When Royal Liverpool last hosted the British Open back in 2006, Tiger Woods was unstoppable as he won his third Claret Jug and seemed to be on his way to topping Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 major titles. This year, the British Open returns to the famed course at Hoylake with uncertainty surrounding Tiger Woods’ health and his ability to win majors.
From July 17 to 20, Tiger will resume his quest for a 15th major title, but the rest of the 156-man field will be desperate to show Tiger that they are not intimidated by him anymore as they once were. Ever since Tiger last won a major title in the 2008 US Open, there have been 15 first-time major winners and with a strong field this year, there is great value for bettors across the board in selecting who among the deep field can break into the major winner’s circle.
In our British Open preview, we named Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter as our two high-value sleeper picks. Below, we add three more golfers to the list, and pick apart why these golfers could prove to be a big hit when the British Open tees off this July.
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Three 2014 British Open Golf Championship High Value Sleeper Picks
Rickie Fowler
Rickie Fowler comes into the British Open with confidence soaring after earning his best finish in a major at last month’s US Open, finishing in a tie for second with Erik Compton behind champion Martin Kaymer.
[sc:Golf240banner ]Although he has missed the cut in seven of the 17 tournaments he has participated in this year, his form in the majors has been tremendous this season. Aside from his top-two finish in the US Open, he ended up tied for fifth in the Masters earlier this year.
Bettors can also take heart in Fowler’s top-five finish in the 2011 British Open meaning his game can translate across the Atlantic. Even though he missed the cut in last year’s Open, he is a good pick to have at +3,500.
Ernie Els
You can’t count out four-time major champion Ernie Els from the mix of possible winners. The South African loves to play on links courses, the evidence in his two British Open titles, the last happening two years ago with a stunning final-round surge to defeat Adam Scott by a stroke.
Although he has struggled on the PGA Tour this year missing the cut five times, Els can point to his top-four finish in the WGC Matchplay event last February as proof that he can still compete and hang with the best of them in the biggest golf tournaments.
Els is also comfortable with the golf course, as he finished in third place the last time it was held at Royal Liverpool eight years ago, and will be a solid pick at +4,000.
Jim Furyk
The 44-year old American has been close a number of times on adding to his one major title which he won in the 2003 US Open. The most recent was in last year’s 2013 PGA Championship where he held the 54-hole lead but crumbled down the stretch and lost to Jason Dufner by two shots.
Furyk’s game fits Royal Liverpool to a tee. His strength is in hitting fairways and he is ranked eighth in driving accuracy in the PGA Tour this year with a 69.72 percent clip (465-of-667 fairways hit). In fact, he finished in fourth place the last time the British Open was held in Royal Liverpool so Furyk seems to be a smart bet at +4,000 to win his second major here.
