Open Championship on Betfair: Choose odds and places on your each-way bets

• Pick your own each-way terms at the Open Championship

• Read Steve Rawlings' In-depth preview

• Check out Dave Tindall's 10-year trends

• Pick your places on Open each-way bets with the Betfair Sportsbook

Golf Only Bettor - The Open Championship Preview

Golf has undoubtedly become one of the most popular sports for each-way wagering, and none more so than when it comes to a major tournament.

There's possibly nothing more frustrating than having a win bet on a golfer who comfortably finishes in the places, but loses the tournament due to a bit of bad luck - or brilliance from someone else - down the last few holes.

And there's no fun to be had by backing a golfer to win, only to see him sit second behind a player who is eight shots clear. You know your bet is going to be a loser, and it's at this point that you kick yourself for not placing an each-way bet.

At this week's final major of the season, the Open Championship at Royal Troon, there's no reason not to back your selection each-way because Betfair are giving you the option of backing it in the 8,10 or 12 Places markets.

Enhance your chances by picking more places

The 8 Places market on the Betfair Sportsbook offers the best odds. This is because Betfair will be paying out on fewer players than the 10 and 12 Place markets for each-way bets.

But the more places you go for it stands to reason that the golfer you back will have slightly lower odds. This is because Betfair will be paying out on more players in the 10 Places and 12 Places markets to settle each-way bets.

Take Tommy Fleetwood for example, who happens to be my first pick this week. You can back him at 18/119.00 each-way to win the Open Championship in the Winner market, which offers 12 places for each-way bets.

But if you fancy Fleetwood strongly, and believe he'll comfortably finish in the top 10, then you can choose to back him at the better price of 20/121.00 in the 10 Places market, or even bigger, at 22/123.00 in the 8 Places market.

So the choice is yours, take a punt on a massive outsider to finish inside the top 12, or back someone more reliable to finish in the top eight. By using Betfair's 'pick your places' markets you're in control of how many players get paid out on.

8 Places - Tommy Fleetwood @ 22/123.00

I doubt there's a golf fan on the planet who would begrudge Tommy Fleetwood a maiden PGA Tour win this week, especially given that would also mean a first major championship for the likeable Englishman.

Form wise there isn't much to shout home about, Fleetwood is just a consistently good golfer who is usually in and around the top of leaderboards. He's currently on a run of 11 consecutive cuts made on the PGA Tour, six times finishing inside the top 20 including a tie for third at the US Masters, and on Sunday he had another good finish at the Scottish Open.

Crucially however, the 33-year-old, has a large bank of form on links or links-type golf courses with perhaps some of his best performances coming at the Open Championship. He missed the cut at this week's venue Royal Troon in 2016 but he's a far better player now than then and has since finished runner-up at the 2019 Open, and he's had a T10 (2023) and T4 (2022) at the last two renewals of the year's final major.

Three top five finishes at the US Open, twice a runner-up in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and two top four finishes at the Scottish Open are further evidence that Fleetwood ups his game when he arrives on the first tee of a links course, and if he putts just a bit better than he did at the Renaissance Club last week then it's not difficult to envisage him contending.

10 Places - Brooks Koepka @ 40/141.00

When it comes to a major championship the name of Brooks Koepka always has to be seriously considered. When it comes to a major and the name Brooks Koepka can be backed at 40/141.00 in a 10 places market, then it's hard not to get him in the book.

Now enjoying the relative comforts of the LIV Golf Tour Koepka is still a man for the big occasion despite slightly disappointing form figures in this year's three majors. Still, he made the cut in all three and recorded a couple of top 30 finishes, so he's not far off.

The chance you take with the 34-year-old American is that if he's not in serious contention then he can down tools a little. Have him within striking distance though and he won't shirk the challenge.

He's a four-time winner on the LIV Golf Tour since its creation just over two years ago and only last year he was winning his fifth major championship at the USPGA. He didn't play at this week's venue in 2016 but in his last seven Open Championship appearance he has finished in the top 10 on four occasions.

Koepka's record of finishing in the top 10 at a major championship 18 times in just over a decade is quite remarkable, and that form alone entitles him to serious consideration this week.

12 Places - Louis Oosthuizen @ 80/181.00

I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised at seeing Louis Oosthuizen priced at 80/181.00 in the 12 places market and I'm more than happy to back him at that price.

A renowned links golf exponent, and a former Open Championship winner, Oosthuizen, like Koepka, now plies his trade on the LIV Golf Tour but there's no reason to suggest that he doesn't still have the game to contend at a major championship. Quite the opposite in fact, the 41-year-old South African has finished runner-up twice in recent months on that particular tour and just this weekend he finished T4 in LIV's latest tournament in Andalucia, demonstrating his game is in good shape.

Oosthuizen was in terrific form towards the end of 2023, winning back-to-back tournaments on the DP World Tour, and the fact that he missed the cut at Royal Troon in 2016 doesn't bother me in the slightest. He's had further top three finishes at the Open either side of that MC and at the US Open, another major championship played on difficult, links-type courses, Oosthuizen racked up form figures of 7-3-2 in three consecutive renewals from 2019.

In summary then, Oosthuizen is still a world class golfer who will surely still have the juices flowing when it comes to challenging for major honours, especially when it comes to trying to lift the Claret Jug for a second time in his career.

Now read more Open Championship tips and previews here.