British Open

[kompressaur]

British Open Preview: Bill Elliott on a Tigerless major

It took a while for Royal Birkdale and The Open Championship to come together but once they did it was instantly clear that the pair were made for each other.
When the grand, old week opens for business at this Southport links in less than three weeks it will be the ninth time that The Open has been staged on this formidably challenging stage. Given that the first Open was only staged here in 1954 this is some record and some commendation of a course that many aficionados feel is the best of its type that England can offer..
Certainly this one does. To play Birkdale on a mid-summer's evening, the sun still swinging high above the Irish Sea, the antediluvian dunes majestically framing fairways so narrow they may encourage claustrophobia, is to enjoy links golf at its best. There are many ways to describe Birkdale but heroically romantic is the best this author can offer. Hopefully those of you who have had the pleasure will know exactly what is meant.

The men who have lifted the Claret Jug at this special place will understand. Eight Championships but just seven champions and none of them European. Peter Thomson, of course, is the man who has won twice at Birkdale. The great Australian, occasionally as irascible as he was consistently brilliant, lifted the first of his five Open titles here in 1954 and eleven years later he won his fifth and final Open at the same venue. This, as it turned, was the last of the three day Championships - two rounds being played on the final day, a Friday - and when it was over an emotional Thomson called it his "greatest ever victory".

In 1961 the champ turned out to be Arnold Palmer. The great swashbuckler was not only the outstanding world player at the time, he was the first television golfing hero to millions. His decision to participate in Open Championships - most American stars had stayed away post1945 - raised the bar for everyone and his victory at Birkdale sounded a clarion call throughout the United States that has been answered ever since. His '61 win is remembered for another reason, however. Serenely moving towards victory Palmer buried his drive off the 15th tee (now the 16th) into desperately heavy rough. Against all expectations Palmer bludgeoned the ball out and on to the green 150 yards away, a prodigious feat celebrated by a plaque secured at the spot.

Another American enjoyed success in 1971. Lee Trevino, self-taught and always self-confident, had won the United States Open and then the Canadian Open immediately prior to arriving in Southport. Could he make it three national titles in succession? "It'll take a miracle but I believe in miracles, " he said. In reality it took, not miracles, just his usual brilliant shot-making to clinch the deal

By 1976 when The Open returned, Palmer's star had been eclipsed by Jack Nicklaus's but Nicklaus in turn was being threatened by Johnny Miller. The tall Californian's victory that year - Nicklaus was runner-up - is just one of four memorable things to emerge from this most vivid of Opens. Miller apart, those who attended will recall the heatwave that embraced the region, the fires that threatened and the fire-engines that waited patiently alongside fairways.

They will remember also the emergence of a teenage Severiano Ballesteros who sensationally took over Palmer's swashbuckling role and thrilled everyone with his adventurous romp to third place after leading going into the final round. And there was Maurice Flitcroft. The Barrow crane operator did not play in The Open but he tried, entering pre-qualifying at Formby as a professional despite never having played a proper round in his life and, in the words of one journalist at the time, "ruining a blizzard of triple and quadruple bogeys with a single par" on his way to a record 121 or 49 over par.

These were, of course, more trusting times and entrants are closely vetted now, but Flitcroft's half-baked attempt at qualifying fascinated and amused the watching world even if his hacking around spoiled his playing companions' day and caused the R&A considerable anguish.

By 1983 and the sixth Birkdale Open Tom Watson had taken over the mantle of world's best player. At this point the American had won four Open titles thanks to crisply authoritative iron play, aggressive putting and a steady nerve. Like Thomson before him, he was to win his fifth title in Southport and, like Thomson, it was to be his last and he was to be denied equalling Harry Vardon's record of six Championships

In 1991 Ian Baker-Finch prospered. The tall, elegant Australian was a popular player but his victory this year seemed to drain him when the initial elation was over. Baker-Finch always had looked a likely champion and his then record 64 in the third round confirmed his class but he was never to be the same competitor again. Instead he has turned out to be one of the most accomplished television analysts the game has ever enjoyed. This Open was to be Richard Boxall's nemesis too. The Englishman, in contention at the time, broke his left leg driving off the ninth tee and struggled to reach high form ever after. He, too, now graces the world of televised golf.

