After all the thrills and gusty spills of The Open last weekend, which actually petered out into a bit of a disappointing finish in terms of excitement, most of the week’s golfing attention will turn towards the Great White North, where the RBC Canadian Open should be a closely ran thing. First of all, we may as well look at the Canadians on their home turf at the St George’s Golf and Country Club, who have not traditionally done very well at this tournament. It’s been a very long 56 years since Canada had a home grown champion to cheer about at the tournament. They aren’t exactly producing players who are standing high up on the rankings again this year either with Stephen Ames the pick of the bunch, but who is listed at 67th on the FedExCup standings. He played a decent round of -3 Under in the first round, to finish the day T22 along with England’s Paul Casey and South African Retief Goosen. Ames is unlikely to go all of the way in quite a strong field though, and with their neighbouring Americans dominating proceedings on Thursday, the Canadians will probably again be left to dream of better things to come. But Ames did not hit a bogey in his round of 67 (3 under par) and at 28/1 at SkyBet is worth keeping an eye on during Friday to see if he consolidates or makes a move.

Day One
American Vance Veazey was probably thinking that he would be top of the leader board at the end of day one, after putting in one of the best performance of the RBC Canadian Open, shooting a six under. It wasn’t to be though, as fellow American Brent Delahoussayne was still finishing, and put three birdies on the back nine to take him two shots clear of Veazey. Neither were exactly front runners when it came to golf betting on the tournament, but they have set themselves up for a nice run at making the cut after Friday. Friday will, more likely than not, see a big turn around in fortunes for the top twenty. Players who performed well in the first round may not go quite as well in the second, and that is what separates the best golfers from the rest of the field, consistency. That is why, even with a bunch of unfamiliar names at the top of the leader board, you won’t see online bookmakers falling over themselves in drastically shortening their odds. There are much stronger names to take a look at in golf betting for the RBC Canadian Open, and that is what we will do here, and scour the field for the best looking bets.

Sean O’Hair – 40/1 at Stan James
Consistency is the name of the golf game for American O’Hair and he is rightly one of the best players to back here in Canada. Has four top 12 finishes in his last four outings, and came home seventh at The Open at St Andrews on the weekend. He is being heavily backed and tipped to pick up a win here, and has a decent record at St George, even if it is as a nearly man. Out of his last four appearances at the tournament, he has finished third on two occasions. He may be a little disappointed with his round of 70 Even Par on Thursday, but there are signs that there is more to come. Got off to a terrible start, hitting a bogey on three of the first five holes. Recovered very well though to get himself one under, but bogeyed on the 18th to leave him even. Driving accuracy was a little off, but with a big day on Friday, he could seriously play his way into contention, and should. His average first round will only serve to provide better odds on him at the moment.

Paul Casey – 16/1 at Stan James
It was all so near for Casey at The Open at one point, but going into the final round with eventual winner Louis Oosthuizen, the Englishman just could not put any pressure on the South African. Casey played some wonderfully consistent golf through the terrible weather at St Andrews, and he must be commended for that, even if he did fade on the last day a bit when it counted. He realistically should be carrying a lot of momentum going into this tournament, but he could be just a little bit tired physically and mentally after his exertions. Probably worth a punt in the golf betting, and had another good round on Thursday, but his first round was all undone by a double bogey on the 18th, else he would be in much better standing. Casey should still be very hungry and that will make him strong to back, as he is still hoping for a wild card entry into the Ryder Cup team for this year. There is another six weeks or so before Colin Montgomerie actually names the squad of twelve, to compete against the USA starting on October 1. Casey, who has been bothered by injury over the last year, has still not made his way into one of the nine automatic qualification spots for the team which currently stands as Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Francesco Molinari, Luke Donald, Graeme McDowell, Ian Poulter, Martin Kaymer, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Ross McGowan.

Retief Goosen – 14/1 at Paddy Power
Another solid performer and can be please with his work at St Andrews, just like Casey. He has had plenty of top five finishes this year, and came oh so close to winning this one last year. It was within his grasp, but he lost in a play-off, but it could be a good week for South African golf after Louis Oosthuizen won the Open and is going well again in Sweden at the moment. Can Goosen cap a fine week or so by winning here. Well worth a bet to do so and had one of those solid, quiet rounds in the first, which saw him get into the swing of things without being spectacular. Finished the day on three under and just couldn’t quite push on from the great start he made after making birdies on the first two holes. Only one bogey in the round on the 8th, so looking in good shape. Driving very well and putting well, so will be in with a chance at the end of the day.

