Tiger Woods has won the last two Open Championships played at St. Andrews.
After a tough year of epic proportions, Tiger Woods is happy to be back at St. Andrews in Scotland for Thursday’s 150th British Open.
Bookmaker.com has Woods as the 550 favorite and Rory McIlroy second at plus 1100. Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Lee Westwood are all plus 1600.
Woods won the British Open at St. Andrews the last two times it was played there. He won with a minus 19 score in 2000 and a minus 14 in 2005. His third British Open crown came in 2006 at Royal Liverpool Golf Club.
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Those wins seem like a lifetime ago for the embattled Woods.
He’s done pretty well at this year’s Masters and U.S. Open, twice finishing tied for fourth. But his non-major events have been utter disasters at Quail Hollow (missed cut), The Players Championship (withdrawal), the Memorial (19th) and the AT&T National (46th).
The missed cut at Quail Hollow was just his sixth as a professional. At the AT&T National, he failed to shoot below par in any round.
Woods could have a clearer mind with his divorce settlement reached for a reported $100 million. He led the AT&T National in driving distance, but his putter continued to desert him in a big way. Putting will be a major factor this week with the big greens at St. Andrews.
The 34-year-old was recently quoted as saying, "(St Andrews is) the greatest golf course in the world for me." However, at least part of the reason was warm and sunny conditions the last two times.
Winds were blowing on Sunday and the forecast is for periods of inclement weather. Wind is also expected to be steady.
Woods will tee off Thursday at 1:09 a.m. (PT). He will be paired with England’s Justin Rose and Colombia’s Camilo Villegas. Their tee time on Friday with be at 6:20 a.m. (PT).
McIlroy is a somewhat surprising second-favorite as Mickelson holds that spot in most Las Vegas sportsbooks. The 21-year-old finished 47th in last year’s British Open and didn’t make the cut in the first two majors this year. He did finish third at the 2009 PGA Championship and got his first PGA Tour victory this year at Quail Hollow.
Mickelson is looking for his first British Open title and to become the No. 1 player in the world for the first time. He missed the cut at the Scottish Open last week, ruining another chance at the top spot. He has just one top-10 finish at the British Open (third in 2004). He did win this year’s Masters, his fourth overall major.
Els won the British Open in 2002 and is finally healthy after prior year knee problems. He’s already won the World Golf Championship this year and the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He also has 12 top-10 finishes in 19 British Opens.
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Westwood is still the best player to never to win a major, but not due to a lack of effort. He had top-3 finishes in three straight majors before a 16th at the U.S. Open. He’s been the most consistent striker in the game the last year and is ranked third in the world behind Woods and Mickelson.
Other favorites:
- Plus 2000: Justin Rose, Padraig Harrington
- Plus 3000: Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Steve Stricker
- Plus 3300: Martin Kaymer, Paul Casey
- Plus 4000: Jim Furyk, Luke Donald, Retief Goosen, Ross Fisher
Of these names, only Harrington has won the event (2007, 2008). Stewart Cink (plus 8000) beat 59-year-old Tom Watson in a playoff last year. It was one of the most memorable British Opens in history.
McDowell won the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in May and is looking for two majors in a row.