Have a Luke at 50/1 Donald for The Open
One of the greatest sporting events in the British calendar tees off on Thursday, with Royal Birkdale playing host to the 137th Open Championship.
And without world No.1 Tiger Woods in the field, we at the Punter are confidently predicting a European winner, nay, a British winner in fact, with Luke Donald, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood leading the charge for the home nations.
Westwood came so close to victory at the US Open, while Rose finished third on his Open debut at Birkdale 10 years ago, but Donald may be the one to back to get the better of the 154-man field and at worse claim a place (first five).
With emphasis on accuracy rather than power at the Southport course, art-lover Donald is trading far too high at nearly 50/1 on betdaq, and his terrific iron play and soft touch around the greens should propel him into contention.
The Hemel Hempstead-born 30-year-old has something to prove this year in the big events, having finished only 46th at the Masters before retiring early at the US Open, but he has three top-six finishes to his credit this season on the US Tour, while his best result on the European version was at the BMW PGA Championship, where he came third.
Backed
His previous best finish at The Open was two years ago when he came 35th, but we reckon he can easily surpass that. Another for the shortlist is Donald’s Ryder Cup team-mate Miguel Angel Jimenez, who just pipped the Englishman to that BMW Championship at Wentworth and is a seriously over-priced 66/1 with Ladbrokes.
The cigar-smoking Spaniard already has two top-10 finishes to his name in both Majors this year and is one of those players who just seems to hover below the radar before making a late surge into contention. He has an impressive record in Majors as a whole, with seven top-10 placings and 11 top-20 finishes, so is most definitely a man for the big occasion and must be backed for a place.
And for those who love their outsiders, American Sean O’Hair is nearly 200/1 on betdaq. He has only played in 10 Majors, but has made the top-15 on four occasions, including twice at the Open, so is worth a sniff.