2006 British Open Betting

It's going to be tough for those doing any 2006 British Open betting since this is an unknown course in a tournament that has traditionally been won by anyone.

The last time the Open Championship was held at Royal Liverpool Golf Club was 1967. The champion that year was Argentinean Roberto de Vicenzo, and he didn't do it by driving the ball 320 yards off the tee.

So what can we make of the course that is most frequently called Hoylake (in reference to the seaside town just outside of Liverpool where it resides)? What kind of player is suited to it? Long hitters? Short-game wizards? Europeans? North Americans?

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Handicapping was so much easier at this year's U.S. Open. Everyone knows you can't beat the USGA without hitting it straight off the tee. Phil Mickelson tried. Tiger Woods did too. Both to no avail. Geoff Ogilvy won at Winged Foot hitting 57 percent of the fairways in regulation. Not great, but considering the average was 50.2 percent, it wasn't exactly bad either.

An overview of Hoylake
Par: 72
Total Yardage: 7,258
Fairways: Fairly wide for a major championship but are hard, flat and fast.
Bunkers: A lot, but they don't come into play for the long ballers.
Out-of-Bounds: Hoylake is nicknamed Royal O.B. for the long out-of-bounds areas along as many as 10 of the fairways. This feature is getting some attention from the media, but Jim Furyk isn't concerned. He told the USA Today, "Obviously on (holes) 3 and 18, but other than that there are some places where you can hit it out of bounds, but you have to hit poor, poor golf shots."

Mickelson has done his homework and he has a few ideas on what it's going to take to triumph at Hoylake. Unfortunately for bettors, he's not overly keen on sharing them.

"I'm not going to go into detail because I'm going to let everybody else figure it out," Mickelson told the Forth Worth Star-Telegram during the Western Open a few weeks ago.

Woods never seems to worried about studying a yardage book..

"I haven't been there, haven't seen any photos of it," Woods said to the Star-Telegram. "All I know is it's in Liverpool."

The Big Two

Tiger Woods - Odds to win: 7/2 at Bodog

Key stats: Driving Distance - 304.3 yards (9th); Driving Accuracy - 54.3% (179th); Greens in Regulation - 70.6% (2nd); Putting Average - 1.798 (135th)

Don't be fooled by Tiger's carefree comment above. He'll have a few practice rounds to do his homework on Hoylake and that is all it will take. Also throw out his poor performance at the U.S. Open. The Tiger form returned at the Western Open July 7-9 when he fired three straight rounds of three-under or better to finish tied for second.  Tiger Woods hopes to build on his strong finish at the Western Open.

Weapon of choice: That patented, stinger 2-iron. It should help him out in two ways. First, versus the driver, the stinger provides a better chance of hitting the short grass, preferably without rolling into one of Royal Liverpool's deep fairway bunkers. Second, it neutralizes the wind, which may or may not be a factor this week.

Phil Mickelson - Odds to win: 9/1 at Bodog

Key stats: Driving Distance - 299.0 yards (18th); Driving Accuracy - 58.9% (144th); Greens in Regulation - 69.5% (5th); Putting Average - 1.722 (4th)

Unlike Tiger, Lefty struggled at the Western Open, the only tournament he's played since blowing up at the U.S. Open. While Woods was putting up three straight rounds in the 60's from Friday to Sunday, Mickelson was doing them in the 70's. With just one top-10 in the British Open (2004 at Royal Troon), it's been by far his least productive major.

Weapon of choice: The flat stick. Mickelson is not known for his low ball flight, so if the wind kicks up, finding the flag could be tough. Chances are he'll have to drain a few bombs if he wants to contend. At the very least, he'll have to avoid three-putts, which usually isn't a problem for him.

Two More to Consider

Padraig Harrington - Odds to win: 15/1 at Bodog

Key stats: Driving Distance - 293.4 yards (57th); Driving Accuracy - 68.0% (29th); Greens in Regulation - 67.5% (20th); Putting Average - 1.755 (27th)

Straight from the Bodog Sportsbook: "Lately, Harrington has been a fixture on the leaderboard, so we expect a good deal of action on him this weekend. He blew a chance at the U.S. Open by finishing bogey-bogey-bogey to lose by two strokes. An Irishman, Harrington should be pretty comfortable on the links course."

David Howell - Odds to win: 31/1 at Bodog

Key stats: Driving Distance - 285.5 yards (121st); Driving Accuracy - 68.1% (27th); Greens in Regulation - 64.9% (75th); Putting Average - 1.719 (3rd)

Straight from the Bodog Sportsbook: "Howell could very well be a savvy value pick, much like Geoff Ogilvy was at the U.S. Open. He's yet to miss a cut this year on the PGA Tour and has two victories - the HSBC Championship in Shanghai and the BMW Championship in England - on the European Tour. For the 10th-ranked player in the world, it's tough to argue with the odds Howell is offering."

A Longshot With A Chance

Mike Weir - Odds to win: 80/1 at Bodog

Key stats: Driving Distance - 277.6 yards (170th); Driving Accuracy - 64.7% (170th); Greens in Regulation - 63.9% (104th); Putting Average - 1.748 (17th)

Straight from the Bodog Sportsbook: "There's nothing flashy about Weir. He doesn't hit the ball far and being Canadian doesn't get a lot of action from American bettors. Still, you can't argue with his success at big tournaments. In addition to winning the 2003 Masters, Weir finished T11 this year at Augusta and T6 at the U.S. Open. Not many other consistent performers can turn twenty dollars into four figures for their backers."

This should be an exciting week for those of you who like to bet on golf, which is a legal activity in Britain so you will hear the announcers talking a lot about the odds at the local shops there.  You can also bet those same guys will have a few wagers placed themselves as they start pulling for their guys down the stretch.