Value odds, best bets and more for the 2015 British Open

The 2015 British Open

Where: St. Andrews Golf Club
When: Thursday July 16 – **
THERE was a time when golf’s greatest feat – the grand slam – was called the Tiger Slam.

That time is over.

There’s a new American who has officially taken his crown. And, this young man could be on the way to a grand slam of his own.

Jordan Spieth.

The 21-year-old from Texas is the clear favourite at $7 to win the Open Championship at the home of golf, St. Andrews, which commences this Thursday afternoon.

The task has been made easier with the withdrawal of world number one Rory McIlroy, due to an injury he suffered playing soccer. Yes, you read that correctly.

Spieth’s biggest threat comes by the way of Dustin Johnson, who is always a tough contender on links courses and he couldn’t have gone much closer than in the U.S. Open. His odds of $12 suggest that bookmakers are confident in the Californian.

The field will tee off this Thursday and there are plenty of opportunities to make money all week, kicking off with ‘first round leader’ where Spieth is paying a more handsome $11 at CrownBet.com.au.

Open Championship tournament odds and tips

It’s not all about Jordan Spieth at the 2015 Open Championship, but he is dominating the market and rightly so.

Spieth has already won the U.S. Masters and the U.S. Open this year, and he’s coming off a win in the John Deere Classic last week when defeating relative unknown Tom Gillis in a playoff.

Due to the harsh St. Andrews conditions, we’re preparing to risk Spieth at those odds and instead we’re looking towards players such as Dustin Johnson and Justin Rose.

Both Johnson and Rose know how to win on links courses and the odds are much more appealing. The $12 for Johnson is good value and the $19 at Sportsbet.com.au for the world number seven Justin Rose is also great value.

We like Sergio Garcia at $31 as he always plays well in majors. The Spaniard came as close as you can get a few years back when finishing second behind Padraig Harrington and we know he has a major in him. Could it be in 2015? If you think so, his odds are very enticing.

Market favourites:

Jordan Spieth – $7
Dustin Johnson – $12
Rickie Fowler – $17
Justin Rose – $19
Adam Scott – $21
Henrik Stenson – $21
Louis Oosthuizen – $23
Paul Casey – $31
Jason Day – $31
Sergio Garcia – $31 at WilliamHill.com.au

Mid-priced golfers:

Martin Kaymer – $34
Hideki Matsuyama – $34
Bubba Watson – $36
Tiger Woods – $36

Tiger was at $51 a couple of weeks back, but his bogey-free fourth round at the Greenbrier Classic had bookmakers reshuffling the market.

We don’t believe Tiger has changed his mental approach enough to warrant inclusion here, so we’re prepared to risk him at that price. That doesn’t mean we don’t want him to win, he’s the face that changed golf after all.

Phil Mickelson – $36
Branden Grace – $41
Shane Lowry – $41
Brandt Snedeker – $46
Patrick Reed – $51 at Sportsbet.com.au

Longshot chances:

Brooks Koepka – $51 at CrownBet.com.au
Jimmy Walker – $51
Matt Kuchar – $51
Victor Dubuisson – $61
Bernd Wiesberger – $67
Ian Poulter – $81
Ross Fisher – $151
Joost Luiten – $126
Danny Lee – $151

Top Australian player

There are 15 Australian players to choose from in the Open Championship and the prices range from $2.50 to $67.

Current favourite is no other than multiple major winner Adam Scott at $2.50, closely followed by perennial top five player Jason Day at $3.25.

Adam Scott – $2.50
Jason Day – $3.25 at Sportsbet.com.au
Marc Leishman – $11
Geoff Ogilvy – $13
John Senden – $17
Steven Bowditch – $21
Matt Jones – $23
Scott Hend – $34
Marcus Fraser – $34
Greg Chalmers – $41
Brett Rumford – $41
Rod Pampling – $51
Adam Bland – $67
Scott Arnold – $67
Scott Strange – $67

We’re opted for Jason Day for this option as he’s getting awfully close to winning his first major.

Day probably should have won a major by now and he’s getting close to joining the ‘best that never’ group, but we are keeping the faith.

Open Championship picks

Winner: Dustin Johnson – $12
Top 5: Justin Rose – $5
Top 20: Sergio Garcia – $2.20
Longshot: Joost Luiten – $126 at WilliamHill.com.au

The value is with Dustin Johnson who has been given time to settle after blowing his chance to win the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay.

Justin Rose is a consistent golfer which represents good each way value and Sergio Garcia is a personal favourite for the top 20 option.

Don’t be shocked at our Joost Luiten pick at $126. He has plenty of talent and he’s coming off a good finish at the Scotland Open last week.