2008 British Open Picks
July 7, 2008
With the 2008 British Open just around the corner professional handicapper Jason Lowry is going to take a closer look at the favorites chances of winning the Claret Jug when the tournament gets underway on July 17th at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Lancashire, UK. The British Open is the oldest of the 4 majors as it first got underway back in 1860 where Willie Park Senior took the event by two strokes. Back then only a couple handful of players were allowed to play in the tournament compared to now where 156 players get the chance of a lifetime at one of 9 historic courses that the British Open is hosted on. Its been almost 10 years since they have teed it up at Royal Birkdale where Mark O’Mera was able to take home the jug. Last year Padraig Harrington was able to come back and tie Sergio Garcia before beating him in a 4 hole playoff. Unlike any other major championship the British Open uses 4 holes for its playoff system, and if they are still tied it then goes to sudden death. Lets take a look at who the odds makers have as the favorites for the upcoming British Open.
Sergio Garcia – 8/1 odds at Sportsbook.com
Garcia had the lead for nearly the entire tournament last year as he opened with a 6 under on day 1 and had it up to 9 under for a 3 shot lead over the next best. His collapse on Sunday caused him to miss out on his first major win of his career. This year he comes in as the favorite to take home the trophy, and his play as of late might be the reason why. He won the Players Championship and has played pretty well since. We really like what we are seeing in Garcia, and he has a great chance to win this weekend if he can show he has what it takes to deal with the pressure.
Phil Mickelson – 12/1 odds at Sportsbook.com
Mickelson has yet to play since the US Open and that has us a little concerned about his game heading into the British Open. Mickelson has really only played well at the Open once in his career as he finished 3rd in 2004. So if you are thinking just because Tiger is not in the field that Mickelson should have it in the bag, we would recommend that you think different. We look for Mickelson to be more of a force at the PGA Championship later this year.
Ernie Els – 121 odds at Sportsbook.com
Els just might be the most consistent golfer in this whole group when you start talking about past performances at this tournament. Els has only won the event 1 time in his career, but has 9 other top 10 finishes in his career at the Open. Els won it all back in 2002, and finished strong last year for a tie for 4th.
Padraig Harrington – 15/1 odds at Sportsbook.com
Harrington came out firing last year to come all the way from 6 shots back to take home the 2007 British Open Championship. Harrington used Garcia’s stumble to his advantage as he threw out a 4 under 67 to get himself in position to win the tournament. Though he needed a playoff to win the event, it was easily his best finish in any major event, and makes him a real threat to come out and repeat as the Open Champion.
Lee Westwood – 15/1 odds at Sportsbook.com
Westwood joins Garcia as the only other golfer in this group that has yet to take home a major victory throughout his career. Westwood really doesn’t have that good of history at the British Open as his really only good finished came back in 2004 where he finished 4th, but other than that since 2000 his best finish is a tie for 31st. We are thinking the only reason this guy has this good of odds is his 11th place finish at the Masters and his most recent 3rd place finish at the US Open, but if you want our opinion don’t risk anything on this guy winning the Open this year.
If you are looking for a good place to get a bet in on 2008 British Open, take a look at Sportsbook.com and get an account going today. Also, be sure to check back for weekly previews of each PGA Tour event as the season continues to roll on. Below is a complete list of the odds for the British Open thanks to Sportsbook.com
Aaron Baddeley 60 – 1
Adam Scott 25 – 1
Andres Romero 40 – 1
Angel Cabrera 60 – 1
Anthony Kim 20 – 1
Ben Curtis 100 – 1
Boo Weekley 80 – 1
Brandt Snedeker 80 – 1
Camilo Villegas 100 – 1
Carl Pettersson 100 – 1
Charles Howell III 100 – 1
Colin Montgomerie 60 – 1
Darren Clarke 80 – 1
David Toms 100 – 1
Ernie Els 12 – 1
Geoff Ogilvy 25 – 1
Henrik Stenson 40 – 1
Hunter Mahan 45 – 1
Ian Poulter 60 – 1
Jim Furyk 20 – 1
John Daly 100 – 1
Justin Leonard 40 – 1
Justin Rose 20 – 1
KJ Choi 60 – 1
Lee Westwood 15 – 1
Luke Donald 30 – 1
Martin Kaymer 40 – 1
Miguel Angel Jimenez 50 – 1
Mike Weir 60 – 1
Niclas Fasth 80 – 1
Padraig Harrington 15 – 1
Paul Casey 40 – 1
Phil Mickelson 12 – 1
Retief Goosen 20 – 1
Robert Allenby 50 – 1
Robert Karlsson 30 – 1
Rory Sabbatini 80 – 1
Scott Verplank 100 – 1
Sean OHair 100 – 1
Sergio Garcia 8 – 1
Stephen Ames 50 – 1
Steve Stricker 50 – 1
Stewart Cink 35 – 1
Stuart Appleby 50 – 1
Tim Clark 60 – 1
Trevor Immelman 40 – 1
Vijay Singh 25 – 1
Zach Johnson 80 – 1
zx Field (Any Other Golfers) 7 – 2
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.
