Tiger has been close in the two previous majors, and now he gets a shot at winning his first of the year when he tackles Turnberry.
As usual, all eyes will be on Tiger. Sports bettors have been loading up on Tiger action at their online sportsbooks.
Eldrick warmed up for the Open by taking the AT&T National at the Congressional a little over a week ago, defeating Hunter Mahan by a single shot.
Tiger won back-to-back British Opens in 2005 and 2006 but has failed to win the past two years; he missed last year’s event due to knee surgery.
Woods is always the odds-on favorite in the tournaments he takes part in and going into Thursday, the situation is no different as Tiger is listed at +225 at SPORTSBETTING (dot)com to add his fourth British Open title.
As mentioned, Hunter Mahan lost by a measly stroke to Tiger at the AT&T and while he has taken part in a number of Golf Betting tournaments in 2009, he has really shown improvement the last three.
Besides finishing as the runner-up to Tiger at the AT&T National, Mahan finished in sixth at the last major, the U.S. Open and fourth in the Travelers Championship; will he win his first event of the year? Mahan is listed at +3500.
While Tiger captured Open Championships in 2005 and 2006, another player stepped up to capture titles in 2007 and 2008—Ireland’s Padraig Harrington.
Harrington might have trouble repeating however as he has been horrendous this year.
While he won two majors and three events overall last year, Harrington has missed the cut in four out of his last five events and in the one event he made the cut in—The Players Championship—he finished out of contention in 49th.
The defending champ is listed at +2500 in this year’s event.
Spain’s Sergio Garcia is receiving some relatively favorable odds (+2000) but like Harrington hasn’t been too good in 2009 but he did finish a respectable 10th in the last major he attended, which was the U.S. Open.
Geoff Ogilvy has been a little inconsistent ever since winning the WGC: Accenture Match Play back in February, finishing as high as sixth and as low as 59th in his next eight tournaments.
Will he add the British Open this year? He’s listed at +4000.
Angel Cabrera finished 54th at the U.S. Open but he did get a cool green jacket when he won the Masters at Augusta National earlier in the year.
Can he wipe the bad taste out of his mouth brought on by his poor finish at Bethpage Black?
The 2009 Masters Odds champ is listed at +8000 to win the British Open.
When it comes to matchup betting, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson is a pair that draws attention, unfortunately, Mickeslon isn’t playing this week as he stays close to home to support his wife and mother in their battles with cancer.
However there is an interesting matchup bet at SPORTSBETTING. featuring the two golfers who have taken the last four British Opens.
In the matchup bet between Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington, Tiger is listed at -550 and Harrington is a big underdog at +400.
Who will take home the Claret Jug this year? We’ll know soon.
Enjoy the golf action.
