The Open: Can Casey catch leader and odds on favourite Oosthuizen?

St Andrews ready for thrilling final day of Golf at 2010 British Open

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.