The 2011 British Open Championship tees-off, Thursday July 14th, at Royal St George's Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent. The current champion is Louis Oosthuizen who won the 2010 British Open Championship. Fresh off his historic U.S. Open win, PGA oddsmakers have Rory McIlroy as 13/2 odds favourite to win The 2011 British Open Championship. Let’s take a look at the Top 3 favorites heading into golfs third Major. Get your 2011 British Open Predictions in early to beat the rush.
Rory McIlroy is one of the heavy favorites to win this year’s Open Championship at Royal St. George’s, a course that runs along the southeastern coast of England and a place where you can experience four seasons of weather in one round. But just how much of a favorite should he be? Even McIlroy admits that links courses aren’t exactly his cup of tea, nor are they best suited for his very much American style of play. “I do prefer this sort of golf where you've got to fly it in the air,” McIlroy said. “I love golf courses the likes of [Augusta National], Quail Hollow, Akron, where we play the WGC; golf courses that are tree-lined and give you a little bit of definition off the tee.” Rory will find the Open quite difficult and you will see him struggle at St George's, it's not his sort of golf. Firm and bouncy with a bit of wind wouldn't be ideal for him. There is no greater example of McIlroy’s futility in the wind than last year’s Open at St. Andrews. McIlroy opened with a record-tying 63 on a benign and blissful day at the Home of Golf, only to be blown away 24 hours later when he carded an 81 on the wind-whipped landscape.
Lee Westwood finished second in 2010 and third in 2009 and is a player who knows how to play in the Open conditions. Westwood is always in contention in any Major and experts are tipping Westwood, not McIlroy, to triumph this week. “It has been difficult at times for him. Lee is just a fantastic player. If in the week of a major the ball does not run right for you there is not much you can do about it. "At Turnberry there may have been a couple of decisions down the back nine that he and Billy [Foster, his caddie] might have changed, but losing to Mickelson in 2010, he shot 71 on the last day of the Masters and lost. He played well but came up against someone who had a bit of magic going and took it away from him. “I think he has taken positives from Rory’s win. I think he sees himself and Rory as playing at a pretty similar standard. He is more experienced and maybe his precision play is marginally better and therefore there is no reason he can’t do what Rory did. I’m thinking this week.”.
Luke Donald will arrive at Royal St George's as the first Englishman to compete in an Open championship as the world No1 since Nick Faldo in 1993. He might be top of the rankings and buoyant after victory at the 2011 Scottish Open at Castle Stuart on Sunday, but he will be decidedly bottom of the page unless or until he does something dramatic between now and next Sunday. "I'm not a flashy player. I get it done and sometimes I do it the hard way, but in the last three or four months no one has really performed better than me. But sometimes, when you win a major like Rory did, in that fashion, it eclipses everything else. It doesn't change what I'm doing. Obviously I still feel like I have a lot to achieve and I understand why some people would question whether I deserve to be the world No1 without having won a major." This week's major championship will be Donald's second as No1. It is also his second Open at Royal St George's. He played in 2003 and missed the cut, as he did in every Open he played in until 2005.
2011 British Open Odds:
Rory McIlroy 13/2
Lee Westwood 11/1
Luke Donald 11/1
Martin Kaymer 22/1
Graeme McDowell 28/1
Sergio Garcia 28/1
Steve Stricker 28/1
Jason Day 33/1
K.J. Choi 33/1
Nick Watney 33/1
Charl Schwartzel 40/1
Dustin Johnson 40/1
Justin Rose 40/1
Matt Kuchar 40/1
Padraig Harrington 40/1
Phil Mickelson 40/1
Retief Goosen 40/1
Adam Scott 50/1
Angel Cabrera 50/1
Ernie Els 50/1
Ian Poulter 50/1
Paul Casey 50/1
Francesco Molinari 66/1
Fredrik Jacobson 66/1
Henrik Stenson 66/1
Hunter Mahan 66/1
Louis Oosthuizen 66/1
Matteo Manassero 66/1
Peter Hanson 66/1
Rickie Fowler 66/1
Robert Karlsson 66/1
Ross Fisher 66/1
Y-E Yang 66/1
Alvaro Quiros 80/1
Bubba Watson 80/1
Geoff Ogilvy 80/1
Jim Furyk 80/1
Stewart Cink 80/1
Zach Johnson 80/1
Bo Van Pelt 100/1
Brandt Snedeker 100/1
Charles Howell III 100/1
Edoardo Molinari 100/1
Jeff Overton 100/1
Martin Laird 100/1
Robert Allenby 100/1
Robert Rock 100/1
Point-Spreads.com recommends you check Golf Odds before the 2011 Open Championship
The Bottom Line: it will be won by a European player and I like Lee Westwood. Get your 2011 British Open Predictions in early to beat the rush.
