British Open betting

About the British Open

The British Open (The Open Championship) is the oldest of the four golf majors (major championships) and is the only one held outside the US. It is the third major in the golf season and is held in mid July.

The Open was first played in 1860 and has been held in England or Scotland, and once in Northern Ireland. From 2010 the winner walks away with a prize of £850,000. They also receive The Golf Champion Trophy, the Claret Jug. Back in 1860 the tournament was played on a 12 hole course, but it is now held on a standard 18 hole course.

The current rota holds nine courses – five being in Scotland and four in England.

Records and winners

The most successful player of The Open was back in the old era (1914), when Harry Vardon won his 6th title. In the last 10 years the most successful player has been Tiger Woods who has won three British Open titles between 2000 and 2010, two of those being at St. Andrews in Scotland. Pádraig Harrington is Tiger’s closest competitor in the standing during the naughties with two titles.

Other notable players over the last 20 years have been Nick Faldo (3 titles) and Greg Norman (2 titles).

Below is the winners table from between 2000 and 2010.

Year	Venue	Player
2010	St Andrews	Louis Oosthuizen
2009	Turnberry	Stewart Cink
2008	Royal Birkdale Golf Club	Pádraig Harrington
2007	Carnoustie Golf Links	Pádraig Harrington
2006	Royal Liverpool Golf Club	Tiger Woods
2005	St Andrews	Tiger Woods
2004	Royal Troon Golf Club	Todd Hamilton
2003	Royal St George’s Golf Club	Ben Curtis
2002	Muirfield	Ernie Els
2001	Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club	David Duval
2000	St Andrews	Tiger Woods

British Open betting

British Open betting has always been popular and some past bets on the Open have returned shock outcomes. Several players have surprised the British Open betting market, including Louis Oosthuizen in 2010, Todd Hamilton in 2004, Ben Curtis in 2003 and Paul Lawrie in 1999, who all won over the favourites in those years.

So what British Open bets are worth making? Well if you want a long shot, you can bet on a hole in one. You can bet on most things during the tournament. Bookmakers try and accommodate everything you as a customer may want to bet on.

The first British Open betting market you will want to look at is the antepost winners market – who you think will win the tournament before it starts. Obviously the bigger players here are going to have lower odds despite their form. You might be able to pick out a good bet lower down the list with better odds. Just check players form going into the competition and you might be able to pick up a few profitable bets. Once the tournament starts the winners market odds will change around a lot as players form becomes apparent.

Another British Open betting market is the top five or top ten finish. If you aren’t quite certain of the winners market and you want a bit of security, you should go for one of theses markets. Obviously you aren’t going to get such good odds on each player, but you will have more chance of winning your bet.

For more serious British Open bets you could go for winning margin. Trying to predict by how many strokes the winner will win is difficult, but it will get you really good odds. You could also go for the winning score. In this market you will be presented with ranges of scores to choose from. E.g. 277-279. If you know your stats and you think you have a good chance at predicting the score of the winner, then this can also be a really good bet that has some good odds available.

There really are so many British Open betting options available. In-running betting has become really popular in recent years. Quite a few bookmakers are offering this now and adds extra excitement to the betting.