2011 British Open Golf Betting - Top Four Contenders Odds

Written by George Misken
Sunday, 10 July 2011 11:03

Next Thursday the 2011 British Open returns at one of golf’s trickiest courses – Royal St. Georges in Sandwich, England.

For golfing fans across the world, the British Open is the event they eagerly await for the most. The open golf championship, also known as the British Open, is held on the third Friday of July each year.

The British Open is the oldest of golf's four star championships, the others being; the Masters, the US Open and the PGA championship which makes the British Open the only star golf tournament of the year played outside of the USA.

The 2011 British Open is entirely up for grabs making this year's edition more captivating than ever to British Open golf betting enthusiasts. The Royal St. Georges exciting course and the elimination of top players like Tiger Woods surely make handicapping the British Open a real challenge even for the most experts.

British Open handicapping experts aside let's take a look at Bookmakers' general consensus and the top four favourites to win the 2011 British Open.

Martin Kaymer is one of bookies' top five favourite at 20/1. The German then started 2011 with a bang, winning the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi Championship by six shots with a 24-under 264 total. However, Kaymer then struggled for a few months as he changed his swing and he dropped to No. 4 in the world. Kaymer looked back in good shape with last week’s fourth-place finish at the European Tour’s French Open, which got the German back to No. 3 in the rankings.

Considered the best active golfer not to have won a major championship Luke Donald is another of bookies' top five favourites to win the 2011 British Open, his odds sitting at 14/1. While Donald does not have a Grand Slam to his name yet, he has won two prestigious tournaments this year: the WGC-Accenture Match Play back in February and then the BMW Championship. Since missing the cut at the Northern Trust Open in his first PGA Tour event of 2011, Donald has just one finish outside the Top 10.

Bookies' odds makers have Lee Westwood odds sitting at 7/1. Westwood took over the No. 1 ranking in the world earlier this year before losing it to Luke Donald in May. Overall, Westwood has two PGA Tour wins, with the last the St. Jude Classic in 2010, and 31 international victories.

Clearly the leading person in golf, Rory McIlroy is everybody'd favourite to lift the Claret Jug next Sunday, his odds currently sitting at 6/1. McIlroy’s star started shining at last year’s British Open at St. Andrews. Few weeks later at the PGA Championship, McIlroy finished third again yet out of a playoff won by Martin Kaymer. Winning the U.S. Open last month in June by whopping eight shots to finish at 16 under, McIlroy set or tied 12 records, including a 268 total.

The Royal St. Georges exciting course, the elimination of top players and four equally strong top contenders make of this year's British Open golf betting a simply irresistible temptation to golf bettors and sports enthusiasts alike. Where to gamble online on the 2011 British Open becomes the next question. The answer can be found by utilizing the user friendly sportsbook comparison engine.