2009 British Open Championship

by Bodog Sportsbook | Jul 15 2009

Tiger Woods, meet Lang Whang.

Woods has seen his share of difficult golf courses over the years, but he's never played at Turnberry, the host of this week's British Open Championship in South Ayrshire, Scotland. This will be one of the toughest tests of Woods' illustrious career. Case in point, the massive 559-yard par-5 17th, which has grown by 60 yards since the Open last visited Turnberry's Ailsa Course in 1994. Each hole on the course has a name - "Lang Whang" means "The Long Way" in the auld Scots vernacular. Don't forget to pack a toothbrush before you tee off.

Tiger has spent the last week getting familiar with Turnberry during his practice rounds. His lack of experience there hasn't made a dent on the betting market; fair enough, since he also won the 2006 Open during his maiden voyage at Royal Liverpool. Woods was the 2-1 favorite at press time, miles ahead of Sergio Garcia at 20-1 and two-time defending Open champion Padraig Harrington at 22-1. World No.2 golfer Phil Mickelson is skipping this event to be with his ailing wife and mother.

Here's the skinny on the top three favorites:

Tiger Woods

British Open victories: 2000, 2005, 2006
2009 victories: 3 (Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial, AT&T National)
2009 PGA Tour Money Ranking: No. 1 ($4.560 million)
2009 average score: 69.3

Sergio Garcia

British Open victories: none
2009 victories: 1 (HSBC Champions)
2009 European Tour Money Ranking: No. 8 ($1.018 million)
2009 average score: 69.9

Padraig Harrington

British Open victories: 2007, 2008
2009 victories: none
2009 European Tour Money Ranking: No. 81 (0.249 million)
2009 average score: 70.9
 
Woods is getting unusually short odds even for him, this being one of the four majors on the golf calendar. The absence of Mickelson has something to do with it, although Lefty has never won the British Open and is usually lost at sea on links-style courses. Woods is also on one of his characteristic high-performance streaks, with two victories in his last three Tour events, three in his last seven, and 11 out of his last 20 dating back to the 2007 British Open (where he placed 12th).

Harrington fits the exact profile of the kind of value bet you look for at the British Open - or at least he did when he bested Woods by five strokes in 2007 (defeating Garcia in a playoff) and defended his championship over a Tiger-free field in 2008. That seems like ancient history after a disastrous start to the 2009 season. The pride of Dublin missed the cut in five consecutive tournaments, including last month's U.S. Open at Bethpage, before finally coming up big at his preferred British Open tune-up, the Irish PGA Championship. That event is not sanctioned by the PGA or European Tours.

As for Garcia, he's carried the mantle of Best Golfer Never to Win a Major ever since Mickelson shed that dubious distinction at the 2004 Masters. In addition to placing second to Harrington at the 2007 British Open, Garcia has placed in the Top 5 at nine other majors stretching back to the 1999 PGA Championship. He's won seven times on the PGA Tour and another eight times on the European Tour, where his experience with links courses makes him more of a threat at the British Open than any other major. And yet Garcia's never won the big one.

Woods is so heavily favored here that he's available at -500 on the props market in a head-to-head matchup against Garcia (+350). If that's too chalky for you, there's also the 3-ball matchup with Woods (1-2), Lee Westwood (9-4) and 17-year-old Japanese phenom Ryo Ishikawa (13-2). This threesome officially tees off at 4:09 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday; the 3-ball prop simply asks which of the three will finish with the lowest score in the first round.

Ishikawa has won four events in Japan and is ranked No. 78 in the world. If you prefer to take the relative unknown Ishikawa out of the equation, you can also bet on a "Mythical 2-ball" matchup between Woods (5-11) and the No. 17-ranked Westwood (11-5), although that prop also includes the possibility of a tie (15-2).