And so to 1998 and Mark O'Meara's triumph. By this time the American was 41 years old but despite a successful career on the United States circuit he had never come close to winning a major. This changed sensationally in 1998 when he won the United States Masters and then the Birkdale Open, inspired perhaps by practicing daily with the new, embryo superstar Tiger Woods.

Ironically, of course, O'Meara still has a better chance than Tiger of winning at Birkdale next month...

Betfair | British Open Preview: Bill Elliott on a Tigerless major

[kompressaur]

Ante-post Open Championship Betting: Course form is essential so get your head in the books
Get your bets on The Open now says The Punter, but do your homework first!

Although still a few weeks away it's now time to start seriously looking at the British Open.

Traditionalists will be seething at me calling it the British Open, as opposed to The Open, The Open Championship, or even just The Championship. But it's what the world now refers to it as, and does it really matter?

I say now is the time because I always place my bets on the majors early. The market is up, there's no rule-four and you'll get your money back if your player doesn't start, so why wait?

I appreciate that this tactic has potential downsides; your selections could be disadvantaged by a poor draw or by getting the worst of the weather, or even worse, there's the risk of injury. Whoever heard of an injured golfer winning a major! But for me the better price usually attained is worth the risk and over the years I've found that going in early has been mostly worthwhile.

It may be a major but the criteria for ferreting out the winner are virtually the same as at any other event. The number one issue for me is always course form. That's not always easy at the majors though as, the Masters apart, they're all nomadic events. But certain rules will always apply.

The British Open is always staged at a seaside links course. This year it will be at Royal Birkdale, last used in 1998 when Mark O'Meara beat Brian Watts in a play off, Tiger Woods got blown off course, and the world became aware of a young English amateur called Justin Rose.

Prior to that, it was the venue for Ian Baker-Finch's demolition job in 1991. Although there was a gap of seven years the form was there, Mark O'Meara had finished three shots back in third that year.

So even though it was ten years ago, it's still worth looking at the result in 1998.
It's also worth reading up on any course changes for clues, for example Royal Birkdale has, according to the PGA European Tour - Home Page site, altered all but two holes, focusing on tightening rather than lengthening the course.

I'll also work through the recent results for the Dunhill Links, held every year in October and staged over three links courses, St Andrews, Kingsbarns and last year's Open venue, Carnoustie. It's not much help when assessing the chances of anyone from the States or Far East but there are plenty of examples of European Tour players that fare well in this tournament as well as the Open.

At a run of the mill event I would largely ignore event form if a different course is used but at the Open the courses and conditions are similar and the same skills are required year on year. For example, an ability to play in high winds is often an essential requirement.

So a player's Open record is by far the number one pointer.

Current form is also important but not essential. There are countless examples of players winning after a missed cut and the market often reacts too severely to current form.

Most weeks I'll use the stats, looking at previous placed and winning players at the course and seeing what their strengths are. Does the course suit straight hitters, those with good GIR figures, hot putters, or long hitters? But there's a myriad of statistical information and it can be mind blowing and even misleading. Too much statistical analysis can also result in you forgetting that you're assessing the chances of a human being!

All sorts of factors come into play: births, deaths and marriages and even birthdays have inspired many a player.

Two years ago Tiger Woods won from Chris Di Marco at Hoylake, both had just lost a parent. And how many times do you see a newly crowned champ celebrating with a new baby? The last two Masters champions were both brand new dads. A player revaluating their careers after turning 30 or 40 or even 50 can often trigger an upturn in form.

But where do we find out all this info? Well that's the hard bit, some players have excellent websites. Ernie Els' and David Howell's are both good but most are poor and it's just a case of lots of internet searching and lots of reading.

