The beauty of a major championship is that bookmakers offer all sorts of bonuses for us punters be it the number of markets they produce or the amount of places they pay in the outright market. Most bookmakers offer six places on this week’s Open Championship with some offering seven and even eight which brings many outsiders onto the betting radar.
When a normal tour event comes around and only five places are paid out quite often betting on outsiders could be restrictive but with these place terms we can go at some bigger price runners with a bit more confidence.
I stated in my tournament preview that players that go well here are long hitters with good short games and they are players I’m targeting here in the main. Experience of playing in windy conditions and on links tracks is another thing I’ve used to whittle the field down and I’ve come up with three big priced runners who should provide us with a run for our money.
The first of those is Victor Dubuisson. Anyone who has followed my writing elsewhere will know I’ve been an admirer of the French enigma for quite some time and this could be his stage to shine. We know the big events offer him no fear. He was runner up to Jason Day in the Accenture Matchplay last year and he looked at home in the Ryder Cup in Scotland last year too.
In truth I had been a little disappointed by Dubuisson’s beginning of the year but a series of illnesses and allergies played a large role in that but the Frenchman has overcome those to post back to back solid weeks. Victor has shot rounds of 62 and 65 around this course in the slightly lesser Dunhill Links and given how far he biffs it off the tee he has to be a contender this week with the magical of all short games. The key will be avoiding the bunkers but if he does that look for Dubuisson to take a step to the next level in this tournament.
Another European I like the profile of is Bernd Wiesberger. The Austrian has improved at a rapid rate of knots over the last 12-15 months and is now one of Europe’s finest talents. We saw in the USPGA Championship last year how good his temperament is and we saw that again in France recently when he powered away from a strong field to win on a tough golf course.
Wiesberger’s power off the tee assisted him heavily on that occasion and it will benefit him this week too. We know if he gets caught in the wind he can come through because the conditions in Ireland when he lost in the playoff were as nasty as you’ll see for a good while. Although he’s a big hitter he has a nice tough on and around the greens and at this price he’s worth following this week too.
My final long priced runner has actually won around this course. He comes in the form of David Howell. Howell won the Dunhill Links in 2013 shooting 63 on this track in the process. In fact his record on this course every time he has played that tournament is very good.
He has enough experience to know where to hit the ball to be in the best positions here and he is a dream putter and won’t fade away when the going gets tough on the dancefloors. Howell has been runner up in three European Tour events this season so he carries real momentum into the week and if he gets in contention don’t be surprised if he finishes the job through.
Back V.Dubuisson to win Open Championship (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 76.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-6)
Back B.Wiesberger to win Open Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 81.00 with Ladbrokes (1/4 1-6)
Back D.Howell to win Open Championship (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 151.00 with Stan James (1/4 1-7)
