The Open comes to Royal Birkdale for the ninth time this July 17th – 20th, and competitors will find a course that is 155 yards longer than the challenge presented to them in 1998, the last time the event was played here. The extra length is relatively inconsequential, however, compared to the tightened bunkering, newly-introduced mounds and, in the case of some holes, altered playing lines. The philosophy of the changes – which affect 16 of the 18 holes – is to reward strategic play and accurate shotmaking.  The course is a par 70 and 7,173 yards long.

With Tiger Woods Officially out for the rest of the year all of sudden the field left for the Open has gotten a little sweeter from a betting prospective.  All of sudden some of the old favorites are back in the spotlight.  Such players as Ernie Els +900, Sergio Garcia +800, Phil Mickelson +1300 and Padraig Harrington +1200 round out the top 4 favorites on the tournament.  Usually with Tiger in the field you would see these odds alot higher, but now with the crowd favorite out bettors are presented with a tasty new set of odds that promises big payouts, sleepers such as Adam Scott +2300, Vijah Singh +2100, and Retief Goosen +2300 who are no slouches themselves have suddenly become safe bets at over 20 – 1 odds.  Another thing to consider are the up and comers the likes of Anthony Kim +4000 is at least worth a $10 bet that would pay out $400 and Paul Casey +3800 , these are not wasted bets.  One thing that truely shocks me is Kenny Perry +4800 this guy is #3 on the FedEx Cup points standings which means he has been placing and winning tournaments, how can the bookmakers be so reckless? Yes, the departure of Tiger Woods has truely been a blessing to the smart golf bettor.

MY PICK:  Its really hard to pick a winner this year with so many juicy payouts available, I would suggest spreading out the money on a 4 or 5 different players.  I know that Padraig won last year, but I don’t believe his play thus far this season is very reassuring, and Sergio was sooo close last year and has been playing solid at least by his standards.  So I think that at least some of your money needs to find its way to Sergio +800, but I would also throw down 5 $10 fun bets on Anthony Kim +4000 because hes on fire, Kenny Perry +4800 because hes due for something big to happen, Andres Romero +2700 because I like his guts over logic approach, Stuart Appleby +4400 because he seems to have fallen from grace and could really use a boost to his image, and finally Boo Weekly +6500 just for shiggles.

Also keep checking back to GamblersPalace.com as prop bets such as; who makes the cut, lowest score, hole in one, and many more will be available the week leading up to The Open which can present a nice opportunity for a big come up.

Updated Tuesday, July 15th

Kenny Perry has opted out of this years British Open despite the fact that he has won 3 tournaments this year and will instead honor his committment to play in the U.S. Bank Championship in Milwaukee which personally I think is totally lame.  So everyone needs to disregard my pick above on Perry and instead replace it with a $10 bet on Justin Rose +2100. 

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