Players

July 16, 2013 - 10:02 pm EDT 12 years ago

The Odds: Matt Kuchar a Sleeper to Win 2013 Open Championship

Last week, Phil Mickelson proved that he could win a golf tournament on a links-style course when he won the Scottish Open. That’s a pretty big story considering he had never done it before and his record on links courses was pretty dismal.

It would have been an even bigger story if 19-year-old Jordan Spieth had not stepped up and become the first teenager to win on the PGA Tour in 82 years. Ralph Guldahl was the last one to do it in 1931.

We have been riding Spieth for a couple of weeks now and 30-1 was a nice payoff for us. It was a much bigger payoff for Spieth, though, as he not only picked up the big check, he qualified for the British Open this week, the PGA next month, the FedExCup playoffs and the Masters next spring.

Our matchup play of Zach Johnson (+135) over Steve Stricker was also a nice pick, and it actually went up to +175 at the LVH, so it was a good weekend.

We are going to try to keep it going this week at The Open Championship at Muirfield. We did a video detailing some guys to take a look at this week, and we are also going to consider a couple other players at nice prices, but first let’s take a look at the history of Muirfield in Scotland.

Muirfield is one of the greatest golf courses in the world, and it has hosted the Open Championship 15 times. It has also hosted the British Amateur 10 times along with a Ryder Cup in 1973 and the British Senior Open in 2007.

The list of past winners here is staggering. It includes Harry Vardon, Ted Ray, Walter Hagen, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson and Nick Faldo (twice). All in all, 11 of the 13 winners at Muirfield are in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

The last time they played here was in 2002 and Ernie Els was the winner. He is also the defending champion from last year, but he is not a guy we are looking at this week. With the list of champions mentioned above, you have to look at the greatest players in the game this week.

In the video we mentioned Tiger Woods (7-1) along with Rory McIlroy (20-1), Adam Scott (20-1) and Lee Westwood (25-1). Rickie Fowler (40-1) is also a consideration, but here are a couple of other guys to keep an eye on this week:

Phil Mickelson (20-1) – Even though we don’t normally like to back players to win two weeks in a row, Phil did prove last week he can win in Europe and he is playing too well to ignore.

Graeme McDowell (25-1) – McDowell has three wins on the year worldwide, and his game is perfectly suited to this golf course. He is working his way toward a HOF career and his second win in a major here would not be a surprise.

Matt Kuchar (40-1) – Kuchar has played very well all year and is due to win a major just like Adam Scott when he won the Masters and Justin Rose, who won the U.S. Open. This is the hunch play of the week as Kuchar won The Memorial at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio, back in May.

Bill Haas (60-1) – There has been money on Haas as you could have gotten 100-1 a couple of weeks ago. He is another guy who fits the mold of this season. He has some big wins, including the 2011 FedExCup and the AT&T this year, but he is still looking for that first major. His time is coming.

Our matchup play is based strictly on the odds. Rory is (+190) against Tiger, and while we haven’t seen the best of McIlroy this year, he has won a major in each of the last two seasons. Woods is also coming off a layoff since the U.S. Open with the elbow issue, so you don’t really know what to expect from him. At that price, Rory is worth a wager.Next week we move on to The Canadian Open in Ontario, Canada, but for now let’s just enjoy a great week of golf on a course that is extremely dry and fast.

It should be fun, and the weather will definitely be a factor as it always is at The Open Championship.

MORE: British Open action report

LVH Super Book odds

BRITISH OPEN MUIRFIELD – GULLANE, EAST LOTHIAN, SCOTLAND

JULY 18-21, 2013

ODDS TO WIN:

TIGER WOODS 7/1

RORY McILROY 20/1

ADAM SCOTT 20/1

JUSTIN ROSE 20/1

LEE WESTWOOD 25/1

LUKE DONALD 25/1

PHIL MICKELSON 20/1

SERGIO GARCIA 30/1

JASON DAY 25/1

CHARL SCHWARTZEL 40/1

GRAEME McDOWELL 25/1

ERNIE ELS 25/1

BRANDT SNEDEKER 30/1

DUSTIN JOHNSON 30/1

PADRAIG HARRINGTON 60/1

LOUIS OOSTHUIZEN 50/1

RICKIE FOWLER 40/1

MATT KUCHAR 40/1

JASON DUFNER 60/1

HUNTER MAHAN 60/1

IAN POULTER 50/1

HENRIK STENSON 40/1

THORBJORN OLESEN 100/1

NICOLAS COLSAERTS 50/1

WEBB SIMPSON 60/1

MARTIN KAYMER 60/1

KEEGAN BRADLEY 80/1

BUBBA WATSON 80/1

JIM FURYK 80/1

BILLY HORSCHEL 100/1

MATTEO MANASSERO 60/1

FRANCESCO MOLINARI 80/1

ANGEL CABRERA 100/1

ZACH JOHNSON 60/1

PETER HANSON 125/1

NICK WATNEY 80/1

BO VAN PELT 125/1

BILL HAAS 60/1

GEOFF OGILVY 150/1

BERND WIESBERGER 125/1

GEORGE COETZEE 150/1

BRANDEN GRACE 60/1

FREDDIE JACOBSON 150/1

MARTIN LAIRD 100/1

PAUL LAWRIE 100/1

THOMAS BJORN 60/1

PAUL CASEY DNQ

TIM CLARK 150/1

ROBERT KARLSSON 150/1

K.J. CHOI 125/1

GONZALO FERNANDEZ-CASTANO 150/1

CARL PETTERSSON 200/1

RYAN MOORE 125/1

CAMILO VILLEGAS 200/1

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ 150/1

RETIEF GOOSEN DNQ

RICHARD STERNE 80/1

ALEXANDER NOREN 125/1

JAMIE DONALDSON 100/1

RAFAEL CABRERA BELLO 200/1

JOHN SENDEN 200/1

SCOTT PIERCY 200/1

ROBERT GARRIGUS 250/1

BRIAN DAVIS 200/1

SHANE LOWRY 100/1

RICHIE RAMSAY 200/1

BEN CURTIS 200/1

STEWART CINK 150/1

THOMAS AIKEN 250/1

MARCEL SIEM 125/1

KEVIN STREELMAN 200/1

BUD CAULEY 300/1

DARREN CLARKE 300/1

VIJAY SINGH 250/1

JOSH TEATER 300/1

MICHAEL THOMPSON 300/1

HIDEKI MATSUYAMA 200/1

DAVID LYNN 200/1

DANNY WILLETT 250/1

LUKE GUTHRIE 250/1

THONGCHAI JAIDEE 250/1

JOHN HUH 250/1

D.A. POINTS 300/1

Y.E. YANG 300/1

LUCAS GLOVER 250/1

JUSTIN LEONARD 250/1

JOHN DALY WD

KIRADECH APHIBARNRAT 300/1

MARCUS FRASER 300/1

SCOTT BROWN 500/1

JOHNSON WAGNER 250/1

FRED COUPLES 200/1

TOM LEHMAN 300/1

THAWORN WIRATCHANT 500/1

TOM WATSON 500/1

DAVID DUVAL 1000/1

TODD HAMILTON 1000/1

HIROYUKI FUJITA 1000/1

STEVEN FOX 2000/1

FIELD (all others) 10/1

* GOLFER MUST TEE OFF FOR ACTION *

TOURNAMENT MATCHUPS:

RORY McILROY +190 vs. TIGER WOODS -220

JUSTIN ROSE EVEN vs. ADAM SCOTT -120

GRAEME McDOWELL EVEN vs. PHIL MICKELSON -120

LUKE DONALD +110 vs. LEE WESTWOOD -130

ERNIE ELS +110 vs. SERGIO GARCIA -130

JASON DAY -110 vs. RICKIE FOWLER -110

DUSTIN JOHNSON -110 vs. BRANDT SNEDEKER -110

MATT KUCHAR -130 vs. IAN POULTER +110

NICOLAS COLSAERTS -110 vs. MARTIN KAYMER -110

JASON DUFNER -110 vs. HUNTER MAHAN -110

WEBB SIMPSON -120 vs. BUBBA WATSON EVEN

KEEGAN BRADLEY +110 vs. JIM FURYK -130

ZACH JOHNSON -110 vs. NICK WATNEY -110

MATTEO MANASSERO -135 vs. FRANCESCO MOLINARI +115

ALEXANDER NOREN -110 vs. BERND WIESBERGER -110

(45 MORE MATCHUPS AVAILABLE IN BOOK)

PROPOSITIONS:

(Par = 71)

WINNING SCORE:

(*72 holes must be completed for action)

OVER 273.5 -110

UNDER 273.5 -110

WILL THERE BE A HOLE IN ONE?

(*72 holes must be completed for action)

YES -130

NO +110

WILL THERE BE A PLAYOFF?

(*72 holes must be completed for action)

YES +250

NO -300

LOWEST COMPLETED ROUND SHOT BY ANY GOLFER:

(*Full round of 18 holes; 72 holes must be completed for action)

OVER 64.5 +160

UNDER 64.5 -180

WILL TIGER WOODS WIN THE 2013 BRITISH OPEN?

(*Tiger Woods must tee off for action)

YES +700

NO -900

FINISH POSITION BY: TIGER WOODS

(*Must tee off for action; Includes ties; If golfer withdraws, is disqualified, or misses the cut, ‘over’ is the winner)

OVER 12.5 -110

UNDER 12.5 -110

FINISH POSITION BY: RORY McILROY

(*Must tee off for action; Includes ties; If golfer withdraws, is disqualified, or misses the cut, ‘over’ is the winner)

OVER 26.5 -110

UNDER 26.5 -110

FINISH POSITION BY: ADAM SCOTT

(*Must tee off for action; Includes ties; If golfer withdraws, is disqualified, or misses the cut, ‘over’ is the winner)

OVER 19.5 -110

UNDER 19.5 -110

FINISH POSITION BY: JUSTIN ROSE

(*Must tee off for action; Includes ties; If golfer withdraws, is disqualified, or misses the cut, ‘over’ is the winner)

OVER 19.5 -110

UNDER 19.5 -110

FINISH POSITION BY: PHIL MICKELSON

(*Must tee off for action; Includes ties; If golfer withdraws, is disqualified, or misses the cut, ‘over’ is the winner)

OVER 20.5 -110

UNDER 20.5 -110

FINISH POSITION BY: LEE WESTWOOD

(*Must tee off for action; Includes ties; If golfer withdraws, is disqualified, or misses the cut, ‘over’ is the winner)

OVER 23.5 -110

UNDER 23.5 -110

FINISH POSITION BY: JASON DAY

(*Must tee off for action; Includes ties; If golfer withdraws, is disqualified, or misses the cut, ‘over’ is the winner)

OVER 29.5 -110

UNDER 29.5 -110

WILL TIGER WOODS MAKE THE CUT?