It may all be fruitless anyway, a look back at recent results show that it really can be an open Open. Mystic Meg would have struggled to root out either Ben Curtis or Todd Hamilton.

So my advice is, enjoy doing your research, get on early, and if you come up with some really big outsiders, don't be put off.

Betfair | Ante-post Open Championship Betting: Course form is essential so get your head in the books

edit: heres an addictive little putting game.
http://www.matchpractice.com/game/

[traeth]

these odds from bet365 for the open which starts on Thursday
bet365 offer 1/4 odds e.w. on first six but I think that paddies and boyle's are offer 1/4 on first seven.

I'll be doing my usual "housewife picks " so I'd appreciate your comments and some recommendations from our golf experts

Cink
Stenson
Leonard
Mahan

in two minds about these
Boo Weekley ...could his big hitting put him in trouble?
Appleby?
not so sure about Harrington...paddies offer best price , any reason?
Can Garcia do it this year after coming so close last year or is is his putting too poor

just the few that are up to 80/1
Sergio Garcia 11.00 Bet
Ernie Els 12.00 Bet
Lee Westwood 17.00 Bet
Padraig Harrington 21.00 Bet
Phil Mickelson 17.00 Bet
Jim Furyk 23.00 Bet
Geoff Ogilvy 26.00 Bet
Justin Rose 26.00 Bet
Adam Scott 26.00 Bet
Vijay Singh 31.00 Bet
Retief Goosen 34.00 Bet
Stewart Cink 34.00 Bet
Robert Karlsson 34.00 Bet
Miguel Angel Jimenez 34.00 Bet
Henrik Stenson 41.00 Bet
Andres Romero 41.00 Bet
Graeme McDowell 41.00 Bet
Robert Allenby 46.00 Bet
Justin Leonard 51.00 Bet
Trevor Immelman 51.00 Bet
Anthony Kim 46.00 Bet
Angel Cabrera 51.00 Bet
Hunter Mahan 51.00 Bet
Ross Fisher 51.00 Bet
Paul Casey 56.00 Bet
Colin Montgomerie 67.00 Bet
Steve Stricker 67.00 Bet
Mike Weir 67.00 Bet
Martin Kaymer 67.00 Bet
Ian Poulter 71.00 Bet
Stuart Appleby 76.00 Bet
Aaron Baddeley 81.00 Bet
Richard Green 81.00 Bet
Soren Hansen 81.00 Bet
Stephen Ames 81.00 Bet
Boo Weekley 81.00 Bet

[Snodser]

This might answer you're question traeth.
There was a whisper this morning but now its confirmed.








Tuesday July 15 2008
Injured Padraig Harrington has admitted that if it was any event other than his Open title defence he would have already quit and gone home.
The Dubliner is struggling with a strained right wrist and played only nine holes of practice at Royal Birkdale today before being advised to rest it further.
During those nine holes he did not attempt one shot out of the rough - and that is the major concern at this stage. Not whether he will play, but what damage he might do.
``I know I will not get through 72 holes this week without going in the rough and the biggest worry is if I do something that will flare it up and give me a problem.
``That will certainly be an issue."
Having said that, Harrington was happy with how the nine holes went, even though his Australian sports chiropractor Dale Richardson then inspected the wrist and told him to take the rest of the day off.
``If it wasn't the Open I would have pulled out. I would have come for treatment and then decided I could not risk it.
``But because it's Open week I will definitely make the effort."

[traeth]

thanks for that info snodser

[FC Basher]

Treath,Boo Weekley is 62nd for driver accuracy and 22nd for greens in regulation and sand saves he is 44 - 88 with 50%,if you want to make a comparison with Garcia - Driving accuracy 112th greens in regulation 13th and Sand Saves 42 - 77.putting well its going to be tough for all.He is already a winner this season with 5 top tens and rank 11th in the fedex points standings.He is a fantastic player,but I doubt he will win as hes short game doesnt rank with the leaders in the betting. But were I do like him is in the Top American market were he is 23.00 1/4 the odds place 1,2,3,4 so your getting 5.1/2 for the place.

