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View Outright Winner Best Odds
Unsurprisingly ahead of the start of the 131st Open Championship all eyes are on Tiger Woods. The prodigious American has the chance to follow on from his success in the Masters and the US Open and go one step further to a unique Grand Slam of golf Majors. Only two players before have come to the British Open with a chance of achieving this, Jack Nicklaus in 1972 and Arnold Palmer in 1960 – neither were successful.
This year’s British Open takes place at Muirfield which in the past has produced rather predictable winners; Tom Watson, Lee Trevino and Jack Nicholas- all of whom it could be argued were the outstanding players of their day. As a links course with strong winds and weather systems from the Firth of Forth players with good control and the ability to keep the ball low when required tend to do well.
It is hard to know where to begin with Tiger Woods. The 2000 Open Champion is currently 2/1 favourite to win the third part of the four-piece jigsaw towards claiming a unique Grand Slam. Having won seven of the last eleven Major Championships his qualities are well documented. His obstacles this year appear to be 1) a lack of experience at Muirfield where he as never played before and 2) Tiger’s ability to recovery from the flu like symptoms that have prevented him playing a competitive match since the US Open in June. Although he is a supreme athlete the intense physical demands of a four-day competition could be his undoing.
Phil Mickelson is ranked second in the world and is the current second favourite to win at 18/1. Mickelson has been in good form this year finishing third in the Masters and runner up in the US Open although he has still yet to win a Major. Lefty has a poor record in the British Open, his highest ever finish was 11th in 2000 and last year was down in 34th. A major reason for his poor showing in the past has been his tendency to hit the ball high with plenty of spin. This style has not been suited to the windy links course in previous Open Championships. Before we totally discount Mickelson’s chances, it should be noted that the talented left-hander has been working on lowering the trajectory of his shots and reducing the amount of spin. This new approach has already resulted in finishing among the leaders in the last three Majors.
Ernie Els is always tempting in the Majors. The US Open Champion in 1994 and 1997 is 20/1 to claim his first British Open title. The burly South African has won two European and one US Tour titles this year. In the last nine majors he has finished outside of the top six on just two occasions. Although he was disappointing in the Scottish Open last week, Els has a good record in the Open finishing as runner up twice, and the last time it was played at Muirfield did well and finished sixth.
Sergio Garcia could be an interesting bet at 22/1. He knows the course well having won the British Amateur Open on it in 1998. The young Spaniard has had a good year finishing 8th at the Masters and 4th at the US Open. He has a reasonable record in the British Open coming 9th last year and possess the ingenuity and adventurous nature that can be important on a links course.
Retief Goosen, last year’s US Open winner has been in similar good form this year and is the curent European Order of Merit leader. At 33/1 the South African looks a good value bet. Goosen won the Scottish Open in 2001 and this year was the runner up to Tiger Woods in the Masters and runner up in the European Open.
Padraig Harrington has also been in good form this year, despite not having won a title. Finishing 5th in the Masters and 8th at the US Open is the type of form that cannot be dismissed. However he appears to lack the cutting edge as a winner and has finished runner up fifteen times on the European Tour. The Irishman also has a poor recent record in the Open not finishing higher than 20th in the last four years although he did manage 5th in 1997. At 33/1 it may be better to look elsewhere.
The defending champion David Duval faces an uphill battle to retain his British Open title (40/1). No player has done so since Tom Watson in 1983 and Duval does not seem to have the required form to update history this year. The former world number one has had a torrid time of late. Where Duval was once one of the most consistent performers he is now struggling with form and confidence. He missed the cut in the both the Masters and the US Open and four out of the last five competitions.
Davis Love III is being strangely ignored by many pundits as a possible contender for this year’s title. Although he missed the cut the last time it was played at Muirfield, the 1996 US Open Champion has a great deal of experience in the British Open and his last five finishes have been 21st, 11th, 7th, 7th and 10th. Love was the runner up in his last two tournaments and at 33/1 is certainly far more interesting than David Duval.
Vijay Singh at 40/1 is sure to have a few supporters. The 2000 Masters and 1998 US PGA Champion has been in reasonable form this year. The big Fijian was seventh in the Masters and would have been a serious contender were it not for a nightmare nine on the Par 5 fifteen. Although he has never made a massive impact on this tournament his performances have been respectable finishing 13th and 11th in the last two years. Singh played on the European Tour so will be well equipped to deal with an adverse weather condition. He is also one of the few players that does not seem intimidated when paired up against Woods.
Colin Montgomerie the seven time European Order of Merit number one has still not managed to claim that elusive Major. The Big Scot is 50/1 to win his first competition of the year and has been playing reasonably well this year coming runner up in the Volvo PGA Championship. However in the British Open it all seems to go to pot for ‘Monty,’ in the last ten years he has missed the cut on five occasions and has not finished higher than 8th. It is as though the burden of expectation is all too much for him. Once again he is not worth backing.
Darren Clarke is a better bet at 50/1. He has a good record in the Open, finishing third last year, 7th in 2000 and runner up in 1997. He also has the ability to keep the ball low which is essential on links courses. Having won the Compass English Open in June he looks to be back in form after an eleven month spell without a win.
Nick Faldo is being mentioned by some as a possible surprise package, based largely on his having won the title at Muirfield twice before and a decent showing at the US Open last month where he finished 5th. However in his following tournament, the Scottish Open last week, he failed to make the cut. At 66/1 Faldo is just too inconsistent without the potential brilliance of before to justify a wager.
Justin Rose (66/1) may always be synonymous with the British Open for his electric performance in 1998 where he finished fourth as an amateur. Although he failed to set the golf world alight immediately after this, his form has improved and Rose has won four titles this year and finished fifth in the Scottish Open suggesting he may be capable of repeating that performance from 1998.
Jasper Parnevik at 7/1 is the most intriguing of the outside bets. The charismatic Swede is something of an Open specialist despite never having won the famous claret jug. In 1994 he led by two on the final hole only to give the title away to Nick Price and in 1997 finished runner up again to Justin Leonard. Although his recent form has been poor, Parnevik seems to raise himself for the Open and in the last five tournaments has finished only once outside of the top ten.
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| Betting Verdict |
4pts Phil Mickelson to win at 18/1 (SportingBet)
2pts Davis Love each way at 33/1 (Bet365)
1pt Jesper Parnevik each way at 66/1 (Bet365)
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In the last seven British Opens six of the winners have been American, only Paul Lawrie in 1999 bucked this trend. It is hard to bet against Woods such is his dominance of the sport, but having struggled with flu symptoms he is not quite so tempting at the price of 2/1.
Assuming the Americans continue to show well at the Open, Davis Love at 33/1 looks a decent each way bet - he is in good form this year with a decent pedigree in the Open. He has the required experience to cope with any difficult conditions and as a former major winner should be able to cope with the pressure. Another US player well worth some consideration is Phil Mickelson (18/1). Recent improvements to his game and impressive finishes in the last 3 Majors make a first Major title a distinct possibility.
Out of the non-US players, Jesper Parnevik looks worth a small investment at 66/1. The Swede loves the competition and saves his best golf for it each year. He will also have the support of the crowd and possesses the imagination of play to do something different that can set him apart from the chasing pack. |
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