Fowler & McIlroy head strong field at 2017 Scottish Open

BOOKMAKERS have slated Rickie Fowler as the man to beat in this week’s Scottish Open.

In a field littered with top-shelf talent, the American stands alone as the +800 outright favourite at online bookie William Hill.

After failing to defend his Irish Open title, Rory McIlroy holds the second line of betting at +1100.

Henrik Stenson, who will face an even tougher challenge to keep his crown next week at Royal Birkdale, is also in the mix at +1400.

Reigning champion Alex Noren (+1600) and Australian star Adam Scott (+1800) round out the top five.

Fowler’s case is strengthened by the indifferent form of his chief rivals.

McIlroy is still feeling the effects of a rib injury sustained in January, while Stenson has struggled to contend for top honours since winning silver at the Rio 2016 Olympics.

Scott, now well outside the top 10 players in the Official World Golf Ranking, has not played a competitive event since missing the cut at the US Open a month ago.

One notable absentee is Jon Rahm, who cruised to a six-shot win in Northern Ireland last week despite a ball-marking blunder that could have incurred a severe penalty.

Congratulations @JonRahmpga on winning the #DDFIrishOpen and a huge thanks to all the fans who came out to support this week ? pic.twitter.com/GPX1YgyRdo

— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) July 9, 2017

The tournament commences Thursday at Dundonald Links in Troon, Ayrshire.

2017 Scottish Open outright betting

+800 – Rickie Fowler

+1100 – Rory McIlroy

+1400 – Henrik Stenson

+1600 – Alex Noren

+1800 – Adam Scott

+2000 – Matt Kuchar, Patrick Reed

+2500 – Branden Grace

+2800 – Bernd Wiesberger

+3300 – Ross Fisher

+4000 – Peter Uihlein, Rafael Cabrera Bello, Andy Sullivan, Jason Dufner

+5000 – Byeong-Hun An, David Lingmerth, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Martin Kaymer, Tyrell Hatton

More quoted at WilliamHill.com

Punters can’t split Johnson and Spieth for British Open

Dustin Johnson has some company on the top line of betting for the 2017 Open Championship, which kicks off on Thursday, July 20 at Royal Birkdale.

The world number one shares a +900 quote at Bet365.com with Jordan Spieth, who is still searching for his first podium finish in golf’s oldest major.

McIlroy is pegged at +1200 despite those lingering fitness concerns, while Rahm’s win at Portstewart has boosted him into the top bracket at +1400.

Sergio Garcia (+1600) has not won since breaking his major duck at the 2017 Masters, but the Spaniard finished only a shot behind Andres Romero at the BMW International on his last start.

Fowler, Stenson and Olympic champion Justin Rose make up a very strong pack of potential contenders at +1800.

Hideki Matsuyama (+2000) is shaping up as the best bet from outside Europe and North America, ahead of Jason Day (+2200), another Aussie in Scott (+2500) and South Africa’s Branden Grace (+4000).

Former champ Louis Oosthuizen is back in the pack at +5000.

Practicing on the farm #FarmLife #TheOpen #gettingready pic.twitter.com/Df6TPeKpPZ

— Louis Oosthuizen (@Louis57TM) July 10, 2017

2017 Open Championship outright betting

+900 – Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth

+1200 – Rory McIlroy

+1400 – Jon Rahm

+1600 – Sergio Garcia

+1800 – Rickie Fowler, Justin Rose, Henrik Stenson

+2000 – Hideki Matsuyama

+2200 – Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood

+2500 – Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott

+4000 – Paul Casey, Branden Grace, Phil Mickelson

+4500 – Thomas Pieters

+5000 – Alex Noren, Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Thomas

More quoted at Bet365.com