2015 British Open Preview

2015 British Open Preview

The Open Championship, also known as the British Open, will return to St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland this year for the 144th outing of this great tournament. The 2015 Open Championship begins on July 16 and WAS led by deserved favorites Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. McIlroy won this tournament last year before completing the 2014 season with a PGA Championship victory, while Spieth has won both the Masters and US Open this year. However, Rory McIlroy recently tore a ligament in his left ankle and will miss out on defending his Open Championship.

As for Tiger Woods, he appeared to have little chance of competing for another title judging by his play a couple weeks ago, but his past success at the British Open always put him near the top of the favorites. Below shows recent winners of the British Open along with Woods’ odds to win (market consensus odds):

YearWinning GolferOdds to WinTiger's Odds to Win
2014Rory McIlroy+1500+1600
2013Phil Mickelson+1800+800
2012Ernie Els+3050+1200
2011Darren Clarke+12500DNP
2010Louis Oosthuizen+15000+500
2009Stewart Cink+5000+175
2008Padraig Harrington+1600DNP
2007Padraif Harrington+2000+225
2006Tiger Woods+600+600

Despite not winning a major since the US Open in 2008, Tiger still attracts plenty of attention knowing what he was once capable of. His past success at the Open even had books listing him with the third best odds to win this year at +1600, but his play in June led that to fall a bit.  Below shows the odds for each golfer to win the 2015 British Open from 5Dimes:

GolferJuly 15June 22June 1
Spieth+620+605+935
D. Johnson+1110+1550+2200
Fowler+1545+2600+2200
Scott+1960+1800+2800
Stenson+1960+2200+3000
Oosthuizen+1960+2800+5000
Rose+2040+1900+2200
B Watson+3000+5000+5500
Woods+3025+6500+1650
Day+3400+2700+3000
Matsuyama+3400+4200+5500
Kaymer+3500+4200+4000
Garcia+3500+3700+2800
Casey+3500+5000+4500
Mickelson+4000+3200+3200
Lowry+4200+5000+8000
Grace+4500N/AN/A
Snedeker+4500+6500+10000
Kuchar+5500+8500+7500
Koepka+6600+7000+8000
P Reed+7000+5000+8500
Lawrie+7400+50000+50000
J Walker+7500+8000+7500
F Molinari+8000N/AN/A
Wiesberger+8000N/AN/A
Westwood+8000+9000+6500
Dubuisson+8000+11500+8000
Fleetwood+8500N/AN/A
Poulter+8500+7500+8000
Schwartzel+8500+9000+16500
Furyk+9000+10500+10000
Donald+9500+8000+8000
Holmes+9500+8000+8000
Bradley+9500+18500+20000
Willett+11000N/AN/A
Kisner+11500N/AN/A
A Cabrera+12500+12500+14500
Z Johnson+12500+14500+11000
B-H An+12500N/AN/A
Lee+14000N/AN/A
Luiten+14000N/AN/A
Palmer+15000N/A
Knox+15000N/AN/A
McDowell+15000+15500+11000
Horschel+15500N/AN/A
Warren+17500N/AN/A
Fisher+18500N/AN/A
Donaldson+18500+15500+11000
Cabrera Bello+20000N/AN/A
Dufner+22500+13500+24500
Els+22500+15500+11000
Jimenez+22500+20000+14500
Na+24500N/AN/A
Moore+24500+21500+20000
Howell+25000N/AN/A
Harrington+25000+12500+9000
Mahan+25500+20000+13500
Woodland+28500+20500+24500
Bjorn+28500+32500+24500
Haas+30000+22500+22500
DeLaet+31500+45000+39500
Leishman+34500+15500+10000
Simpson+35000+15500+13500
Henley+37500+27500+27500
English+38500+25000+14500
Senden+44500+27500+38500
Blixt+52500+42500+24500
Cink+82500+50000+49500
Clarke+100000+32500+50000
E Molinari+100000+50000+34500
Manassero+100000+17500+42000
StrickerN/A+50000+42500
McIlroyN/A+445+435

Spieth was listed at +1600 just a couple months ago but has propelled to +620 after taking the first two majors this year. Spieth is the sixth golfer to win both the Masters and the U.S. Open in the same year and the first since Tiger Woods in 2002. He’s also the youngest to win the US Open since Bobby Jones in 1923, so the hype surrounding Spieth is certainly warranted. After his first major victory this year at the Masters, Spieth was listed at 20:1 to win exactly 3 majors this year and 200:1 to win all 4 majors. He’s now just +275 to win exactly 3 majors and +2500 to win them all.

Sportsbooks have also begun posting prop bets for the Open Championship (via BetOnline):

Will there be a Hole-in-One?   Yes +200  |  No -250

Will there be a Wire-to-Wire winner?   Yes +1400  |  No -4000

Will Tiger Woods make the cut?   Yes -195  |  No +160

Winning Margin: 1 shot +250  |  2 shots +400  |  3 shots +500  |  4 shots or more +350  |  Playoff +300

Dan McGuire

Dan McGuire is the Operations Manager and soccer specialist at Sports Insights. You can find him on Twitter (@ArsenalDMC) and he can be reached directly at dan.mcguire@actionnetwork.com.

2 Comments
  • James
    07/15/2015 at 4:38 pm

    Hey Dave, are you guys going to discuss/ post any value picks similar to prior majors? Thanks!

    • David Solar
      07/17/2015 at 2:00 pm

      Sorry but we will not be posting any picks for the British Open this year.

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