Open Golf Bets – 3 off the tee

I love to have 3 each-way bets on the Open as it provides a welcome distraction to the racing.

The first player that catches my eye at Turnberry is the young German MARTIN KAMYER who has won his last 2 events in Scotland and in France and has made a sharp rise up the world rankings since turning pro in 2006 and now sits at 11th in the World. Considering that meteoric rise and his excellent recent form 40/1 is massive value with Paddy Power paying 7 places for each-way bets. A lot of hype has been written about Rory McIlroy but Kaymer is the real deal and already there winning tournaments. There is a thought that he may not be ideally suited to links courses but he was 2nd in the Alfred Dunhill Links last year and he is a great talent.

STEVE STRICKER may not be a big name player but the American golfer has a big game. Two top-10’s in the last 2 Open championships and comes here off the back of a win in his last event in the John Deere in the US which was his 2nd win of the season following victory in the Colonial and he has 5 other top-10’s this year. He is in some of the best form of his life and was just outside the top-20 in the US Open and 6th in the Masters so he doesn’t have a problem playing well in the big tournaments. 6th in the world rankings, 50/1 again with Paddy Power paying 7 places is a very decent price.

The final player on my list of players is Swede HENRIK STENSON who nailed the biggest win of his career a few months back when winning the Players Championship in the US. That win along with a victory at the tail-end of last season in the Nedbank Challenge and the WGC Matchplay have helped push him into the top-6 of the world so again 40/1 with Ladbrokes and Hills is a value price. Unfortunately they are only playing top-5 places but it’s still value. He finished 9th in the recent US Open, was 4th in the US PGA and 3rd in last year’s Open so his record in Majors is improving all the time and he is clearly a man for the big occasion given his other recent wins. The course should suit shot-makers and big hitters and Stenson is amongst the best in Europe at that.

Tiger Woods is very short and has generally shown his best at easier Open venues than this but he is clearly different class when at his best. However, I think he is worth taking on this week, 5/2 in a field of 150+ runners is the ultimate in poor value and I’m not convinced he is back to his best following another knee surgery. His performance in the last few Majors has been well below his usual high standards and although he won his last event in the AT&T in the US, it’s worth pointing out that he won his previous event before both the US Masters and US Open also yet still failed to fire.