All eyes this week will be on Lancashire in England for the 141st Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club.
The Open Championship is the oldest of the four Major Championships and dates back to 1860. It is the third Major to take place each year and is scheduled for the weekend of the third friday in July.
There is a field of 156 players who will be fighting it out to hold aloft the Claret Jug this week and the 900,000 pound cheque for the winner. If scores are tied at the end of regulation there will be a four hole playoff.
Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club is one of nine links courses used on rotation each year. The Open was last played here in 2001 when David Duval from America was the winner. Prior to that it was 1996 when fellow American Tom Lehman held the Claret Jug.
$250 THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP FREE BET
The course is a Par 70, 7118 yard and has 206 bunkers which are considered brutal. They will test even the best bunker players. There are also three Par 3’s on the front nine.
The rough is thick and will cause issues for those that find themselves venturing into it. The fairways are also narrow and the greens are on the small size. And do not forget the bunkers!
So what do we need to look for this week? Here are a few points to consider.
* Scrambling, scrambling and more scrambling. Like all Open Championships being a good scrambler will be a huge advantage.
*Take your medicine. If you get in the rough or find a huge bunker, don’t try to be a hero. Take your medicine and move on.
*Patience. You need to be able to plot your way around the course and know when to take it easy and when to go for it. Hot heads need not apply!
*Links experience. The ability to adjust to the changing elements such as wind and rain will be a huge advantage.
*Accuracy. Avoid the bunkers at all costs. Keep the ball in play and stay out of the rough.
Lets have a look at who the bookies like this week.
Tiger Woods $10.00- Looking for 15th Major. Won Open in 2000, 2005 and 2006. Worthy favourite.
Lee Westwood $17.00- World No.3 playing some great golf this season. Won Nordea Masters last month. Time to get the monkey off his back.
Luke Donald $19.00- World No.1. His game should be suited for this course. Won the BMW PGA Championship in May. Is this his big chance?
Padraig Harrington $19.00- Won the Open in 2007 and 2008. 4th in US Open last month. In great form at present. Open win number three?
Rory McIlroy $19.00- 2011 US Open Champ. Heir apparent to the golfing throne. Will have the crowd on his side this week.
$250 THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP FREE BET
Now it is time to look at our selections for the 141st Open Championship!
JUSTIN ROSE $29.00 (www.sportsbet.com.au)
This season has seen Justin playing some of his best golf. On the PGA tour he has had twelve starts and made all twelve cuts. He has had eight Top 25’s and five Top 10’s including a win at the WGC Cadillac Championship in March.
Other highlights have been T5th Honda Classic, T15th Arnold Palmer Invitational and T10th Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
In the two Majors so far this season he was T8th Masters Tournament and T21st U.S Open. He has been so consistent this year.
His PGA tour stats see him 34th driving accuracy, 4th GIR’s, 6th scoring ave, 5th all round ranking, 2nd GIR from other than fairway, 4th scrambling from the rough, 11th sand saves, 15th ball striking, 11th scrambling and 5th Par 4 performance.
If he can achieve those stats this week he will be holding that Claret Jug on Sunday afternoon.
Justin has also had three starts on the European tour being 9th Volvo World Match Play Championships, 2nd BMW PGA Championship and 9th Open de France.
He played here in the 2001 Open and was a credible T30th. This year his game is at a totally different level and I expect to see him up there contending over the weeekend.
He is the World number nine and Race to Dubai leader for a reason!
$250 THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP FREE BET
LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN $46.00 (www.sportsbet.com.au)
The 29 year old South African fits all the points this week. He is such a cool calm customer who has a lot of patience and knows how to perform on the big stage. He always seems to be smiling even when he gets into a spot of bother.
Those attributes should see him go a long way this week. He is also a pretty good golfer to boot!
He won the Open Championship in 2010 at St Andrews by a whopping seven shots from Lee Westwood with Rory McIlroy a shot further back with Henrik Stenson and Paul Casey.
In 2011 he showed his liking to links golf with a 5th in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
This season on the PGA tour he has had twelve starts and made eight cuts. Highlights have been 3rd Shell Houston Open and 2nd Masters Tournamaent where he was in a play off with Bubba Watson.
Over on the European tour he was 1st African Open for the second year running, 7th Volvo Golf Championships and 1st Malaysian Open. Last week he tuned up nicely with a 24th Scottish Open.
His stats also look great for a shot at the title this week. 1st scoring ave, 1st GIR’s, 3rd putts per GIR, 14th sand saves and 60th driving accuracy.
The man they call Shrek has the game to see him play well here and it would not suprise to see him claiming his second career Major this week.
$250 THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP FREE BET
GEORGE COETZEE $126.00 (www.sportsbet.com.au)
George will turn 26 on Wednesday. What better way to celebrate than drinking Champagne from the Claret Jug!
I have been keeping a close eye on this guy for a while now.
Last season he had 30 starts and turned fifteen of those into Top 25 finishes and eight into Top 10’s.
He also showed his liking of links golf with 15th in the Open Championship, 2nd at the Johnnie Walker Championship of Gleneagles and 3rd in the Scottish Open. That is some impressive links play.
This season he has had 16 starts on the European tour and managed eight Top 25’s and four Top 10’s. Those included 6th Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, 5th Omega Dubai Desert Classic, 4th Volvo China Open and 7thBallantines Championship.
Stats wise he is ranked 22nd stroke ave, 15th putts per GIR, 32nd sand saves and 15th scrambling.
With those stats and his obvious liking of links courses he should really enjoy himself this week and could be a great bet for each way and Top 10 punters.
Good luck and good punting!
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