Tag: British Open

British Open 2014 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Tiger Woods returns to action for the British Open at Royal Liverpool but gone are the days when he was automatic favourite. Those who have faith in the American’s powers of recovery can get 25-1 about him making a sensational comeback this week.

Despite positive vibes from the player, the fact remains that he has not won a major since 2008. It is surely going to take longer than even (in which he missed the cut) to recover his game after back surgery.

This time last year, Phil Mickelson’s supporters were happily playing up their winnings from the Scottish Open. He was only a peripheral figure there this time around despite a closing 65 and his overall form does not suggest another British Open triumph for “Lefty”. My tip for top American is Dustin Johnson who seems to have the knack of putting in a solid effort in this tournament every year.

In the last four seasons he has finished fourteenth, second, nine and thirty-second. OK, that last performance doesn’t take your breath away but he obviously does his research and does not just turn up expecting a flat calm day. He may even have won in 2011 but for a double-bogey at the 14th hole, allowing Darren Clarke to go on and win.

German sport is on the up after their World Cup success. Martin Kaymer turned the US Open into the most boring major tournament in living memory, such was his dominance. I’m not expecting him to do that at Royal Liverpool but 25-1 looks a good each-way price.

The best of the Australian challenge will surely come from Adam Scott. Two years ago he should have won this event comfortably but collapsed dramatically to hand the Claret Jug to Ernie Els. I think there was an element of embarrassment for the big South African in accepting the trophy. To Scott’s credit he came out and won the US Masters the following spring and is now one of the leading players in the world. He has made the top ten of three of the last six majors.

Jim Furyk who frequently pops up on the leaderboard at major championships, although he has only ever converted once. 70-1 will do for an each-way bet while you can get more than double that about Joost Luiten if you fancy a real long shot. After Holland’s heartbreak in the penalty shoot-out, let’s hope Luiten does not need to endure a play-off!

Adam Scott @16-1 Bet365

Martin Kaymer @25-1 Ladbrokes

Dustin Johnson @40-1 William Hill

Jim Furyk @70-1 BetVictor

Joost Luiten @150-1 888Sport, Unibet

Each-way ¼ odds, 1,2,3,4,5

 

The Open Championship 2013 Update

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

With two rounds almost complete, many of the big names have already fallen by the wayside. There has been some shocking golf from the likes of McIlroy and Donald and the bookies are battening down the hatches for a Tiger Woods gamble this weekend.

Two steady rounds have left him only a couple of shots off the lead and his price has been slashed to 3-1. Lee Westwood put in a fine second round performance and is now a best priced 7-1. They will be the two names that the bookmakers will be hoping to get beaten this weekend.

Of the rum crew that I selected at the start of the tournament, only Ian Poulter and Jordan Spieth hold any lingering hopes of getting involved at the business end of the tournament. Neither are currently in pole position to claim top spot from England or the States in their respective markets but a good round on Saturday could give them a squeak.

The third round is the last chance for those on the edge of affairs to put themselves in with a chance of lifting the claret jug on Sunday evening and I expect there to be some strong forward moves. If you’ve got a decent bet on one of the early leaders you will probably be wanting to sit tight but I sometimes like to top up my bets at this stage of the tournament. At least it prolongs the interest in the tournament a little longer!

Adam Scott is on the periphery at the moment at +1 so I think he is good value to creep into contention tomorrow at 22-1. I did wonder if the shine might have gone off his game since his epic Masters victory but he seems to be back in the zone. He has played steadily so far and he only need shoot something like a 69 or a 68 tomorrow to be right in the thick of it.

My second selection is Charl Shwartzel who is on the same score after shooting 68 today. My first glimpse of him yesterday was seeing him smash his club but I take it things have picked up since then! He has a confident air about him and his confidence will be up after today’s exploits. He is currently 31-1 on Betfair.

My third new recruit is American Ryan Moore (not to be confused with the jockey of the same name!). I have been following his progress on the PGA Tour and almost included him in my bet on the top American this week. He is nicely placed at –1 and only needs to keep chipping away to be near the top on Sunday night. The bookies evidently don’t think he will last as he’s still available at 59-1.

It’s getting far too hot outside to do anything so a couple of hours watching the golf doesn’t sound so bad, particularly if we can finish up with a winner!

Adam Scott 22-1 Coral
Charl Shwartzel 31-1 Betfair
Ryan Moore 59-1 32Red

The Open Championship 2013 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The British Open is the Wimbledon of Golf. For a few days of the year we are all suddenly fascinated by the game and cheer on the Brits with great enthusiasm. If the Brits fall by the wayside, we are happy to switch our allegiance to any European golfer in the true spirit of the Ryder Cup. And even if a non-European wins it doesn’t matter because golf is one of those rare sports where you can conveniently forget about nationality altogether.

I have covered the event and the overall winner market on golfbettingtip.com so I thought I’d take a look at the plethora of alternative markets available this week. I have selected just a few that may be worth a small investment.

Top American (without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson)

Skybet are offering a generous 8-1 an upwards on this market. Considering that you can only get 25-1 or 33-1 about some of the US golfers to win outright, this has to be a tempting proposition. I’ve been covering the USPGA Tour this season and the players that have impressed me most are Matt Kuchar and Billy Horschel. Of the two, I just favour Kuchar to make the better bid for the championship itself but they are both worthy of support in this market.

Matt Kuchar 10-1
Billy Horschel 25-1

Top Englishman

This could be an interesting market because Rose and Westwood are the obvious favourites at rather cramped prices. Luke Donald is one of my each-way selections for the tournament outright and I can see both he and Ian Poulter getting involved this week. With Rose still basking in his US Open success and Westwood under the media spotlight yet again this week, I’ll take Donald and Poulter in this market.

Luke Donald 4-1 Coral
Ian Poulter 7-1 Coral

Top Senior

Only four years ago Tom Watson had a fantastic opportunity to win the Open at the age of 59. He dropped a shot on the final green and lost the playoff to Stewart Cink. It would be great to think that he can get amongst the leaders at 63 but that may be a touch ambitious. However, backing him to be top senior is far from ridiculous.

Fred Couples if favourite in this particular market but the languid one has admitted that he already has his mind on defending the senior title at Royal Birkdale. Take the 15-2 with Ladbrokes and cheer Old Tom once again.

Tom Watson 15-2 Ladbrokes

Each-way ¼ odds first eight

Finally, the bookmakers are bending over backwards to take more each-way bets this year with VCBet offering ¼ odds first eight! I’ve gone through their prices and a couple remain competitive with those offered elsewhere but paying down to only 5th or 6th. Jim Furyk is getting a bit long in the tooth but has a decent Open record including five top ten finishes. It isn’t beyond him to do it again. Jordan Spieth won last week and 150-1 is a big price about a golfer in form.

Jim Furyk 100-1
Jordan Spieth 150-1