2008 British Open Odds: Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els favourite

2008 British Open Odds: Sergio Garcia and Ernie Els favourite The 2008 British Open Golf Championship is upon us this week and we will look at the latest odds, news and favourte players. We must begin with the fact that Tiger Woods will skip this year's British Open is likely the best news coming for golf punters in a long time. Odds makers have long made Tiger Woods even (or less) favourite to win every major Tournament he enters and oftentimes wins, leaving punters with small payouts. But not the 2008 British Open - the odds are on the table and promise big pay no matter the winner.

For the odds on the 2008 British Open we chose to look at the British online bookmaker Sportingbet (official website); no U.S. players, visit BodogSports as alternative. With the bookie Sergio Garcia is the favourite to win the golf championship, listed with odds 10/1. Yes, the smallest payout on the Open is your bet + tenfold. The 28-year-old Spaniard let the last year's British Open slip through his fingers, after he lost the playoff to Padraig Harrington, but would likely be happy to know that Harrington is 20/1 to win again this year. Sergio Garcia is yet to win a major championship, although Garcia won the "fifth championship", the 2008 Players Championship, but the odds makers obviously saw enough at the Players to back him up for the Open. Still, 10/1 odds on the favourite is a guarantee for one of the biggest betting actions the U.K. bookmakers will see this year.

The second favourite to win the 2008 British Open is Ernie Els with odds 15/1 at Sportingbet. The South African golfer has been one of the top professional players in the world for decades, but recently have been overshadowed by Tiger Woods when it comes to the British Open. "The Big Easy" is finally getting some recognition with the second shortest odds on the Open this year. At age 38 Ernie Els has outlasted many big names of the day, although we have not seen him on top of his game during a major championship since his victory at the 2002 British Open, which he won after playoff. Ernie Els, however, won the 2008 Honda Classic in March and feels pretty good entering the Open Championship.

The remaining top contenders for the 2008 British Open include Lee Westwood, who with odds 16/1 managed to outrank Phil Mickelson, listed 18/1 at Sportingbet. The last year' Open winner Padraig Harrington follows with odds to win at 20/1 and Jim Furyk is next at 25/1. Visit the bookie to see the full list of British Open betting odds.

The 2008 British Open will be held at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England from July 17 to July 20, 2008. UK coverage of the Open will be provided by BBC, while in the USA fans can watch it on ABC and TNT. For those lucky enough to be able to attend the Open Chamionship - don't forget, cell phones are not allowed.

Published on 07/14/2008