Ernie Els is a former World No. 1 and a two-time British Open champion. (Photo credit: myophoto / CC BY-ND)
The 145th edition of The Open Championship, better known to Canadians as the British Open, begins Thursday at Royal Troon Golf Club in Scotland.
Fresh off his U.S. Open championship last month, Dustin Johnson is the 2016 British Open betting favourite at www.Pinnacle.com, paying approximately 9.5 to 1.
Jason Day is also in the 9.5 to 1 range at Pinnacle, with Rory McIlroy (11:1) and Jordan Spieth (13:1) rounding out a clear-cut top four of British Open favourites.
Unfortunately, those aren’t great odds when you consider the British Open field features 156 players. Johnson, Day, McIlroy and Spieth certainly appear to be the most likely to win the tournament, but they’re not necessarily great bets.
Instead, we’d rather look for some of the better value bets for The Open Championship.
Here are five 2016 British Open longshots we think are quite capable of being in contention down the stretch on Sunday.
Branden Grace (30:1)
Not a name known to most casual golf fans, Grace is 10th on the Official World Golf Ranking and has a history of being in contention at major championships. The South African also hits the ball at a low trajectory, which is a definite asset considering how often the winds are howling in the UK. Grace has finished in the top 10 in five of his last six outings, including a win at the RBC Heritage in April.
Shane Lowry (48:1)
Lowry came close to winning the U.S. Open last month and is very familiar with links golf, having grown up in Ireland. Bad weather is forecast for Royal Troon this week, and Lowry has shown an ability to thrive in poor conditions, winning the 2009 Irish Open in brutal weather.
Matt Kuchar (70:1)
With Dustin Johnson’s win at Congressional, Kuchar may now be one of the best players not to have won a major championship. He’s come close in the past, finishing third at the 2012 Masters and fifth at Augusta two years later, and has seven Top-10 finishes at majors. Kuchar has survived the cut in five of his last six appearances at the British Open, and has finished 6th or better in five of his last six PGA Tour events.
Hideki Matsuyama (76:1)
Matsuyama is almost always in the mix at PGA Tour events. He’s made the cut in 63 of his 76 career tournaments, and has been in the Top 25 in 28 of 41 events over the past two seasons. Putting is one of his strengths (14th on the Tour) and if the bad weather forecast for this week in Scotland helps equalize the playing field, putting could be the difference – as it often is in majors.
Ernie Els (137:1)
The Big Easy is certainly past his prime, but he’s still got the pedigree. Els is a two-time British Open champion, nearly won a third 12 years ago at Royal Troon (he lost in a playoff) and is competing in his 26th Open Championship. Els had been struggling recently but changed his putting stroke after the Masters and finished fifth at the U.S. Open, his best result in nearly two years. Yeah, it’s a longshot, but we won’t be surprised if Els turns back the clock this weekend.