Old Course, scoring a 62 in the 2004 Dunhill Links.
Pick McDowell over Ian Poulter in head-to-head play at -115. Also look at Martin Kaymer in a head-to-head pick against Paul Casey at -115. The German Kaymer has played well on the European tour lately and finished eighth at the US Open.
An interesting pick is the prop bet on the Big 6 against the field. A win by one of the Big 6 (Woods, Mickleson, McIlroy, Westwood, Els, Harrington) is worth $165 for your $100 bet.
All these british open picks both outright winner and matchups are available at Bodog and Bookmaker. Both offer british open betting for the 2010 open championship.
