The first day of The Open is always a keenly looked forward to event with golf action for 14hrs non-stop and thanks to Sky’s excellent coverage we are going to see the action from first shot to last which helps us when it comes to following our bets.
As ever for the opening round of a major there are a number of markets for us to get stuck into and we’re going to do exactly that for the first day of action around Royal Portrush over the course of the day on Thursday.
First Round Leader
The first market we always look at when a major comes around is the first round leader one. In keeping with the Irish Open a couple of weeks ago everyone is off the first tee throughout the day so if there is a change in the weather there is a fair chance the field will be split. The weather is expected to be wet to begin with, with the wind and rain dying down a touch in the afternoon so I’m going to throw a few darts at three in the afternoon.
Brooks Koepka isn’t out as late as perhaps I would like but while others feel their way into the tournament he has a major advantage in the fact that his caddy is a member of Royal Portrush and is said to have gone round it in 64 blows himself. That should not only keep Koepka fresh in that he won’t have had to plough the work in ahead of the tournament finding sight lines and places to miss etc so far should be ready to come out firing here. We all know his credentials in major championships and so a big round is in him.
I highlighted the credentials of Lee Westwood last week but the scoring in the first round in Scotland was much lower than I expected. I don’t expect it to be so good here and given that he is out at 14.37 BST I think he is worth sticking with in this market. Matt Kuchar has the lowest first round average on the PGA Tour this season and was tied for the lead after 18 holes in Scotland last week. He’s a man I expect to see a lot from this week and his 15.21 tee time could be ideal. I’ll have a dabble on him here too.
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Thursday 3 Balls
As always in a major championship the field go out in groups of three for the first two rounds. Darren Clarke will hit the first tee shot at 06.35 BST while Ashton Turner hits the final one just after 16.16. There are plenty of groups in between them. Tiger Woods is out with Patrick Reed and Matt Wallace at 15.10 while Jon Rahm, Matt Kuchar and Patrick Cantlay go out 11 minutes later. In the middle of the day the Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood and Thorbjorn Olesen group is a decent one at 12.53 while Rory McIlroy is out alongside the US Open champion Gary Woodland and Paul Casey at 10.09.
There are plenty of groups out over the course of the day and they have all been priced up by the enemy. There are three such groups that I like from a betting point of view. Two of them are out earlier in the day with one for the afternoon. All three are groups that might go under the radar but should deliver some profit.
Richard Sterne/Romain Langasque/Matthius Schmid
Match tees off at 07.19 BST
The first group that catches my eye is the fifth one out onto the golf course as the South African player Richard Sterne goes out alongside the confident French player Romain Langasque and the amateur Matthuis Schmid.
I’m no fan of backing amateurs in major championships even though I accept the quality of them these days is much better than they were. That said, I don’t think Schmid leads the amateurs so he is passed over. Sterne broke 70 for the first time since February last week but his 68 probably wasn’t better than par on the day which makes me think Langasque is the one to be on here. He is a decent links golfer who went well last week to continue his love of the links style, which I highlighted in the side markets preview. I think Langasque is ready to go well at this level and I’d be surprised if he doesn’t have the better of these two first up.
Zach Johnson/David Duval/Corey Conners
Match tees off at 09.47 BST
The second group which takes my fancy comes along in the middle of the morning as the former champions Zach Johnson and David Duval go out alongside the talented Canadian player Corey Conners in the 9.47 threesome.
Zach Johnson is the favourite for this group and you would think he’ll go well but his form in the States this term has been rotten. He has only made the top 20 once all season and I can’t be getting involved at odds on in that situation. I’m in absolutely no rush to take David Duval these days which leaves Corey Conners. I mentioned in the side markets preview that Conners has been in Ireland preparing for this tournament for a while and with the quality of his iron play he can come through this grouping.
Ernie Els/Abraham Ancer/JB Holmes
Match tees off at 14.26 BST
The final group that I like the look of comes in the middle of the afternoon when the Mexican star Abraham Ancer is out alongside his potential Presidents Cup skipper and former champion of this event in Ernie Els as well as the Genesis Open winner JB Holmes.
I’m not sure Els is consistent enough or a regular enough player to be getting the better of these two while I’ve never been truly convinced by JB Holmes, especially when the weather is set to be tough like it is on Thursday. That makes me think Ancer is a good thing here. He won the Australian Open in windswept conditions at the end of last year and went pretty well in Ireland a couple of weeks ago where he opened with a four under 66. That course was set up as close to this one to give the best preparation for this week so that was the perfect form boost. Ancer is good in the wind and looks to be playing the better golf of this trio right now. At odds against he’s a bet.
Tips
PLACED – Back B.Koepka First Round Leader (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-7)
Back M.Kuchar First Round Leader (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 46.00 with 888sport (1/5 1-7)
Back them here:
PLACED – Back L.Westwood First Round Leader (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 96.00 with Betfair (1/5 1-8)
Back him here:
WON – Back R.Langasque to beat R.Sterne & M.Schmid for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with BetVictor
Back him here:
WON – Back C.Conners to beat Z.Johnson & D.Duval for a 4/10 stake at 2.63 with Betway
Back him here:
Back A.Ancer to beat E.Els & JB.Holmes for a 4/10 stake at 2.25 with William Hill
Back him here:
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