PGA Betting – 2012 British Open Tournament Predictions
The third major of the year goes down this weekend and for those of us in North America, get your breakfast ready and watch the contenders struggle their way around what promises to be a damp and difficult Royal Lytham.
2012 British Open
Location: Lytham St Annes, England, United Kingdom
Course: Royal Lytham
Date: Jul 19-22, 2012
Total Purse: US $ 8,000,000
Winner’s Share: US $ 1,451,830 (18% of total purse)
Defending Champion: Darren Clarke ($1,451,830)
The rough is reportedly nasty making the accurate rather than the bombers the ones to watch this week – the sexy ball-striking stat may not be as heavily looked upon this week as in other majors. Besides the rough, the weather will likely play a huge role, the bunkers will pose a problems and the narrow fairways and small greens will be a test – any why not?
This is a major!
Let’s take a look at some of the names to keep an eye on this weekend.
The Favorites:
Tiger Woods 4/1
Any Major means that Tiger has to be in the hunt, especially since he has won three times on TOUR already this year. He’s fifth on the PGA TOUR in total driving, he ranks 11th in greens hit, 22nd in Strokes Gained-Putting and first in adjusted scoring. His accuracy has returned and he won’t have to bring out his driver at all – intriguing to say the least. But with a stellar field and some wildly inconsistent play, it is hard to back Tiger this week.
Rory McIlroy 10/1
It is safe to say that Rory is not in top form at the moment – two top-10s in his last six starts worldwide. He will need to be on top of his game to win here. I just can’t see Rory suddenly putting it all together this week against this Top field.
Luke Donald 15/1
The World #1 has never fared well at this event for some reason – two top-10s in 11 starts in the British Open that occurred in 2009 and 2010 are all that he has mustered. But with improvements in his all around game, he could reasonably contend in an event that requires some serious touch!
Lee Westwood 15/1
Is there any golfer in the world that is due like Westwood? I didn’t think so – six top threes and two more top 10s in his last 11 starts in majors. All he does is contend on the biggest stages minus last year’s British in which he unbelievably missed the cut. He is a tad injured at the moment but expect his name to be prevalent as per usual.
The Contenders:
Padraig Harrington 20/1
Has won the British twice in the past and is playing arguably his best golf in a very long time at the moment – a T16 at the Scottish Open was his fifth consecutive top 20. He also has top 10s in both majors so far this year. Harrington is back and is dangerous once again!
Justin Rose 30/1
Rose’s game is well suited for this course making him a popular choice to win it all this week. But he hasn’t done well traditionally at this event – one top-10 in 10 starts was a T4 as an amateur in 1998. He has eight top 10s this year and one win and he has the accuracy, the short game and the putter to make some noise this week.
Graeme McDowell 30/1
McDowell hasn’t tasted victory since 2010? Amazing! He has been close however – his accuracy, his genius out of the sand and his steadily improved putting should keep him in contention this week. McDowell deserves a win and my bet is that he will improve his US Open finish (solo second) by one this week!
Dustin Johnson 40/1
Will be looking for his first Major… again. He finished second in the British last year and was 14th in 2010 so we know that he is not intimidated by the conditions. He likes the muck and will almost certainly carve up the shortish Par 5s this week. Johnson is maybe the best value on the board.
Hunter Mahan 40/1
Unfortunately, Mahan’s weaknesses could be his downfall this week – he ranks 142nd in birdies or better on par-5s and 120th in sand saves.
Jason Dufner 40/1
Welcome back Mr. Dufner –where have you been? He has two wins, a solo second and a T4 (at the U.S. Open) in his last five starts but hasn’t fared well here – two starts and two missed cuts. Duf is 16th on the PGA TOUR in fairways hit and sixth in greens in regulation and he is very good out of the sand. I love Dufner but another improbable win may be asking too much!
Francesco Molinari 40/1
Played very well last week at the Scottish but came up short settling for his second straight runner-up finish and sixth top 10 in his last eight starts worldwide. He is accurate, he is tenacious and he is pissed after finishing second two straight weeks. Watch out for this Italian – he could be scary. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Sleepers:
Steve Stricker 66/1
I have to go back to accuracy and Stricker is just that – great off the tee and superb on the greens. Stricker played well last week and may be out to avenge a defeat that was snatched from the mouth of victory.
Zach Johnson 80/1
Why not? At 80/1 his magic putter has to give him some sort of edge doesn’t it?
The Pick:
My pick this week is Graeme McDowell at 30/1. He has shown good form in majors and on a British Open course that resembles the US Open course, I love him to emerge victorious. I also love Molinari at 40é1 but I am taking McDowell.
My sleeper is Steve Stricker at 66/1. Accurracy, accuracy, accuracy!
