Open betting tips: How to make more money in the markets
Wild card contender
Padraig Harrington (66/1)
The Padraig Pirouette, the step through – whatever you want to call it, something is working for the Irishman.
Harrington’s display at Dundonald last week was not a flash in the pan. The Open champion last time at Birkdale has been putting together flashes of form for a while now.
I’d spied him at 100/1 before the Scottish Open and was disappointed not to have got on then. After he played near faultless golf to establish a 36-hole lead in Ayrshire I expected his price to collapse.
I think it would have done were it not for a horror show on Saturday when the weather turned nasty.
Harrington replied, though, with a characterful 66 in round four. At the price, I’m happy to pop a couple of quid down each way as well as targeting him in top 10 and 20 markets.
For a player that loves links golf and has come off a positive week, 14/1 is also too big in the top GB&I market.
Top Spaniard
Sergio Garcia (11/8)
With only four in this market – Jon Rahm, Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Pablo Larrazabal are the others – I expected to see an odds-on favourite, particularly given Rahm’s success at the Irish Open.
Rahm is a world-class player and looks a major champion in waiting but Garcia is still the boss when it comes to the Open.
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He’s finished no worse than tied sixth over the past three years and can look back at 10 top 10 finishes in all.
Garcia arrives as the Masters champion and I’m delighted to see his desire to win more majors.
I like him in the outrights, so it shouldn’t be a surprise I’m all over him here.
Cabrera-Bello’s is 4/1 and some will be tempted by that after his Scottish Open playoff success.
My view is it’s going to be hard for him to hit the same heights. There must be some mental release after picking up his first European Tour title in five years.
If Larrazabal wins at 12s, then it’s surely bad news for some notable Open contenders.
Tournament match bet
Patrick Reed (10/11) to beat Alex Noren
Both missed the cut at Dundonald last week, though Reed was two shots better.
I’m surprised to see the Swede favourite in this two ball, though. Noren has been a star of the European Tour over the past 18 months and his win at the BMW PGA Championship was built on a stunning final round.
But he’s got no real major form to speak of and has missed the cut at the Masters and the US Open this year.
Reed, while yet to win this season, has put together some solid displays – most notably a top five at the Travelers Championship.
The Open does seem to agree with him. Finishes of tied 20th at St Andrews and tied 12th last year at Royal Troon suggest he’s up to the task of bringing home this tournament match bet.
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Steve Carroll
A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.
Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.
A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.
Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.
Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.
What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.
