Open fire with Westwood, Rose and Garcia

There have been several shock major tournament winners in recent years but the history of the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club suggests that punters should not look too far down the title betting market.

The Lancashire links has hosted 10 Open Championships and the winners of the first eight tournaments on it - Bobby Jones (1926), Bobby Locke (1952), Peter Thomson (1958), Bob Charles (1963), Tony Jacklin (1969), Gary Player (1974) and Seve Ballesteros (1979 and 1988) - are in the World Golf Hall of Fame. The odd men out are Tom Lehman (1996) and David Duval (2001), both former world number ones.

History says that only superstars win Open Championships at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club and, while there is a first time for everything, the most sensible course of action is focus on the favourites and famous names.

They do not come any bigger than Tiger Woods, who is around 9-1 to win the Open Championship for the fourth time. He is not a punting proposition at those odds on this course. Not placed inside the top 20 on either of his previous Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club appearances, the par-70 track does not suit Woods as well as, say, St Andrews does. And Woods is without a major win since the 2008 US Open.

Lee Westwood, however, is harder to overlook at a general 14-1. One of the world`s best ball strikers, Westwood may not have won a major title but he has done everything but that. Six top threes and two more top 10s in his last 11 major tournaments demonstrate that the Englishman is the finest active golfer yet to win one of the big four. He should be the favourite ahead of Woods and Luke Donald (around 18-1), the latter of whom has a poor Open Championship record for someone with his ranking.

Westwood warrants support. Padraig Harrington has the game to win what would his third Open Championship but odds of around 18-1 are short given that the Irishman has not won a tournament of any kind since 2010, while Rory McIlroy`s game does not appear ideally suited to the demands of links golf.

At odds of around 33-1, Justin Rose is a second golfer for the shortlist. While Rose has never bettered his tie for fourth on his Open Championship debut in 1998, he is in truly fantastic form and does have a links-friendly game.

Rose has registered eight top-10 finishes, including a victory, on his travels this year and has been there or thereabouts in pretty much every event he has played.

Expect a strong showing from Sergio Garcia, a genuine Open Championship gun who is trading at around 33-1 as well. The Spaniard has six top 10s in the third major of the year and arrives in England with some really good recent numbers. It has been a long time since Garcia flopped and links golf has brought out the very best in him time and time again.

Any preview of an Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club without mention of Ernie Els would not be a preview worthy of the name. The Big Easy has the finest course form - he was equal second in 1996 and equal third in 2001 - and he finished this year`s US Open in ninth place.

Els is around 40-1 to win in England`s north west. Westwood, Rose and Garcia are preferred but not by all that much.

Go To bet365

#Ad

17/07/2012     © Frixo 2024