British Open Odds 2012: Early Betting Lines for Golf's Top International Players

In the past 25 years, golfers from nine countries (including England, Scotland and Northern Ireland) have won the British Open, a recognition of the true international nature of the sport today. The world's top 30 golfers hail from 10 different countries, creating a strong likelihood that the British Open will once again be won by a non-American.

After a run in the mid 2000s of Americans dominating the majors—almost entirely due to the era of Tiger—golf has never been more of an international affair as it is presently.

Here we take a look at the early betting lines from British based gaming company Ladbrokes and VegasInsider.com for 12 of the top international golfers in the world and analyze their chances for winning big at Royal Lytham.

Jason Day

Odds at Ladbrokes: 50/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 50/1

Only four years after first earning his PGA Tour card, Australian Jason Day has become one of the most promising young players on the tour.

In May 2010, Day won his first PGA tournament, the HP Byron Nelson Championship, and competed in his first major at the British Open. Though Day failed to make much of an impact, finishing in a tie for 60th place, Day played outstanding golf at the PGA Championship, where he finished tied for 10th place. He didn't lose any momentum in the offseason, finishing in second place at both the 2011 Masters and the 2011 U.S. Open.

Day has struggled a bit since mid-2011. He finished in a tie for 30th at the 2011 British Open, missed the cut at the PGA Championship, withdrew from the 2012 Masters and tied for 60th at the U.S. Open. His ranking has taken a bit of a tumble since then, but at 21st he is still ranked among the best in the sport.

The Jason Day of 2010 hasn't looked much like the Jason Day of 2011, but he has proven that he has the talent to keep it close at the majors when he's on top of his game. But Day hasn't looked anywhere near the top of his game all year, and he would have to turn things around rather drastically and unexpectedly to compete for the British Open title. 

Luke Donald

Odds at Ladbrokes: 16/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 15/1

Luke Donald is the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world, has won six PGA Tour and European Tour tournaments in the past two years, and had two top-10 finishes at major tournaments last year. Yet Donald is still very much a question mark at this year's Open.

Donald is on the quest to win his first major, and though he had two strong efforts in 2011, in the other two majors of the year, he tied for 45th in one and missed the cut in the other. Donald then finished in a tie for 32nd at the 2012 Masters and missed the cut at the U.S. Open, finishing +11 over the first two days.

Royal Lytham offers a great opportunity for Donald to make a run at his first major. Donald is perhaps the best putter in golf and is also a highly accurate driver, both essential skills at Royal Lytham. He's one of the weakest drivers on the Tour in terms of distance, much less of a factor at Royal Lytham than at most courses.

Most everyone who is knowledgeable about golf assumes that it is only a matter of time until Luke Donald wins his first major, and it takes a confident handicapper to pick against him. 

Sergio Garcia

Odds at Ladbrokes: 33/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 30/1

Sergio Garcia is often regarded as the best golfer never to win a major. If that slump is ever going to end, the British Open is the most likely venue.

Garcia has finished in the top 10 in an astounding 17 majors, nine of which were top-five finishes. Garcia has been the most successful at the British Open, where he has earned seven of his top-10 finishes, three more than at either the U.S. Open or PGA Championship and five more than at the Masters.

Garcia had a frustrating late 2009 and 2010 season, but returned strong in 2011 with two top-10 majors finishes and two European Tour victories. He finished tied for 12th at this year's Masters, and since the Masters earned two top five finishes on the European Tour. 

For a player known for falling apart at the worst possible moments, Garcia is also remarkably consistent. He hasn't missed a cut in over a year; at 17 consecutive cuts made, he is second on the PGA Tour.

There is no doubt that Garcia has the talent to win a major; the question has always been whether he has the necessary mental approach to withstand the pressure of the final day of a major.

It's hard to believe Garcia is only 32 years old, but he's been a professional for 13 years, and he has matured a great deal over the past decade. Garcia still has it in him to win a major, and with his past success at the Open, he has a better chance to win than the odds suggest. 

Peter Hanson

Odds at Ladbrokes: 66/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 60/1

There's no doubt that Peter Hanson looked pretty bad at this year's U.S. Open, posting an opening round score of 78, and improving only to 75 the following day. Though he missed the cut, Hanson's performance at the Masters ensures that handicappers are not dismissing the Swedish golfer's chances.

Hanson finished in a tie for third at the Masters, finishing with a score of -8. He had top-five finishes at four other tournaments this year and stands at 26th in the world rankings. 

Hanson failed to make the cut at last year's Open, finishing +4 over the first two days of the tournament, but he made the cut in each of the four previous years.

Hanson's a long shot to be much of a threat at this year's Open, and despite outstanding finishes at this year's Masters and last year's U.S. Open, he will have to play more consistently at the major tournaments in order to make handicappers take notice of his talents.

Martin Kaymer

Odds at Ladbrokes: 33/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 40/1

By winning four tournaments in 2010, including the PGA Championship, Martin Kaymer established himself as one of the world's best golfers under 30. 

Kaymer has yet to find himself in the winners' circle in the 2012 season but has finished in the top 20 of all but four tournaments in which he has played. Although he looked a bit shaky at the Masters, Kaymer played well at the U.S. Open. 

Kaymer hasn't played well in the past month, finishing 71st, 70th and 29th in the three tournaments he has played in since the U.S. Open, and Royal Lytham isn't a course where golfers find their missing stroke. Still, Kaymer wins through his consistency, and handicappers are recognizing that he has a fair chance of winning despite his recent mediocre play.

Graeme McDowell

Odds at Ladbrokes: 33/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 30/1

Graeme McDowell was 30 years old before he ever made a splash at a major.

In 2009, he finished in a tie for 10th place at the PGA Championship but quickly followed that up by missing the cut at the following year's Masters.

Though McDowell had won five tournaments in his career, his victory at the 2010 U.S. Open was quite a surprise to the golf world. He has since proven that his win was no fluke, finishing in a tie for second at the 2012 U.S. Open and winning another event on the European Tour.

McDowell still is prone to missing cuts, failing to qualify for the final two days in three of the four majors in 2011. He's going to have to prove that he can consistently stay near the top of the leaderboard in majors before handicappers take him seriously as a regular threat to win.

While he's not a favorite to win, handicappers are showing that they consider McDowell to have a real chance to win at Royal Lytham, and based on his performance at the U.S. Open this year, it's not hard to see why. He's currently ranked 12th in the world, and he's one of the most accurate drivers in golf (ranked second on the PGA Tour this year).

Not many people are picking McDowell as their favorite to win, but even fewer are willing to dismiss his chances.

Rory McIlroy

Odds at Ladbrokes: 16/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 10/1

After a tremendous start to the 2012 season, in which Rory McIlroy finished second, first and third in the first three tournaments he played in, he hit a bit of a rough patch.

After tying for 40th at the Masters, McIlroy surged again to finish second at the Wells Fargo Championship. Since then, he has missed three of four cuts, despite a strong seventh-place finish at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. McIlroy was awful at the U.S. Open, posting a score of +10 in only two rounds played.

Yet despite his struggles, handicappers still have a lot of faith in McIlroy at Royal Lytham.

His performance at the U.S. Open was bad, but many of golf's best struggled with the tough conditions and famously difficult course. McIlroy also looked solid at the Irish Open, earning a 10th place finish. He's also looked strong at the last two British Opens, finishing in a tie for 25th last year and a tie for third in the previous season.

McIlroy's play has been up and down lately, and McIlroy's long driving distance will not benefit him at Royal Lytham as much as it does at other courses. Still, he is one of the most dangerous golfers in the sport, and he has looked brilliant at times this year.

Handicappers are betting that McIlroy will be on top of this game at the Open.

Louis Oosthuizen

Odds at Ladbrokes: 40/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 40/1

Since 2010, Louis Oosthuizen has won five events on the European Tour, including the 2010 British Open, and has climbed to a ranking of 18th in the world.

He also played spectacular golf at this year's Masters and won the Maybank Malaysian Open in April. Yet handicappers still view Oosthuizen as an unlikely candidate—though not necessarily a long shot—to win at Royal Lytham.

Oosthuizen didn't look so good at the U.S. Open, though, who did? He played decently at the Scottish Open but not nearly good enough to look like a contender at the British Open.

But Oosthuizen has shown the ability to bounce back quickly from disappointing performances.

His 2010 British Open victory followed missed cuts at that year's Masters and U.S. Open, yet he was able to turn in a score of -16 at the British. He is one of the most well-rounded golfers in the sport, and his game is well suited to Royal Lytham. 

Justin Rose

Odds at Ladbrokes: 33/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 30/1

Justin Rose first exploded onto the international golf scene as an amateur with his run for the title at the 1998 British Open. With the exception of a tie for fifth at the 2003 U.S. Open, Rose failed to make much of an impact at the majors until the 2007 Masters, when he began to become a regular presence on the leaderboards. 