Tim Clark – 12/1 at Boylesports
The highest ranked player on the list of FedEx Cup points for the year, taking part in the RBC Canadian Open this year. What are FedEx Cup points? Golfers can earn points on the PGA Tour from the first tournament of the year in January, to the shut off date in mid August. The more points you get for finishing higher in PGA Tour events, the more points you will accrue. The top 125 players then go into the Play-Offs which are four tournaments, ending with the Tour Championship. Whoever has the most wins the title, and a nice bonus pay check. Ernie Els is leading that at the moment, and Clark is ranked 6th. That equates to consistency. Another South African who could rise to the top here. Finished four under on his first round, and “The Penguin” is ideally suited to St George, where it is a relatively tight and short par 70 course. Didn’t make a bogey all day in the first round, and hit his four birdies on the front nine. Held even par all the way to the clubhouse then. Good performance.

Trevor Immelman – 40/1 at Stan James
Let’s ride the South African train while it is hot. Immelman kind of let a good round get away from him on Thursday, after hitting a bogey on the 13th and 14th holes when he was three under. Those back to back bogeys spoilt his round, but showed good mettle in picking up birdies on the 15th and 17th to redress the balance a little bit. Six birdies in the day was a good result. If he can pick up his greens in regulation percentage, then he could be a fantastic sleeper bet at the tournament.

Open golf betting odds was not expected to be looking the way they are come the final day of the 2010 British Open. Another windy day at St Andrews, produced another impressive day for overnight leader Louis Oosthuizen. He was probably expecting a lot more pressure to be creeping up behind him, but the fact of the matter is that no-one apart from Paul Casey has really stepped up to the plate in posting a serious challenge for the Claret Jug. Those two players have pretty much dominated things, while the major players like Westwood, Woods, McIlroy and Mickelson have not quite hit their peaks. Now the status of the 2010 British Open comes down to a simple game of “catch me if you can”, and St Andrews once again could see a fascinating conclusion. The two leaders tee off on the final round together, and now is when the pressure will either make or break the players on the leader board. The Open 2010 betting prices are listed below, targeting the players who are expected to have the biggest impact on the final day on the Old Course at St Andrews.

Louis Oosthuizen – 10/11 at Bet365
-15 Under
The Louis Oosthuizen show showed no signs of slowing on Saturday, after he gathered himself together after bogeying the first hole of the day. The overnight leader pulled things back his way though, as he picked up four birdies on the round, giving him exactly the sort of solid round that he needed to consolidate his position at the top. As said yesterday, the tournament is his to lose from this position. Not only do players have to take risks to catch him, they also have to find the wind, whereas Oosthuizen now is in a position to nurse the ball around the Old Course. Now he is just one round, 18 holes away from the biggest day of his golfing life, winning a Major. It may now need a round like Rory McIlroy produced in the first in order to go and catch him, but the closest player to him, England’s Paul Casey, will be starting four shots back. The South African will not have felt this much pressure in his career before, after never before making any kind of impact at the Majors. This will be his special Sunday if he can hit another round in the 60’s. Only he and Casey have gone below 70 in each of their three rounds so far.  Hence why they are out in front.

Paul Casey - 5/2 at Totesport
-11 Under
Along with Oosthuizen has produced the most consistent golf over the past three days. He is ready to win a Major, and to be honest, he could be a lot closer to the leader, if not having his nose in front. He has really been that good over the past few days, and the vociferous Englishman literally talks his ball into position as soon as it leaves his club head. He has been working very hard in preparation for this one, and made a smart adjustment to his driver in order to deal with the weather beaten fairways a little better. Casey injured himself in getting ready for the 2009 British Open, and this is some return to action for him. He hit a round of 67 in the third round to close the gap on Oosthuizen, and would become the first Englishman to win The Open since Nick Faldo back in 1992. He will be pairing up with Oosthuizen as the last pair to go out on Sunday, as the Old Course at St Andrews will be awaiting a stellar finish to a complicated weekend of golf. The winds were still there on Saturday, although conditions were a little easier for the players. He is a great golf betting tip to take the title, if he can hold everything together. He was only hampered on an otherwise immaculate second round, by his approach on the 17th finding extraordinarily long rough, which forced him to drop two shots. Has hit 87% of greens, and 81% of fairway shots. If he starts putting pressure on Oosthuizen going around as the last pair, he really could win this one, and is my tip.

Martin Kaymer – 14/1 at SportingBet
-8 Under
Germany’s Kaymer hit his best round of the three days so far at St Andrews, hitting a nice round of 68 to leave himself 8 under, and seven shots off the lead. He has been making steady progress, although his 71 on should have been a good marker that he had potential for the tournament. It was one of the better rounds on an awkward day for the players. He had one of the more eventful rounds of day two, hitting six birdies and two bogeys. Only turned pro in 2005, and finished T34 in last year’s British Open. Hit did fight his way up to T8 at the 2010 US Open and is in pretty good shape. Well worth a look, as has been pretty consistent going round, if flying under the radar a bit. He’s not driving anywhere near as long as Oosthuizen, Casey or Westwood around him, but playing some very tidy, economical golf.

