The third major of the year is set to get underway and it got a whole lot interesting with the return of an all-time great.
The world’s best golfers will flock to Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Merseyside, England from July 17-20 for the 143rd edition of the British Open. 2013 champion Phil Mickelson has not won an event since stunning the field and taking home the Claret Jug last year and will be looking to jumpstart his season here but it is the return of a certain Tiger Woods that will surely grab all the attention and headlines.
The beauty of the British Open though is its unpredictability, and that makes for some high-value betting. Read on to see who the main competitors are in this year’s Open championship and follow our extensive coverage of all the golf action and news leading up to the tournament here.
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2014 British Open Golf Preview and Picks
The Favorites – Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy
[sc:Golf240banner ]The biggest news heading into the third major of the season is the return of 14-time major champion Tiger Woods to competitive golf. After undergoing back surgery on March 31, it was expected that Woods will miss the entire major championship season. So it was a pleasant surprise that Woods was ahead of schedule in terms of his recovery and was able to play at the Quicken Loans Invitational at Congressional Golf Club last week.
Rust was not surprisingly a factor for Tiger at the Congressional as he missed the cut by four shots, but even with that performance, he is still the big favorite at +1000 to win his fourth British Open crown as he resumes his quest to catch Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles.
Tied alongside Woods at +1000 is Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy who is in good form this season and is perfectly poised to win his third major title and first British Open crown. McIlroy won his first tournament in 18 months last May coming back from seven strokes down heading into the final round to beat Thomas Bjorn at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
High-Value Sleepers – Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter
Woods may be grabbing the headlines with his return but don’t rule out defending champion Phil Mickelson from staging another run at the British Open title. Mickelson has not won since his stunning final-round 66 won him the Open title in Muirfield last year. As a five-time major winner and a defending champion, “Lefty” well worth a look at +2,000.
Ian Poulter, on the other hand, has been close so many times to notching his first career major title but luck has deserted him when it has counted. Among the four majors, it is the British Open that he has come closest to winning with the Englishman finishing second in 2008 to Padraig Harrington and tied for third last year behind champion Phil Mickelson.
It’s only a matter of time before Poulter translates his Ryder Cup heroics into a major championship charge. A $100 bet on Poulter at +3,000 pays a whopping $3,000.
Long Shots – Miguel Angel Jimenez and Francesco Molinari
If searching for a golfer with long odds, take a good look at 50-year old veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez. He may be advancing in age but make no mistake about it, Jimenez can still flat out play. In fact, he led at the halfway mark of last year’s British Open before finishing 13th overall.
And just last May, Jimenez extended his record as the oldest champion on the European PGA Tour, securing his first-ever victory in the Open de España in 27 attempts. He may already be eligible to play on the seniors tour but he has proven already this year that can he still play with the big boys and is a great pick to have at +5,000.
A $25 bet on Jimenez will net you a cool $1,250. What are you waiting for? Create a betting account now and cash in on as good a bet in this deep field as any.
Francesco Molinari, on the other hand, may lack the experience of Jimenez but he has proven to be a more than capable golfer winning in the European Tour three times, the last being in 2012. His biggest win to date was the 2010 WGC HSBC Champions tournament where he beat Lee Westwood by a shot and he is hungry to follow that win with a British Open triumph this July.
He may not have a successful major championship career so far but Molinari finally broke into a top 10 for the first time in a major tournament last year, finishing tied for ninth at last season’s British Open. The 31-year-old Italian is a solid pick at +5,000.
Writer’s Prediction
Ian Poulter (+3,000), with the home crowd solidly behind him, will capture his first ever major title.
