The Open betting tips: Who to back at Carnoustie
Stewart Cink seems to have been well backed already this week, and it’s easy to see why. The 2009 Open champion is more than comfortable on the links and he showed in 2007 that Carnoustie is a golf course that he enjoys when finishing sixth.
The 45-year-old fits the bill in terms of being a big outsider with plenty of experience of contending in majors. More importantly, however, the American has started to really turn his season around by playing some beautiful golf in recent weeks.
A significant improvement in driving accuracy has seen Cink finish runner-up at the Travelers Championship last month when closing with a sensational 62, while the week before he finished fourth at the FedEx St Jude Classic.
Brian Harman doesn’t have strong Open pedigree to his name, but he could be worth a chance at 125/1 with ten places paid.
This arrow-straight American has built a name for himself over the past few years thanks to his incredibly steely nature and calmness when playing under pressure.
Harman finished runner-up at last year’s U.S. Open on the linksy venue of Erin Hills – one of the longest courses the professionals had to play all year. That was surprising, given that the 31-year-old is one of the shorter hitters on the tour.
That just proved that, for Harman, contending in tournaments is down to being mentally strong rather than just hitting quality shots.
This week, players will have to be patient and accept any bad breaks that come their way. Harman is arguably one of the best in this field in that department.
Finally, I can’t help but throw some loose change in the direction of Bernhard Langer. If he were to win, the veteran German would go down as one of the biggest shocks in sport, let alone golf. At 60-years-old, the bookmakers agree, making him a 500/1 shot, and that’s with 10 places paid.
Langer won the Senior British Open at Carnoustie in 2010 and two years ago finished ninth at the same venue when Paul Broadhurst was crowned champion.
Admittedly, he doesn’t have much chance of winning among this company, but is a sneaky top-10 finish out of the question? He made the cut at the Masters earlier this year, and his short driving distance won’t hold him back anywhere near as much here at Carnoustie compared to Augusta.
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Tom is a lifetime golfer, now over 30 years playing the game. 2023 marks 10 years in golf publishing and he is still holding down a + handicap at Alwoodley in Leeds. He has played over 600 golf courses, and has been a member of at least four including his first love Louth, in Lincolnshire. Tom likes unbranded clothing, natural fibres, and pencil bags. Seacroft in Lincolnshire is where it starts and ends.
