139th British Open Championship starts Thursday
By Hank Harris • Jul 14th, 2010 • Category: GOLFThe 139th British Open Championship opens Thursday at the Old Course at St. Andrews in Fife, Scotland (4 am ET, ESPN).
JustBet sportsbook has British Open Betting available throughout the four-day tournament.
Stewart Cink is the defending champion, winning the 2009 British Open in dramatic fashion. The legendary Tom Watson had the lead going into the final hole last year but Cink drew even with him and then beat the then-59-year-old Watson in a playoff.
It was the second-straight year an old veteran had made a splash at the Open Championship. In 2008, 50-year-old Greg Norman had the lead on Sunday but the two-time Open winner end up falling behind and lost to Padraig Harrington.
While World No. 1 Tiger Woods is the favorite this week and No. 2 Phil Mickelson is right behind him, World No. 4 Steve Stricker is coming off an impressive victory at the John Deere Classic on Sunday and looks primed to make a run at his first major victory.
This year’s Championship marks the 27th time the Old Course at St. Andrews, known as the “Home of Golf,” has hosted the Open.
Golfers and fans alike will notice that the course’s most famous hole, the Road Hole, or the 17th, has been lengthened by almost 40 yards and will play at 490 yards.
Woods has won the British Open three times in total, including twice the last two times the Old Course at St. Andrews has hosted the Open, in 2000 and 2005. A win this week would be Woods’ 15th major win.
Hank Harris is a professional writer with more than 25 years experience. He has written on sports betting and gambling for more than a decade of that time. He covers all sports, from the NFL to the NBA to NCAA College.
He is originally from the Boston area and is now based out of Las Vegas.
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