The 2009 British Open gets underway at Turnberry next week, as the season’s third major once again tests the skills of the finest players in the world against the uncompromising conditions of one of the world’s most challenging links courses.
Out of the Woods and into the fire
The 2009 British Open will have to go some way to overshadow the drama witness at last year’s tournament, where Greg Norman came within a round of making history as the oldest player to win a major. It wasn’t to be for Norman, as Padraig Harrington provided his own dash of high drama by overcoming a wrist injury to claim his second British Open title.
This year sees Tiger Woods back in the British Open mix. The world number one comes into the tournament on the back of an impressive win in the 2009 PGA National, where he snatched a late victory from the jaws of a rapidly improving Hunter Mahan.
Another skilled golfer absent from proceedings in 2008 was Kenny Perry, who made the controversial decision to skip the Open in favour of some backwater PGA Tour events. Perry won’t be missing this year, and fans can look forward to seeing an in-form Perry take on a links course.
Links to the past
While Tiger Woods is once again the short-odds favourite going into a major, last year’s tournament as well as the recent US Open, underscored the fact that anything can, and frequently does, happen in a Major Championship.
There will be several aging statesmen in the 2009 British Open field looking to emulate Greg Norman’s inspiring performance at last year’s tournament. Former champion, Ernie Els, must be desperate to reverse the accelerating decline of his career, while Phil Mickelson will want to do better than the 2nd place he achieved at the US Open.
Links courses are perhaps the ideal setting for skill, patience and experience to overshadow the power and ambition of the young guns in the field, and golf fans around the world are most likely placing bets on some of the senior players in the field, most of whom are priced well over 50/1.
2009 British Open Betting
With Tiger Woods pricing around the 2/1 mark at most bookmakers, there’s not great value to be had on a Woods win. Realistically, Woods’ statistical odds of winning the tournament are probably around 10/1, and there are no second chances in the way of each-way bets on odds this low.
Golf punters may instead want to consider spreading some each way bets amongst the class contenders priced over the 10/1 mark. The likes of Padraig Harrington (20/1), Angel Cabrera (66/1), Luke Donald (50/1) and Kenny Perry (50/1) all spring to mind as golfers who have what it takes to place at the British Open.
With Paddy Power paying out 7 places on the tournament, one or more successful each way bets on the higher-priced golfers in the field could yield some excellent returns for wily golf fans.
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