The first round of The Open is in the book and we head into the second round at Royal Birkdale on Friday with three players tied for the lead and a stellar cast list chasing them as we move towards the halfway mark of the tournament.
Thursday saw much calmer conditions than was first predicted but Friday is going to be much tougher and could well sort out the men from the boys so to speak so an intriguing day lies in store.
Thursday Recap
Our pre-tournament pick Matt Kuchar is one of the three men in the lead heading into Friday. He carded a bogey free five under par to sit alongside fellow Americans Jordan Spieth and Brooks Koepka. Two more quality players are one shot back in the form of Paul Casey and Charl Schwartzel.
There is a sizeable group two back from the lead which is headed by Ian Poulter and includes last week’s winner Rafa Cabrera Bello, Justin Thomas, Charley Hoffman and Richard Bland. Alex Noren, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Hideki Matsuyama and the defending champion Henrik Stenson all shot under par rounds.
It was a day to forget for some leading names though with the likes of Sergio Garcia shooting three over the same score as Phil Mickelson while Zach Johnson was five over and home favourite Tommy Fleetwood one worse. Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson both fired one over par rounds.
In terms of betting on the opening day it was hit and miss for us. Two of the three ball bets provided a return and while the other two both led early doors they didn’t win so we were level for them and slightly down on the day with the first round leader bets not getting going.
Second Round
Normally I would look at the end of round leader market but the weather on Friday looks terrible right now and it could well turn into survival of the fittest so literally anyone would have claims for leading at the halfway stage.
The wind is expected to blow strongly all day and there is heavy rain forecast too so this is going to be tough for the entire field to get around. With that in mind I will stick with the three balls for betting where there are three I like.
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Friday 3 balls
Chris Wood/Ryan Moore/Mark O’Meara
Match tees off at 11.36 BST
This is listed as a three ball but to all intents and purposes it will be a two ball because Mark O’Meara showed with his opening tee shot that this level is no longer for him. He ended up shooting +11 on Thursday with Chris Wood firing +1 and Ryan Moore +4.
I expect that to be the result on Friday too especially with the conditions likely to be bad. Wood will be used to those conditions while Moore may not be. They don’t tend to play in extreme conditions in America so Wood will have a significant advantage which should develop into him winning this three ball.
Soren Kjeldsen/Danny Willett/Billy Horschel
Match tees off at 12.31 BST
One of the afternoon groups on the golf course involve the former Masters champion Danny Willett who goes out alongside a previous FedEx Cup champion in Billy Horschel and a former Irish Open winner in Soren Kjeldsen.
Kjeldsen and Willett both shot one over on Thursday with Horschel out with the washing but I am expecting the tougher conditions to play into the hands of the Dane on Friday. We saw him win his Irish Open in extreme conditions two years ago while a cooling of the air and dank weather is not going to help Willett’s back. At solid odds against I fancy Kjeldsen to get the better of Willett and a Horschel who is likely to be out of his comfort zone.
Branden Grace/Jason Dufner/Bryson DeChambeau
Match tees off at 12.53 BST
There were mixed fortunes in this group on Thursday with Branden Grace going round in a solid effort of level par while Jason Dufner shot +3 and Sunday’s John Deere Classic champion Bryson DeChambeau finishing +6.
I fully expect that to translate into a similar result on Friday too. Grace loves tough conditions and his famous low ball flight will be perfect for the wind that will be gusting. Dufner and DeChambeau will be in new territory here and out of their comfort zone. They couldn’t compete with the South African in more benign conditions so I don’t see them doing on in tougher ones on Friday.
Tips
Back C.Wood to beat R.Moore & M.O’Meara for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
WON – Back S.Kjeldsen to beat D.Willett & B.Horschel for a 4/10 stake at 2.63 with Betfair
Back him here:
Back B.Grace to beat J.Dufner & B.DeChambeau for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with Coral
Back him here:
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