For all the Mickleson backers out there,he has one shocking stat against him this season T-75 with +19 on par 3's.Hes stroke average is 3.09

[ONEDUNME]

I've only ever been to one live golf event in my life. It happened to be at Birkdale in 91 when Baker Finch won it. As I recall, he won fuck all after that ever again

As I made some dosh from backing the last crop of TDP golfers in the Masters and laying them off again after the first or second round, I'll be following some of you golf dudes again on this one.

I usually back Singh and Furyk so I'll stick with them and maybe Mickelson too. And I'm looking for someone in the 40/1 + range.

I'll be laying Rose again and pocketing some more money from the patriots who continue to ignore the fact that he's just not good enough.

[FC Basher]

3 - Ball Selections
Rich Beem @ 2.15 He is starting to find some form and shoot low scores has opened with 70 and 71 in the last opens,hes to opponents arent going to make the cut.Edberg is back on the euro tour after losing his card and Sherreard is a qualifier.

A.Baddeley @ 2.5 hes ranked 40 spots ahead on the Fedex rankings ahead of Rose,he has a 2nd and 2 top 10s so far this season,ok Rose is an Open player but hes struggling at the mo,if it wasnt for hes second in the Memorial hes had a stinker and ill take Baddleley in a straight shoot out, forget Watson who makes up this 3-ball

Boo Weekley @ 2.75 hes up against Montgomerie and Weir,on form Weekleys the man but hes up against to good open players but Montys blowing alot of cold at the moment and is more likely to have a bad opening round then a good,Weir is the spanner in the works but hes not shot lower then 70 in any event this season and his last six opening rounds are 77-71-71-71-73-72

[traeth]

I've just read a big article about Garcia in Sunday's Observer, and I'm tempted , I usually dismiss comments like this , but when it confirms my thoughts I'm swayed

Spain at Euro 2008, Spain at the All-England Club, maybe Spain in the Tour de France - so why not Spain in Southport?

full article here
Five minutes that cost the Open | Sport | The Observer

No bets placed yet so after a day of consideration perhaps that price on Garcia will be too low for me

[FC Basher]

ODM try Robert Allenby at thoose odds your looking for.
Dont throw your money away on Singh,hes a good player,but at the moment I wouldnt touch him.

[FC Basher]

Treath you could back him in the Top European market at half the outright odds

[ONEDUNME]

Originally Posted by FC Basher

ODM try Robert Allenby at thoose odds your looking for.
Dont throw your money away on Singh,hes a good player,but at the moment I wouldnt touch him.

Sold. Allenby is my man. And I'll leave Singh on the bench for now, subject to getting a better man in. Otherwise I'm going to have to go with him for old time's sake. I seem to recall that he played pretty damned well here in 91 by the way so I might have to ignore that bit of advice Bash.

[FC Basher]

91 for gods sake how far do you wanna go back.He was beaten by 8 shots by Ian bloody Baker Finch,jesus your hard work.

2004 - 9 tour wins
2005 - 4 tour wins
2006 - 1 tour win
2007 - 2 tour wins

Good luck if you do go for him tho mate

[Winrew]

137th Open Championship Outright Betting

A Magnificent SEVEN! - Extra Place Special We are paying out on the first 7 places in the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. That's 1-2-3-4-5-6-7 Places at 1/4 Odds. We're way ahead at the top of the leaderboard because Ladbrokes, William Hill, Coral, Betfred and Skybet are only paying 5 places. Now you know where to putt your Open bets on!

Offer from Paddy Power .....

[kosar19]

For what it is worth, a couple of mates went up for the day yesterday, and followed quite a few of the guys around.

Villegras and Anthony Kim were pants, and both ran out of balls as they lost so many. Neither could hit a fairway, and looked so lost on a links course, that they were no doubt wishing they stayed back in the US for the PGA event. Both should be played against in Match bets.

Best golfer on the course was Justin Leonard