As ever in major championship week there is a stack of markets priced up and The Open is no different. Markets on the top 5, 10 and 20 as well as the majority of the nationalities have all been priced up and now is a good time to have a look at some of them.
Having taken a fairly diverse range of players in my outright preview I’ve covered a fair few nationalities and I’m not one for doubling outright bets up especially on the links where the conditions can switch quickly and luck can play a large part. With that in mind I’ll target just two more markets.
Top Asian
This is a market I always like with the Asian golf getting stronger and stronger year by year and you only have to look at the field from Asia this year to see how that remains the case. In total there are 18 golfers from Asia teeing it up this week which makes for a very strong field in this market.
Hideki Matsuyama is the favourite this week. That is to be expected. He is comfortably the best ranked Asian in the world but after his win in France two weeks ago Thongchai Jaidee isn’t too far behind. Byeong-Hun An is another top Asian player.
All three would have live chances as would Anirban Lahiri who could be called overpriced at 10/1. Jeung-Hun Wang is in the middle of an excellent year although his ball flight could give him some issues this week but I believe one man has been wrongly ignored.
That is Kiradech Aphibarnrat, a player who has already won a title on the links in the Paul Lawrie Matchplay and who should in theory go well around here. He can get the ball out there off the tee, plays solid irons and is a very good putter so I’m expecting the Thai to go well this week.
This will be a competitive market and a couple of players below Aphibarnrat could well get into the mix but I like the Thai at 14/1. I think this course really suits him and at 14/1 I’m happy to take him among the Asian players.
Top Englishman
As you would expect in an Open Championship there are plenty of Englishmen teeing it up this week and there are some stellar ones and some fast improving ones which makes for a good mix.
The Masters champion Danny Willett is in this field but it shows how strong it is that he is only the third favourite behind Justin Rose and Lee Westwood. Rose is the favourite here but I can’t be having that. He’s coming back from injury, he sounded full of cold on Sky the other day and his Open record isn’t that great. I’d have Westwood shorter than Rose but I’m not all that interested in Westy either if I’m honest.
I like Willett but he hasn’t really set the world alight since he won The Masters, understandably so. He is apparently fighting an illness this week too so I can leave him alone as well. I actually think Andy Sullivan will enjoy a good week here but he’s a little short at single figures with my focus on the value this week.
You can make a case for a number of players this week from Paul Casey to Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tyrell Hatton to Luke Donald and plenty more besides but I’m going to take a chance on the Englishman who is making great strides at the minute which is Callum Shinkwin.
Shinkwin comes in here off the back of top 10 finishes in France and Scotland and he was also in the top 20 in Ireland just recently too so he’s in really good form at the minute. The thing I like about him is he belts the ball absolutely miles so he could really tear up this front nine and that length can help him tame the back nine which will play long into the wind.
Nobody was better from tee to green on a really demanding golf course where the elements really bit at times in France and only five men were longer on average than him last week and a couple of those above him aren’t in the field this week. He has the tools to go under the radar and deliver something good this week so I’m prepared to see how well he goes at a huge price.
Tips
Back K.Aphibarnrat Top Asian (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 15.00 with Bet365 (1/4 1-3)
Back him here:
Back C.Shinkwin Top Englishman (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 34.00 with Coral (1/5 1-4)
Back him here:
