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Risking a Few Pounds on the Open Championship is Quite the Golfing Pleasure

Tuesday July 18, 2006 | 12:07:36 291 words, 3591 views
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Dear Lord,

I would really like for there to be peace in the world, if it be your will. Really. But what I would like to happen as soon as possible after that is for gambling on golf to be allowed where I live, just like they do in the UK. Amen.

One of the best things going is to have a little cheese wagered on a golfer – preferably a 10 to 1 payoff or better - who is in contention on the final day of a Major Tournament. I’ve made a few wagers through legal avenues, including gambling establishments like Ladbrokes and Las Vegas Sportsbooks. And I’ve indulged myself a few times in other gambling arenas that were somewhat clandestine, like a calcutta. But regardless of the modus gamblus, armchair golf is never as good as when you have a potential payout if your hunch turns out to be correct.

In the UK, I prefer to take the reduced odds and gain the opportunity of a winner if my pick comes in the top 4 spots, as opposed to taking the full odds and my pick having to win outright for me to get a payout. So if happen to be in the UK and have a few spare pounds to risk, here are the odds you can expect to be offered on most of the favorites & a few notables:

Tiger Woods 5/1
Phil Mickelson 11/1
Vijay Singh 15/1
Ernie Els 16/1
Padraig Harrington, Retief Goosen 20/1
Luke Donald 25/1
Jim Furyk 30/1
Colin Montgomerie 33/1
Darren Clarke 35/1
Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, Trevor Immelman 40/1
Stuart Appleby, Paul Casey, Geoff Ogilvy, Thomas Bjorn 45/1
Mike Weir 80/1
Davis Love III 90/1
Fred Couples 175/1
John Daly 200/1
David Duval 250/1
Bernhard Langer 275/1
Nick Faldo 400/1

Personally, I like the odds for Els & Harrington best. Good luck.


Comments:

Comment from: Randy Hebert [Visitor]
I wish we could bet on it here too. I have a few extra dollars to risk so I'd take a flyer on Luke Donald at 25/1 and Paul Casey at 45/1.
Permalink 07/18/06 @ 12:39
Comment from: Shanks [Member] Email · http://www.travelgolf.com/blogs/shanks
The gambling rules in the US are so hypocritical, it's ridiculous. As long as the government is running the game, it's ok. The Lottery, the daily number & Keno are available nationwide, no problem. By not allowing other forms of gaming, all they are accomplishing is losing revenue to the illegal bookies and operations. Because people are gonna gamble, it's a fact of life.

Enough soap box for now. Anybody else want to make a mythical wager on the Open here?
Permalink 07/18/06 @ 13:36
Comment from: LimeyLew [Visitor]
Good job Shanks. Not only on golf,
but the wagers on OUR football in
Britain was one of the highlites
of our trip a couple of years ago....
I'll take Immelman for 10 pounds
please!!
Permalink 07/18/06 @ 13:46
Comment from: Kiel Christianson [Member] Email · http://www.travelgolf.com/departments/authorarchives/christianson.htm
I like Darren Clarke at 35/1.
No clue what Ian Poulter's odds are, but he's near the top of the Tour in overall driving. Might be a good longshot.
Permalink 07/18/06 @ 14:07
Comment from: jon [Visitor]
I'll take Padraig Harrington at 20/1. I can go on and on about how he is steadlly improving, he is due for a win, etc. But the bottom line is that he has a cool name.
Permalink 07/18/06 @ 18:00
Comment from: jon [Visitor]
Side note: The pairing to watch before the cut is Woods/Faldo. Tiger Woods will pummel Faldo. Faldo will wish he could crawl back to the broadcasting booth, and Tiger, being Tiger, will not relent.
Permalink 07/18/06 @ 18:28
Comment from: Shanks [Member] Email · http://www.travelgolf.com/blogs/shanks
If I knew Harrington, I'd nickname him Paddio.

I don't think Faldo is terribly worried about the virtually guaranteed spanking that Tiger will give him for 2 days. He expects that. I think he's probably more concerned about not embarassing himself with poor play.
Permalink 07/18/06 @ 22:45
Comment from: Shanks [Member] Email · http://www.travelgolf.com/blogs/shanks
Poulter went off at 66/1 .... nice longshot call, Kiel.
Permalink 07/20/06 @ 08:45
Comment from: bob the brit [Visitor]
wow..i didnt realise you could not have a bet on sporting events in the u s. why? Here in england you can bet on practically anything. After the first round tiger has been backed down to 5-2..there is a helluva lot of money on him over here,sentimentality is one thing backing a winner is another.
Permalink 07/20/06 @ 19:28
Comment from: Randy Hebert [Visitor]
I need a mulligan on my picks after the first round, I picked the wrong Brits. Pretty nice leaderboard after the first day.
Permalink 07/20/06 @ 20:06
Comment from: Shanks [Member] Email · http://www.travelgolf.com/blogs/shanks
Excluding horse racing, the only place in the US to legally wager on sporting events is in the state of Nevada. Ridiculous, isn't it?

Permalink 07/21/06 @ 07:49
Comment from: Shanks [Member] Email · http://www.travelgolf.com/blogs/shanks
Yeah, Randy, looks like Donald & Casey will need a good round just to make the cut. Harrington is in the same condition but Els & Clarke are in good shape to get in the fray.

Immelman withdrew & Poulter started very nicely but crumbled on the back nine.
Permalink 07/21/06 @ 08:17
Comment from: Jon [Visitor]
It just goes to show you how tough it is to pick the winner in a golf match. I withdraw all my positive comments about Harrington. He can't finish, lol. More seriously, I think he will eventually come through. Harrington at 20/1 seemed a better pick than Tiger at 5/1 at the time. Hindsight is 20/20.
Permalink 07/21/06 @ 17:51
Comment from: Randy Hebert [Visitor]
Yeah hindsight is 20/20. As big a fan as i am of the Big Easy's swing, I couldn't pick him after watching him putt at Loch Lomand. But then again he hasn't gotten by Tiger yet either. If Tiger extends it tomorrow it is over, If they can somehow hang with him and tighten the leaderboard a bit, we could be in for a great Sunday finish.
Permalink 07/22/06 @ 01:20
Comment from: Shanks [Member] Email · http://www.travelgolf.com/blogs/shanks
If I had bet evenly on Harrington and Els (paying down to 4th place), I would have made just a little more on Els than the loss on Harrington. Break even, basically.
Permalink 07/24/06 @ 09:49

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