Thursday’s British Open from England has a wide-open betting
field, with sports books offering a full menu of odds and golf betting
propositions.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is listed as a 6/1 favorite in the
betting odds to capture the major, while Lee Westwood and Luke Donald represent
the next two choices at 9/1 and 10/1, respectively.
McIlroy has made the top 10 in 3-of-7 events, with his sole win
coming from last month’s U.S. Open in Bethesda, Maryland. The
22-year-old dominated the first two rounds of play, going 11 under par, en
route to finishing the tourney at 16 under.
Westwood tied for third place, ending up 10 shots behind
McIlroy. The England native captured a top-three spot for the first
time this year, while making the cut in 7-of-7 outings.
Donald notably won February’s Accenture Match Play Championship,
while moving on to finish fourth at the Masters. The Northwestern
University alum has yet to win a major, with a fifth-place spot in 2009 being
his highest finish at the British Open.
The Official World Golf Rankings presently have Donald slated No.
1, with Westwood a close second. McIlroy is ranked No. 4, behind
Germany’s Martin Kaymer, who is listed at 20/1 for this week’s battle.
Donald is currently third in this year’s money lead, trailing Nick
Watney (20/1) and K.J. Choi (30/1). Watney has eight top-ten
finishes, while Choi comes into Thursday’s event off a second-place paycheck in
this month’s AT&T National.
Mickelson, Els featured in matchup props
The most popular proposition bets for the Open center
around golfer matchups for the entire four-day affair. Matchup
pairings from sports books allow you to cash on a winning ticket as long as
your chosen golfer finishes ahead of his foe on the leaderboard.
5Dimes has Phil Mickelson as a 110 dog against Steve Stricker,
who is listed at minus 130. Mickelson’s sole victory this year came
in April’s Shell Houston Open, finishing 20 under par. Stricker comes
in hotter, winning two of his last three tourneys.
While taking the plus odds with Mickelson can look like the pick,
Stricker outranks “Lefty” in several key categories. Stricker has
hit the fairway in 405-of-620 drives (65.3 percent), while Mickelson has
avoided the rough only 357-of-671 times (53.2 percent). Putting has
treated Stricker well this year also, with the Wisconsin native gaining a
sizable average of .923 strokes on the “dance floor” compared to Mickelson
inching .304 strokes closer on the scorecards.
TheGreek lists Ernie Els as a plus 120 choice against Paul
Casey, who is a 140 favorite. Els has missed the cut in three of his
last four tourneys, finishing over par in his most recent five
outings. Casey has failed to make the cut three straight times out,
sliding from three under-par performances to start the year.
Els won the British Open in 2002, while Casey tied for third place
in last year’s contest. Casey is presently ranked at No. 14 in the
OWGR compared to Els’ No. 24 position.
Both challengers have reached greens in regulation at a high mark
this year, with each ranked in the world’s top 10 at 70 percent. Els’
putting has been costly following that, with the former champ losing 1.1
strokes on average.