The Open Championship free bets and betting guide

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There are absolutely no prizes for guessing which player is hot favourite to win the 2009 Open Championship next week. He may have won only two of the last eight renewals (in 2005 & 2006), yet Tiger Woods is no better than 2/1 (William Hill) to triumph at Turnberry and win his first major since he landed the US Open a little over a year ago. That victory came at a cost, with the world number one incurring a left knee injury which kept him out of action for the rest of the 2008 season. However, the American has bounced back recently by clinching his 68th PGA Tour win at the PGA National in Maryland, demonstrating that he should be taken seriously in Scotland.

Due to family illness, Phil Mickelson is unlikely to play at this year’s event, leaving Sergio Garcia as second favourite with most bookmakers. The Spaniard is as short as 14/1 with Stan James to go one better than 2007 by landing his first ever major, although totesport go much bigger, offering 20/1 that the 29-year-old leads the field after four rounds. He was pipped in a play-off two years ago by Padraig Harrington, with the Irishman following up his 2007 Carnoustie win with victory in 2008. He’s been woefully out of sorts this year, but many will be backing him at tasty odds of 33/1 (Sporting Bet) to complete a hat-trick. Indeed, the European contingent are expected to go well next week, despite there only being one success in fourteen years before 2007. Firms are clearly running scared of young Rory McIlroy (20/1 Paddy Power), although it should be remembered that the Northern Irishman is still relatively inexperienced.

Perhaps we should instead consider the likes of Paul Casey (30/1 Centrebet), Lee Westwood (33/1 totesport) and Ross Fisher (33/1 Ladbrokes). The former narrowly pipped the latter in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth a few weeks ago and tied for seventh at Royal Birkdale last year. Westwood should also be in contention if the Worksop player maintains the form which saw him finish runner-up in the French Open last week. It should be noted that if you want to back any player each-way, then you might want to consider that Paddy Power are generously paying ¼ odds for the first seven places. It will be interesting to see if any other bookmaker follows the Irish mavericks by doing this.

Lucas Glover was the last winner of a major, winning the 2009 US Open and announcing himself on the world stage. The American is a 140/1 chance (Centrebet) to prove he’s no one-hit wonder, while Angel Cabrera won the 2009 US Masters and looks an interesting price at 70/1 (Skybet). Like virtually every other player in the field, his odds are likely to tumble if he gets off to a solid start and Woods falls out of contention. It may also come as a surprise to many that Ernie Els (50/1 Centrebet) is such a big price, with the South African having triumphed in 2002. His compatriot Retief Goosen is a 40/1 (Sporting Bet) chance and does have two US Open triumphs under his belt.

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