Rose has racked up four PGA Tour tournament wins over his career, his first in June 2010, and his most recent in March of this year at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. Rose looked strong at the Masters, finishing in a tie for eighth, and finished with a respectable score of +7 at the U.S. Open, good for a tie for 21st.

Of the four majors, Rose has struggled the most at the British Open since his first appearance at the tournament. He has missed three cuts, sat out the tournament four times and only finished in the top 20 twice since his first appearance.

Still, Royal Lytham offers Rose his best chance at breaking this slump.

Rose has outstanding accuracy at hitting the greens and is one of the best on the Tour of getting out of the sand, both key skills for the course. He's also been playing great golf lately. With the exception of his 51st-place finish at the Players Championship, he's placed in the top 30 in each of the past nine tournaments, and has been in the top 10 six times this year. He's currently ranked ninth in the world and has never played better, more consistent golf than he has over the past year.

Justin Rose is still looking to live up to the promise he showed at the 1998 British Open, and this could very well be the year that he does so.

Charl Schwartzel

Odds at Ladbrokes: 50/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 50/1

After struggling in his first several major tournaments, Charl Schwartzel put it all together in 2010.

After finishing in a tie for 30th at the Masters, Schwartzel finished in the top 20 in the three remaining majors of the year. He also won two tournaments on the European Tour, the first time he had won two in the same year. 

It didn't take long in 2011 for Schwartzel to show that he was still improving. As a result of a stunning fourth round, he won a green jacket at the Masters, his first PGA Tour win. He also posted career bests at the U.S. Open and PGA Championship and finished in the top 20 at the British Open.

Schwartzel's game in 2012 hasn't been nearly as consistent. He's yet to earn a win on the European or PGA Tour, and his performance at the Masters was his worst yet. While he was better at the U.S. Open, it was his worst result at the tournament since 2006.

Still, Schwartzel shouldn't be counted out at Royal Lytham. Though he hasn't won in 2012, he's finished in the top 10 at two PGA Tour events and two more European Tour events. This is reflected in his ranking, currently 18th in the world, down from seventh last year.

Schwartzel has not been on top of his game lately, but as he demonstrated in the 2011 Masters, he should never be counted out.

Adam Scott

Odds at Ladbrokes: 40/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 40/1

In the 10 tournaments he has played on the PGA Tour this year, Adam Scott has been out of the top 30 only three times, while twice finishing in the top five and once more in the top 10.

Though he wasn't won a tournament since the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational in August 2011, Scott more often than not is in the hunt on the final day of tournaments.

Scott has been a regular presence on the leaderboard at the majors, placing in the top 10 seven times since the 2002 Masters. He hasn't been much of a threat the British Open in recent years, finishing outside of the top 20 in his past three attempts, including a missed cut in 2009. 

Scott is one of the more powerful drivers on the Tour, but he's not always the most accurate driver (113th on the PGA Tour this year), a factor that will hurt his chances at Royal Lytham.

Scott also isn't the best playing in the sand, so the sight of the Royal Lytham's hazard-covered layout should give him pause. Still, Scott is the 13th ranked golfer in the world, and as we've seen throughout his career, his consistent play rarely leaves him out of the hunt on the final day of tournaments.

Lee Westwood

Odds at Ladbrokes: 12/1
Odds at VegasInsider.com: 15/1

Lee Westwood has won nearly every type of golf tournaments: PGA Tour, European Tour, Japanese Golf Tour, Asian Tour, Sunshine Tour and PGA Tour of Australia. The only kind of tournament he has not won is the most precious win of all: a major.

Westwood has certainly come close over the years. He first cracked the top 10 at the 1997 British Open, and has finished in the top 10 14 times in his career.

Westwood has been making a particularly spirited attack on the majors in the past four seasons. In that time, he has finished in the top 10 in eight of the 16 majors held in that time, finishing third in four tournaments and in second twice. Since missing the cut at last year's British Open, Westwood finished in ties for eighth at the PGA, third at the Masters and 10th at the U.S. Open.

With his outstanding play at recent majors and his five-stroke victory at last month's Nordea Masters, it is no wonder that handicappers believe Westwood to be such a threat at the Open.

Westwood's game is also nearly perfectly tailored to Royal Lytham. Few golfers are better at finding the green than Westwood, and should he end up in one of Royal Lytham's many famed sand traps, he's the third-best golfer on the PGA Tour this year at getting out of the sand. His putting betrays him at times, but the rest of his game more than makes up for this.

There are several competitors at the Open who are due for their first major win, but Westwood is probably the most dangerous of them all.