The year’s 4th and final Major Championship takes place at the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, also known as Hoylake, this week and we take a look at the tournament from a betting angle.
HOYLAKE
Hoylake a par 71 course will be hosting the Open Championship for the 13th time. Their last staging was 9 years ago when Rory Mcilroy claimed the victory. The course will look quite different from the one which Rory Mcilroy won on and there are now more bunkers, some new tees and even a new hole. Hoylake is a links course and punters are advised to watch the wind forecasts as this often has a big impact on scores.
THE FAVOURITES
Cameron Smith is the defending Champion having won at the old course, St Andrews last year with a winning score of -20. He returns to defend his Title and is a 16/1 shot with 3 players in the betting above him namely, Rory Mcilroy, who won last week at the Scottish Open, at 15/2, Scottie Scheffler, who has only finished outside the Top 10 twice in his last 10 Majors, 8/1 and Jon Rahm, The Masters Champion at 14/1 and you can get 20/1 and better the balance.
World Sports Betting are paying 6 places for each way bets.
BETTING – Click here to bet
Rory Mcilroy 15/2
Scottie Scheffler 8/1
Jon Rahm 14/1
Cameron Smith 16/1
Brooks Koepka 20/1
Viktor Hovland 22/1
25/1 and better the balance, all prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
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SELECTIONS
Scottie Scheffler each way at 8/1
Scheffler is in incredible form although he is struggling to get over the line for victory and this can largely be blamed on a relatively cold putter. His last 7 starts has seen him finish in the Top 5 on each occasion. He was 3rd last week behind Rory Mcilroy in the Scottish Open and as mentioned above his Major record is excellent and he has had 4 Top 3 finishes including a victory at the 2022 Masters in his last 6 starts.
Scheffler is a player who adapted very quickly to links golf and I actually prefer his putting on a links course rather than the typical layout you would get on a PGA Tour.
Cameron Smith each way at 16/1
Smith is playing on the LIV Tour and is coming off a recent victory showing his game is in good nick. He finished 4th in the US Open, 9th in the PGA, was a bit disappointing with a 34th place finish in the Masters. Smith showed his ability to handle links conditions at St Andrews last year and he feels his game is in even better shape now.
Corey Conners each way at 100/1
Given I have backed 2 players so close to the top of the betting boards I need to look a bit further down for my final two selections.
Conners has been a bit disappointing in the Majors of late missing 2 or 3 cuts this year although he did finish 12th in The PGA. He finished just inside the top 20 last week and was also Top 10 in his penultimate start so he is not in bad form. He has shown a liking for links golf and The Open with a Top 30 last year and a Top 15 in 2021.
Brian Harman each way at 125/1
Harman has turned in to a really consistent golfer and he has good form in the Open Championship with a 6th place finish last year and a Top 20 the year before that.
It took him a while to adapt to links golf and he had previously missed 4 cuts. His recent form has been good with a Top 5, a Top 10 and a Top 15 in his last 3 starts. His performance in the Majors this year has been a bit disappointing, but I think he is suited to this track and at the price we can’t do much damage.
Top South African
There are a number of South Africans teeing up this week, Louis Oosthuizen is the favourite in the Top South African Market at 5/2 with Branden Grace at 4/1, Bezuidenhout 11/2 and Lawrence at 13/2. Ernie Els who has been going well on the US Senior Tour is priced at 10/1.
None of the South Africans are really firing at the moment and I am going to have a speculative play on the two time Open Champion, Ernie Els rolling back the years.
Suggested Bet:
Top South African, Ernie Els at 10/1