Lee Westwood – 16/1 at William Hill
-7 Under
Can he pull back eight shots to win his first major? It looks as if someone will win their first Major on Sunday evening, as the leader board is dominated by players looking for their first success. As much as bad weather has been frustrating him at The Open, he has been one of the players who has handled the wind very well. He will be hoping that another windy day may finally put pressure on Oosthuizen, so that he can make some ground up on the South African. Westwood is always in the mix at the Majors, but again it looks as if there is just a little too much to do. Hit another round of 71, matching his score in the second, and will again be frustrated a further chances having gone begging. He was expecting himself to be closer to the top of the leader board, and he has had the opportunities to do so. Not that he has played badly or anything, he hasn’t, but there have just been little moments where putts have gone close and the run of the ball just hasn’t quite dropped his way. Has a lot of shots to pull back, but realistically, Oosthuizen may drop a couple, and if Westwood goes on a charge, there is still a chance. Just how tired he will be with the injury he is carrying, may take its toll on the final day though.

Alejandro Canizares – 55/1 at SkyBet
-7 Under
Another one who has not attracted much attention. Will be happy with his days work after having to finish off his second round early this morning. He was in contention with shots to play on a lot of the players above him who had finished their second rounds. He managed to consolidate well, and then hit another round of 71, like Westwood matching his second round score, to leave himself tied for fourth. His rounds of 67-71-71 is exactly the same as Westwood. This is his Majors debut, and so really is carrying himself well. Probably not carrying the kind of averages in his approach work to seriously challenge at the top, but he can be very happy with his work. His fairway work has been better than his approach to the greens.

Henrik Stenson – 28/1 at Skybet
-7 Under
The Swede hit one of the best scores of the third day, knocking off the 18 holes in 67 to match Paul Casey’s impressive round. Has good all round stats in his game over the three rounds, above the field average for greens and fairways hit. His driving is just a little short of average, but that hasn’t stopped him. Went out on the front nine very well, and it could have been a lot better for him, but he bogeyed the 16th and 17th. Held his nerve to birdie the 18th to make amends a little bit. Has a little bit of a spark about him, and is swinging the club very well, and appears to be in quite a chipper rhythm. After hitting 68 in the first round, only the bad weather day on Friday really hampered him, where he struggled to come in at 74. Otherwise, has performed very well, and a bit of a sleeper bet to watch out for. Has four top ten finishes in last 8 Majors.

Dustin Johnson – 80/1 at ExtraBet
-6 Under
The top American on the leader board, and no-one will have expected that. Hit 69 in his third round, thanks to some big drives. Fairly average on his accuracy in hitting the fairway though, but has played his way into contention. Although asking someone to make up nine shots on the final day of The Open is probably a bit of a stretch.

Retief Goosen – 100/1 at Bet365
-5 Under
Tied down in eighth, and looking down the list, his is the first name you will come across in looking for a player who has won a Major before. He has won the US Open twice, and his third round of 72 was a step backwards for him, after posting 69 and 70 in his first two rounds. Five under is still a long way to go to the top, but he is a strong challenger, at least for a top four finish.

Sergio Garcia – 125/1 at Bwin
-4 Under
One of the other honourable mentions of the day after playing some wonderful golf in his round of 70, leaving him on four under. He seems to have discovered a bit of his old magic, and was one of the better performers all round on day three, even though he is realistically out of contention.

Rory McIlroy – 100/1 at SkyBet
-4 Under
A topsy turvy tournament for the youngster. He was expected to be one of the main challengers, and realistically he should have been. His horrid, weather effected round of 80 on day two really has blown his chances, which is a shame after such as fantastic record breaking round of 63 to lead at the end of day one. He is still confident, as that is what McIlroy is about, confidence. Showed a lot of resilience, determination, mettle and skill to hit a 69 on day three, and he’ll probably move up the leader board again on Sunday, but probably won’t be able to get close enough.

Tiger Woods – 100/1 at Boylesports
-3 Under
There are signs that his getting back to his best. He simply could not make an impression on the round, as he was just unable to get anything out of day three. There was no build up of momentum for him, as he hit three birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey. His putting let him down a little bit, but equally there were flashes of brilliance from him. Looked a little subdued and will be a little frustrated that he could not close the gap on the leaders. Rounds of 73 in the second and third will ultimately have hurt his chances in the 2010 British Open, but he is driving well, and clear signals that he will probably win another Major at some point. Just not here this year, missing out on his third straight title at St Andrews. Finished fourth in both of the Majors in 2010 so far, but unless he fires out of the blocks, that’s looking unlikely as well.