Key Points
- The final Major golf tournament of the year
- My hand-picked squad for the 151st British Open
- Check out my 200/1 selection!
The 151st British Open - the final Major of the year
The final Major of the year is upon us and Hoylake plays host to the 151st British Open. This tournament looks all set to be an extreme test of golfing skills and this is exactly the sort of golf I love to watch.
Here we have a real challenge that requires a combination of everything - accuracy off the tee, strong iron play in the approach to these undulating greens, and if you miss them, you really need your short game to be on point. The players here need everything they’ve got if they want to lift the Claret Jug.
Every time Hoylake is mentioned, it reminds me of the 2006 British Open, where Tiger used a 2-iron hit everything off nearly every tee and won in probably the most impressive style I’ve ever seen. None of his players saw this is as a game plan, they went with drivers and paid the price whilst Tiger just kept hitting fairway after fairway and was dominant in the finish.
This week's players may want to keep that in mind, as keeping the ball in play is the most important thing this week, with the rough likely to leave you taking your medicine and losing shots to get it back in play. I think it will pay to side with the all-rounders this week and that's the premise of this week's squad. Hoylake is 7383 yds just the three Par 5’s and 4 par 3’s, and I cannot wait to see the players take to the course.
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The 151st British Open – My Best Bets
Cam Smith @ 16/1
My number one selection for this year's British Open is actually last year's winner
Cam Smith, who to me is the best all-round player on Tour and he couldn’t be coming into this event in better form. I’ve been so impressed with every aspect of his game and it’s great to have him on the squad here.
I was at the LIV Golf London a couple of weeks back and followed him round the Centurion Club, and he was just fantastic in every department. I mentioned the week before that I had Cam Smith in mind for the LIV Golf event for some time and he took it on it in seriously good style.
I think he is in for another big week here at Hoylake. His temperament is bombproof and the occasional bad shot doesn’t seem to have any affect him at all.
He didn’t play last week, so he will come into this event nice and fresh
and in a week where hitting the fairways is absolutely key, Cam Smith is the complete player.
Louis Oosthuizen @ 100/1
Next in the squad for this week's British Open, is 2010 winner
Louis Oosthuizen. Like Cam Smith, Louis has a very solid game all round and he won’t mind it if conditions get rough either. He’s got plenty of experience behind him and his smooth tempo swing should be a really good attribute if the wind gets up.
He has won at St Andrews and has had some very good finishes on links, including
two Top 10 finishes last season, so this course will really suit his style. His experience will keep him in this at the deep end if he gets off to a decent enough start and I can see him playing very well this week.
Matthew Fitzpatrick @ 30/1
Selection number three for this week’s squad is world number 9
Matt Fitzpatrick, who makes my squad for the very first time. I think he is ready for another big week in the final Major for this year. He started off this season with a severe neck injury, but has been bang on form since.
He finished in a tie for 10th at this year’s Masters and followed that up by winning the RBC Heritage in a play-off against Jordan Spieth. I was also really impressed with him in the Memorial, where he finished in a tie for ninth, he looked the complete player again that week and since then he has finished tied 20th in the Canadian, and tied for 17th in the US Open.
Matthew Fitzpatrick is a player right back on form and I think he is a great addition to the squad
this week.
Rickie Fowler @ 20/1
Selection four is the rejuvenated
Rickie Fowler
who was back in the winner’s circle after his victory in the Rocket Mortgage a couple of weeks ago. It was no surprise to see him back winning a trophy and that win also put him back up to world number 21, so I think he’s ready to push on and grab himself a Major title. It would be rather fitting after the season he has enjoyed and he looks so much more comfortable on the course of late.
He has won a total of six times on the PGA Tour and has tons of Top 10 finishes to go with those, so he’s a serious player when he’s in form. I love the way he has played this year, his course management has improved hugely and by the looks of things, so has his temperament.
I’ve been very impressed with his iron play, but even more impressed by his putting - he seems to hole them from everywhere and he looks well suited to the links golf. He played well in the Scottish Open, carding scores of 67, 67 and 69, which were three really good rounds of golf, but finished with a 74 in the final round, where he didn’t get the best of the weather.
He’s a player very comfortable with his golf swing at the moment
and I see no reason why Rickie shouldn’t go very close this week
Patrick Reed @ 80/1
Patrick Reed
sneaks into my squad this week as selection number five and even though he plays with quite a strong fade, he uses it so well and effectively that it’s not a negative, despite the course being better suited to those with a softer shot shape. He won the Masters in 2018 and whether you like Patrick Reed or not, he is a very talented golfer who has Top 10 finishes in all four of the Major Championships.
He has all of the tools needed to win another Major and he has transitioned to the LIV golf tour very well, having multiple Top 3 finishes to his credit. He also plays better at the tougher courses, so I think he is sneaky big in the betting for this event.
I like his style of play, he’s very aggressive and is pretty good with the putter too.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get competitive here at a big price.
Sepp Straka @ 200/1
Sepp Straka
is currently world number 27, so how on earth he has been priced at 200/1, or more, is completely beyond me. He comes into this week in the form of his life on the back of winning the John Deere Classic, his second PGA Tour title, and surely has to be on the verge of getting into the Ryder Cup team. He is hugely overpriced for his talent and I’m sure if he plays well this week, his spot will be cemented.
He has proven all year round that he is a very good ball striker and his short game has been pretty impressive too. He is a very consistent player and rightly takes his place among the Top 30 players in the world, so there will certainly be much worse 200/1 shots than Sepp Straka for this week.
Sepp Straka is hugely underestimated on raw talent
and I need to have a piece of him at that price because it makes no sense, based on world rankings alone.
And here's the video to go with my squad selections!
151st Open Championship | Final Major of the year | Ginger Joe's Golf Betting Tips | Betting.co.uk |
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