Sportingbet features dozens of British Open bets
The 2008 British Open gets going Thursday and Sportingbet.com is offering a huge assortment of wagers for PGA golf betting enthusiasts.
In addition to Outright Winner, Sportingbet.com has more than two dozen props that include 72-hole Match Betting, 72-hole Group Betting, Top 5 Finishers, Make/Miss Cut, Hole-in-One, Playoff, and Winning Total.
And golf betting fans can also pick the top golfer based on country of origin, including the top player from the U.S., Europe, Canada, England, Australia, South Africa, and Spain, among others.
Tiger Woods, the world’s No. 1-ranked golfer, will miss the 137th British Open after knee surgery following his win at the U.S. Open last month, meaning the field is wide-open with no clear-cut favorite.
Sportingbet.com has Sergio Garcia as a slight favorite at +1000 to win the US $8.2 million tournament, one of golf’s four Majors, which will be held at the Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, Lancashire, England.
World No. 3 Ernie Els is +1400, followed by No. 2-ranked Phil Mickelson at +1800.
Defending champion Padraig Harrington has dropped all the way back to +4000 after aggravating a sprained wrist during a practice round on Wednesday. Harrington said he will play Thursday but said he may not be able to finish the first round.
Harrington defeated Garcia last year in a playoff at Carnoustie to claim his first major championship title.
Garcia will play with Ryuji Imada and Sean O'Hair, while Els, the 2002 British Open champ, will tee off with Martin Kaymer and Scott Verplank.
Royal Birkdale is hosting the Open Championship for the first time since 1998, when Mark O'Meara beat Brian Watts in a playoff.
The 7,173-yard Lancashire Course at Royal Birkdale will play as a par-70 for the 2008 British Open.
TNT will air the first two days of play, starting at 7 am ET Thursday, and ABC will have coverage of rounds three and four on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 8 am ET.