by Jeff Skinner
Got a few bucks, or pounds, you want to lay down on the Open Championship? There are plenty of long shots that could pay off in a big way but once again the favorite is Tiger Woods. Woods is looking for his fourth Open Championship and Ladbrokes has him as the favorite at 8-1.
Woods should be the favorite as he is playing the best golf of anyone right now. But his Achilles heel has been consistency. He’ll need to steer clear of the bunkers and card four solid rounds over Royal Lytham & St. Annes if he is to get his hands on his fourth Claret Jug.
Going off at 16-1 is Lee Westwood and regardless of what the world rankings say, Westwood has been the best player without a major for the longest period. Not to put any more pressure on Westwood but the last time an Englishman won an Open in England was Tony Jacklin in 1969. It was 43 years ago that Jacklin became a hero and Westwood would not only get that huge monkey off his back he would become the hottest thing in England since Pippa Middleton.
Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Paddy Harrington are all at 20-1 and Paddy’s game has been coming in to form lately. Don’t be surprised if Paddy is around on Sunday. Rory’s game hasn’t been too sharp of late but Donald has had some success at The Open with a T4 in 2010 and a T5 in 2009 before a missed cut last year.
A crowd of good golfers are at 33-1: Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell, Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson. Any of these guys would be a great champion but a win by Sergio would be earth shattering. And if Phil could finally win an Open he’d only need that white whale of a U.S. Open to complete the career Grand Slam.
Looking for some longer odds to pad your kid’s college fund? How about 250-1? And you get a few golfers with some major chops: Tom Watson, Tom Lehman and John Daly. How insulting is it that they have Watson and Daly at the same odds.
That’s not long enough? How about 500-1 for a former Royal Lytham and St. Annes Open Champion? 2001 champion David Duval has those long odds. In the words of Rodney Dangerfield…”no respect I tell ya, no respect.”
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