2012 British Open Betting Lines & Future Odds
CLICK TO BET
Tiger Woods | 8/1 |
Lee Westwood | 14/1 |
Luke Donald | 14/1 |
Rory McIlroy | 16/1 |
Padraig Harrington | 18/1 |
Francesco Molinari | 30/1 |
Graeme McDowell | 30/1 |
Justin Rose | 30/1 |
Martin Kaymer | 33/1 |
Phil Mickelson | 33/1 |
Sergio Garcia | 33/1 |
Louis Oosthuizen | 35/1 |
Adam Scott | 40/1 |
Dustin Johnson | 40/1 |
Ernie Els | 40/1 |
Ian Poulter | 40/1 |
Rickie Fowler | 40/1 |
Jason Dufner | 40/1 |
Bubba Watson | 40/1 |
Hunter Mahan | 40/1 |
Jim Furyk | 40/1 |
Matt Kuchar | 40/1 |
Peter Hanson | 50/1 |
Charl Schwartzel | 50/1 |
Paul Lawrie | 50/1 |
Fredrik Jacobson | 50/1 |
Geoff Ogilvy | 50/1 |
George Coetzee | 50/1 |
Matteo Manassero (Suspended) | 50/1 |
Nick Watney | 50/1 |
Nicolas Colsaerts | 50/1 |
Ross Fisher | 50/1 |
Steve Stricker | 66/1 |
Thomas Bjorn | 66/1 |
Zach Johnson | 50/1 |
Ben Curtis | 66/1 |
Bo Van Pelt | 66/1 |
Branden Grace | 66/1 |
Keegan Bradley | 66/1 |
K.J. Choi | 66/1 |
Martin Laird | 66/1 |
Ratief Goosen | 80/1 |
Aaron Baddeley | 80/1 |
Alexander Noren | 80/1 |
Alvaro Quiros | 80/1 |
Andres Romero | 80/1 |
Brandt Snedeker | 80/1 |
Jamie Donaldson | 100/1 |
Rafael Cabrera -Bello | 100/1 |
Raphael Jacquelin | 100/1 |
Robert Karlsson | 100/1 |
Simon Dyson | 100/1 |
Anders Hansen | 100/1 |
Angel Cabrera | 100/1 |
Bill Haas | 100/1 |
Carl Pettersson | 125/1 |
Gary Woodland | 125/1 |
John Senden | 100/1 |
Marcel Siem | 125/1 |
Michael Hoey | 125/1 |
Miguel Angel Jimenez | 125/1 |
Richard Sterne | 125/1 |
Robert Rock | 125/1 |
Stewart Cink | 125/1 |
Thongchai Jaidee | 125/1 |
Thorbjorn Olesen | 125/1 |
Trevor Immelman | 125/1 |
Y-E Yang | 125/1 |
Charles Howell III | 125/1 |
Darren Clarke | 125/1 |
Davis Love III | 150/1 |
Greg Owen | 150/1 |
Harris English | 150/1 |
John Daly | 150/1 |
Jonathan Byrd | 150/1 |
Paul Casey | 150/1 |
Robert Allenby | 150/1 |
Ryo Ishikawa | 150/1 |
Sang-Moon Bae | 150/1 |
Thomas Aiken | 150/1 |
Tim Clark | 150/1 |
Vijay Singh | 150/1 |
Jeev M Singh | 125/1 |
Chad Campbell | 125/1 |
Gonzalo Fernandez | 200/1 |
Gregory Havret | 200/1 |
Jbe’ Kruger | 200/1 |
John Huh | 200/1 |
Johnson Wagner | 200/1 |
Kevin Na | 100/1 |
Kyle Stanley | 200/1 |
Kyung-Tae Kim | 200/1 |
Lucas Glover | 200/1 |
Marc Leishman | 200/1 |
Mark Wilson | 200/1 |
Pablo Larrazabal | 200/1 |
Richie Ramsay | 200/1 |
Stephen Ames | 200/1 |
Troy Matteson | 100/1 |
Alejandro Canizares | 250/1 |
Bob Estes | 250/1 |
Greg Chalmers | 250/1 |
James Morrison | 250/1 |
Joost Luiten | 250/1 |
Justin Leonard | 250/1 |
Marcus Fraser | 250/1 |
Richard Finch | 250/1 |
Alan Dunbar | 300/1 |
Garth Mulroy | 300/1 |
James Driscoll | 300/1 |
Lee Slattery | 300/1 |
Tom Lehman | 300/1 |
Tom Watson | 200/1 |
Toru Taniguchi | 300/1 |
Daniel Chopra | 400/1 |
Matthew Baldwin | 400/1 |
Simon Khan | 400/1 |
Andrew Georgiou | 500/1 |
Brad Kennedy | 500/1 |
Brendan Jones | 500/1 |
Chez Reavie | 500/1 |
David Duval | 500/1 |
Hiroyuki Fujita | 500/1 |
Justin Hicks | 500/1 |
Juvic Pagunsan | 500/1 |
Koumei Oda | 500/1 |
Mark Calcavecchia | 500/1 |
Morten Orum Madsen | 500/1 |
Paul Broadhurst | 500/1 |
Prayad Marksaeng | 500/1 |
Rafa Echenique | 500/1 |
Sam Walker | 500/1 |
Steven O’Hara | 500/1 |
Steven Tiley | 500/1 |
Ted Potter | 300/1 |
Todd Hamilton | 500/1 |
Toshinori Muto | 500/1 |
Troy Kelly | 500/1 |
Warren Bennett | 500/1 |
Yoshinori Fujinoto | 500/1 |
Barry Lane | 750/1 |
Steven Alker | 750/1 |
Aaron Townsend | 1000/1 |
Adilson Da Silva | 1000/1 |
Anirban Lahiri | 1000/1 |
Ashley Hall | 1000/1 |
Dale Whitnell | 1000/1 |
Elliot Saltman | 1000/1 |
Grant Veenstra | 1000/1 |
Ian Keenan | 1000/1 |
Kodai Ichihara | 1000/1 |
Mardan Mamat | 1000/1 |
Nicholas Cullen | 1000/1 |
Russ Cochran | 1000/1 |
Sandy Lyle | 1000/1 |
Scott Pinckney | 1000/1 |
Tadahiro Takayama | 1000/1 |
Manuel Trappel | 1000/1 |
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