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McIlroy headlines British Open field
Last year's British Open
was a cakewalk for Louis Oosthuizen, who beat second-place finisher
Lee Westwood by seven strokes at St Andrews to grab the Claret Jug.
Does the South African have another championship run in him as the
British Open (Thursday to Sunday, ESPN) hits the links at Royal St
George's on Thursday?
His past performances � and the betting odds � would suggest that he
doesn�t. Oosthuizen had only made the cut in one major event prior
to winning the British Open last year, finishing 73rd at the 2008
PGA Championship. He also followed up his British Open win by
missing the cut in the PGA Championship and The Masters before
turning in a respectable T-9 showing at the U.S. Open last month.
And on the betting odds board at Oddsmaker the South African is back
in the pack at +5000 to repeat as the British Open champion this
week. So who do the oddsmakers like to win at Royal St George's?
U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy, who sits as the +200 favorite on
the Oddsmaker golf betting board heading into the tournament.
McIlroy's U.S. Open win capped off a calendar year of solid play in
major tournaments; he was third at both the British Open and the PGA
Championship last year then ended up 15th at the 2011 Masters before
finally collecting a major title last month. And with Tiger Woods
either injured or ineffective these days, McIlroy's achievements
have been enough to boost him to the rank of betting favorite.
We might even be talking about McIlroy's quest for a second
consecutive British Open title if he hadn't blown up in the second
round at St Andrews last year � after opening that tournament with a
63, he shot an 80 on the second day. McIlroy made up three strokes
on Oosthuizen over the final two days, but it wasn't nearly enough.
Westwood ended up second at the British Open in 2010, seven strokes
behind Oosthuizen and a single shot up on McIlroy, Henrik Stenson,
and Paul Casey. Westwood sits second to McIlroy at +700 on the odds
list at Oddsmaker for this week's British Open, and he has 11 Top-10
finishes in major tournaments over the course of his career. None of
those finishes, though, were victories.
When the British Open was last held at Royal St George's in 2003
Westwood missed the cut after rounds of 76 and 75. Also missing the
cut that week was Luke Donald, who is third on the Oddsmaker list
for the tournament this week at +1000. Donald was 11th at last
year's British Open, tied for fourth at The Masters earlier this
year, and is coming off a victory at the Scottish Open over the
weekend.
After that top trio on the Oddsmaker list are Graeme McDowell
(+1500), Martin Kaymer (+1500), Jason Day (+2000), Nick Watney
(+2000), and Sergio Garcia (+2500), along with Phil Mickelson
(+1500). Mickelson last finished in the Top 10 at the British Open
in 2004, and he tied for 59th place in the 2003 tournament at Royal
St George's.
Other notables on the betting board this week include two-time
British Open champion Padraig Harrington at +3000, 2009 tourney
champ Stewart Cink at +12,5000, and 2003 winner Ben Curtis at
+12500. As well, Steve Stricker is sitting at +4000 odds for this
week; Stricker is coming off a victory at the John Deere Classic.
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