Open Betting: The ten best British and Irish contenders at St Andrews

The Open / Paul Krishnamurty / 09 July 2010 / 3

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Rory McIlroy is less than [20.0] for The Open - are you a backer?

"Rory has been on everyone's list as a future Open champion ever since turning pro, particularly at St Andrews, where he nearly won the Dunhill Links as a novice."

Fresh from Graeme McDowell's US Open victory, Britain and Ireland have never entered an Open Championship with a stronger hand. Never in living memory have we been able to boast ten players trading under [100.0]. Here's a look at the chances of our 'top-ten'.

Lee Westwood [22.0]
Last Five Opens (most recent first): 3/67/35/31/mc
Westwood once famously described St Andrews as 'not even the best course in Fife', but he has learned to love the place since, building up a stellar portfolio in the Dunhill Links. After near-misses in three of the last four majors, Lee deserves to carry the heaviest burden of home expectations, but his Open record leaves much to be desired. Last year's third at Turnberry was only his second top-10.

Rory McIlroy [19.0]
Last Five Opens: 47/-/42/-/-
Rory has been on everyone's list as a future Open champion ever since turning pro, particularly at St Andrews, where he nearly won the Dunhill Links as a novice. He's made progress towards super-stardom this year by winning the 'sixth major' at Quail Hollow, but wider inconsistency shows there is still much to learn.

Padraig Harrington [26.0]
Last Five Opens: 65/1/1/mc/-
Harrington has only rarely hinted at his best form since winning his second straight Open title at Birkdale in 2008, primarily due to inaccuracy off the tee. That will be much less of a weakness at St Andrews, where he's twice won the Dunhill Links, so significant improvement in his favourite event of the year would be no surprise.

Justin Rose [26.0]
Last Five Opens: 13/70/12/-/-
There is no hotter golfer right now than Rose, who has won two of his last three PGA Tour events, and threw away a big lead in the other. Justin has never managed to match that famous 4th place finish as a teenage amateur, but top-15s in two of the last three Opens confirm he has the game for links. The only negative is a vastly reduced price.

Ian Poulter [32.0]
Last Five Opens: mc/2/27/mc/11
As the reigning WGC Matchplay champion and a rising star on the world stage, Poulter should get more headlines for his golf than his clothing this year. He has vastly improved since finishing 11th at St Andrews in 2005, and showed he has the game to win the Open when finishing runner-up at Birkdale in 2008. A lack of very recent form is a worry, though.

Graeme McDowell [38.0]
Last Five Opens: 34/19/mc/61/11
The new US Open champion will move into a very exclusive club of back-to-back major winners if following up at St Andrews. That may have seemed unimaginable six weeks ago, but McDowell is clearly on a hot streak, and this is always his best chance in the majors. He knows links golf intimately, and put up an eyecatching run in 11th place at the 2005 Open here.

Paul Casey [44.0]
Last Five Opens: 47/7/27/71/mc
Casey is still one of our best hopes in any major, but he's under a cloud right now. The 32-year-old has yet to recapture the world-beating form seen before injury curtailed last season, and given a poor Open record, looks one to oppose.

Luke Donald [55.0]
Last Five Opens: 5/-/63/35/52
Donald's claims rest on a stellar 2010 campaign, regularly in contention on both sides of the Atlantic, rather than any particular links expertise. Until last year's fast finishing fifth, Luke had a terrible record in the Open, and was well beaten here in 2005. As a relatively short-hitter, he will be at a disadvantage on St Andrews' risk-reward holes.

Ross Fisher [60.0]
Last Five Opens: 13/39/mc/-/-
Thirteenth-place barely reflects Fisher's efforts at Turnberry last year, where he threw away the final day lead and his chance with one disaster hole. There are few better players in the wind, and Ross remains a very plausible Open champion. So far, however, 2010 has been nowhere near as successful as recent seasons.

Chris Wood [75.0]
Last Five Opens: 3/5/-/-/-
If we're prepared to ignore the statistic that only one Open champion in the modern era was winning his first professional title (Ben Curtis), there is much to like about Wood's chance. Top-fives in his first two Opens demonstrate a liking for links, and he has become a regular contender of late.

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James | 13 July 2010

What planet are you living on??

Its bad enough you call McIlroy and McDowell Brits but to include Harrington is disgusting!! That heading is an insult to Irish golfers and fans alike!!!
Editor | 13 July 2010

Apologies James - A mistake on our part. Consider it rectified.
Joe (BB Golf Editor)
paul | 14 July 2010

mcdowell and mcllroy are british as they are both from northern ireland and both said they would play for britain when golf enters the olympics,agree with you on harrington though!!!and hes my fancy to win this week