The first round of the 150th The Open Championship takes place on Thursday when the entire field head out onto the St Andrews links for the first time in competitive play this week, each looking to open their tournament in a positive fashion.
This is always one of the more special days of the golfing year and with it being the anniversary of this fine tournament and on such an iconic course it has the potential to be even more appealing as the opening 18 holes get played out.
First Round Leader
As always the first market we look at is the first round leader one. The Open is quite unique in that the whole field go out on the first tee with the opening tee time at 06.35 BST and the last group going off at 16.16 BST. That means the weather forecast is important but there isn’t too dramatic a difference between the morning and the afternoon with the exception of the breeze freshening into the afternoon. The course might change though because the greens will start out a little softer to ensure they get through the four days but with temperatures expected to be high on Thursday they’ll soon dry out so I want players out very early on my side.
Dean Burmester is out in the third group of the day and he has caught my eye at a huge price. He drives the ball brilliantly well and is very long so he’s going to maximise these runways and get up to most of the greens. His short game isn’t bad either so if he holes some putts he could go very well here. Burmester averages 67.25 for his last four rounds here in the Dunhill Links tournament so it is a course he goes well at and with an early tee time which will get responsive greens I’ll pay to see if he can take advantage.
Kurt Kitayama is the other one who interests me. He goes out on group six at 07.30 BST which is early enough to get the round done before the wind kicks up and still have the softness in the greens. The American opened with a solid 66 last week and actually played well for most of the week. He drives it long and if he avoids the bad drive that sometimes comes into play then the rest of his game should have him go very well. Kitayama’s short game numbers were excellent last week and he’s won on the European Tour in Mauritius so we know he handles the wind. If the driver stays straight a fast start won’t be a surprise.
Special Offer
Sign up for a Boylesports account to get up to £25 in free bets! Perfect offer for this tournament! Click the image below for this great offer! New accounts only. 18+ T&Cs apply. Gamble Aware.
Thursday 3 Balls
The opening round of the tournament sees the players going out in three balls all off the first tee. As mentioned above, the opening tee time is 06.35 BST and the last group go out at 16.16 BST but there are some wonderful groups onto the links in between. The two marquee groups with a morning tee time are Collin Morikawa, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele who go out at 09.58 BST while Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland get their campaign underway 11 minutes later. The headline group in the afternoon is the one which sees Tiger Woods, Matt Fitzpatrick and Max Homa who leave the first tee at 14.59 BST. Jordan Spieth, Jon Rahm and Harold Varner III go off at 15.10 BST. I like a bet in two groups, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
Ernie Els/Adri Arnaus/Brad Kennedy
Match tees off at 09.25 BST
The first of the three ball bets I like over the course of Thursday comes midway through the morning as the former champion Ernie Els goes out alongside the Catalunya winner Adri Arnaus and the veteran Australian player Brad Kennedy.
Kennedy has been going well on the Japan Tour but he’s missed the cut in all three turns at The Open and also missed the cut in two of the Dunhill Links he played back in the day and carded a Sunday 76 here the one time he played the final round. I can’t believe he is going to be much of a factor here. I’m not sure the game of Els is in that great a shape either. He hasn’t gone that well in the important Champions events and it is 15 years since he had a top 10 in the Dunhill Links here. That leaves Arnaus who admittedly isn’t in brilliant form himself but he did win on the DP World Tour just two months ago and while his results haven’t been fantastic since then he has been competing at a decent level. He opened with a 64 here in the Dunhill Links in September and anything in the 60s here should be more than enough.
John Catlin/Jamie Rutherford/David Carey
Match tees off at 15.54 BST
The second group I like a three ball bet in on Thursday comes in the third to last group out onto the links as the two-time DP World Tour winner John Catlin goes out alongside the lesser experienced Jamie Rutherford and David Carey.
Carey has won on the Alps Tour a few years ago but hasn’t really progressed too far since then so it is an achievement for him to qualify for this event and tee it up but he only has one top 10 finish on the Alps Tour this year so I don’t expect too much from him here. Rutherford is making his way through the tours and had a top five finish on the Challenge Tour on his last outing but this is a significant step up in class for him. This three ball should be a penalty kick for Catlin who has an acceptable record around here and who won in Ireland when the wind was blowing so he can handle the afternoon breezes. Catlin missed the cut in Scotland last week but he was fourth in Ireland the week before so he’s hitting the ball well, has a final round of 69 here in the 2019 Dunhill Links and anything around par should see him to victory in this three ball.
Tips
Back D.Burmester First Round Leader (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 126.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-8)
Back K.Kitayama First Round League (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 101.00 with Boylesports (1/5 1-8)
Back A.Arnaus to beat E.Els & B.Kennedy for a 3/10 stake at 2.25 with Boylesports
Back J.Catlin to beat J.Rutherford & D.Carey for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Boylesports
Back them here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022
