The season’s third major has arrived as the world’s best players have descended upon the Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Course in St. Annes, England. The 2012 Open Championship is scheduled to get underway on Thursday, July 19th; the official start time is set at 1:19am ET. The latest 2012 British Open Odds at The Greek have Tiger Woods listed as a +715 moneyline favorite ($100 to win $715) to win his fourth Claret Jug. The world’s No. 1 and No. 3 ranked golfers (Official World Golf Rankings), Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, are second picks to win the event at the offshore book, presently registering at +1415 odds ($100 to win $1415).
Tiger Woods, despite an up and down season, continues to captivate the odds makers as he is, once again, drawing favored status on the big stage. Woods, a winner of 14 majors, is always a threat, though, and his selection as the favorite makes as much or more sense than, say, Luke Donald or Lee Westwood, neither of whom has won a major.
Woods last outing was not a memorable one as he missed the cut at the Greenbriar Classic in White Sulphur Springs earlier this month. Despite that shaky performance, Woods has won two of his last four events (the Memorial Tournament, AT&T National) and he presently sits atop the PGA Tour’s Moneylist with a total of $4,220,398 in 2012 earnings.
Donald, the world’s top ranked player, should be a contender this weekend based upon his overall performance on both the PGA and European Tours; however, his recent play in major competition makes him a suspect choice. Donald recorded a top five finish at the Open Championship in 2009 and he placed fourth and eighth at last year’s Masters and PGA Championship, respectively, but he has five missed cuts in his last 14 major appearances while posting an average finish of 25.8.
Lee Westwood, on the other hand, has been in the thick of numerous major championship chases over the last several years. Westwood did miss the cut at last year’s Open; however, he tied for third at the 2009 Open Championship and he took second at the event in 2010. Westwood also has six top five finishes in his last 11 majors played, including the 2012 Masters where he tied for third with an eight under par 280.
2012 British Open Odds:
Tiger Woods +715, Lee Westwood +1415, Luke Donald +1415, Rory McIlroy +1615, Padraig Harrington +1615, Martin Kaymer +2850, Phil Mickelson +2850, Sergio Garcia +3050, Justin Rose +3050, Ernie Els +3050, Francesco Molinari +3050, Graeme McDowell +3050, Louis Oosthuizen +3550, Rickie Fowler +3550, Ian Poulter +4050, Adam Scott +4050, Dustin Johnson +3050, Jason Dufner +4550, Hunter Mahan +5050, Matt Kuchar +5050, Bubba Watson +5050, Charl Schwartzel +5050, Jim Furyk +5050, Steve Stricker +6050, Paul Lawrie +6050, Peter Hanson +6050, Ross Fisher +6050, Nicolas Colsaerts +6550, Nick Watney +5250, Matteo Manassero +5250, Henrik Stenson +8050, Keegan Bradley +8050, KJ Choi +8050, Thomas Bjorn +8050, Retief Goosen +8050
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