We already know the names of the three golfers that have picked up Major silverware this season in the world of golf. Tiger Woods came back from his injury nightmare of the last few years to win at Augusta in April before Brooks Koepka landed back-to-back USPGA Championship titles with his win in that tournament in May.
Then in June, Gary Woodland was the name that came through a stellar field to pip Koepka to the US Open title. All three previous Major winners this season will be in the field this week at the British Open at Royal Portrush, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland for the first British Open to held on Irish soil, and at this particular course, since 1951.
If you fancy having a bet on which golfer will come out on top of the action at Royal Portrush this week, then why not head over to bet365 Sport? The site offers a massive range of bets on the tournament, including plenty of pre-tournament markets, as well as In Play betting when the action gets underway from Thursday. If you are not yet a member, you can join today using the latest bet365 New Customer Bonus to pick up a little extra or two when you start betting on site.
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With the largest ever prize pool up for grabs and with it being the final major of the new golfing calendar, this British Open promises to be one of the most exciting in many years. Let’s now take a look at the tournament and the venue before we then pick out some of the golfers that we think stand a great chance of landing a win, or a place inside the top ten this week.
British Open Preview
The oldest of the four majors in golf by a considerable margin, the British Open was first contested in 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland, which would be the host of many of the opening tournaments in this competitions history. Willie Park Snr was the first ever winner of what was then a special belt created for the winner, worth the princely sum of £25.
The belt would be competed for each year by a selected number of golfers from a select number of clubs, with it being awarded permanently to the first player to win it three times. That happened in 1870, when Young Tom Morris landed his third title in succession to win the belt outright.
With no trophy to play for, the tournament was not held in 1871, but in 1872, three clubs paid £10 each to have a special Claret Jug made for the winner. That came into being in 1872 when Young Tom Morris won his fourth Open in succession and his is the first name on the famous trophy which is still presented to the winner today.
Top golfers to have won the trophy over the years include Bobby Jones, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen, Henry Cotton, Bobby Locke, Peter Thomson, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Lee Trevino, Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Nick Faldo, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Rory McIlroy and currently, the defending Champion is the Italian Ryder Cup star, Francesco Molinari.
British Open Records
- Oldest Winner – Old Tom Morris (46 years, 102 days) in 1867
- Youngest Winner – Young Tom Morris (17 years, 156 days) in 1868
- Most Open Victories – Harry Vardon – 6 – (1896, 1898, 1899, 1903, 1911, 1914)
- Most Consecutive Victories – 4 – Young Tom Morris (1868, 1869, 1870, 1872) There was no Open Championship contested in 1871.
- Lowest Open Championship Winning Score – 264 (-20) – Henrik Stenson in 2016
- Lowest Open Championship Round – 62 – Branden Grace in 2017
- Largest Prize Fund – $10.75 million (in 2019)
Royal Portrush
This famous venue lies on the north coast of Northern Ireland and it is actually a complex of two courses, with the Dunluce course, named after the nearby castle, being the home to the action this week.
It will be the second time that the course has hosted the British Open, as it did so previously 68-years ago in 1951. Max Faulkner from England was the winner that time around but it has been a long time since an English player won this event, with the last win by an Englishman coming back in 1992 when Nick Faldo won the last of this three British Open titles.
The venue is a 71-par 7344 yard course and it has a number of signature holes including the 16th and 17th holes, named Calamity Corner (or just Calamity if you are local) and Purgatory, which give players every indication of how difficult these particular two closing holes are.
Rory McIlroy used to hold the course record here before the course was remodelled with a 61, but since the new layout was implemented, the record is now 65 held by Irish golfer Caolan Rafferty. However, if the wind and weather does not bare its teeth over the four days of action, then it is likely that this record will be matched, if not bettered by one if not more of the players in action this coming weekend.
Rory McIlroy has been a winner on this course before, winning the Irish Open back in 2012 and there will be plenty of locals cheering him on in his home country. Another Northern Irish golfing legend, 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke, will get the tournament underway by taking the first tee shot on Thursday morning.
Who should I watch for or back in the British Open 2019?
For me, Rory McIlroy (9/1) is the outstanding choice to win this tournament and if you wanted to back a golfer to win, the Northern Irishman would be my choice. Not only is he in generally good form this season, but he is a former winner at this course and he used to hold the course record here. He will also have enormous support from the galleries in what is effectively for him a ‘home’ Open Championship on Northern Irish soil.
If you fancy an each way flutter then one player to consider is Tommy Fleetwood (30/1). The Englishman is in decent form and has seen himself rocket up the World Rankings in recent years thanks to consistent performances both on the European Tour and also when he has played in America too. A player who grew up playing the famous links in the North West of England, he didn’t play as well as he could at Royal Birkdale last year but away from home, the pressure is eased a little and he could shine brightly because of that.
*All odds shown are correct with bet365 at the time of writing (1pm on Tuesday 17th July)
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