British Open Odds 2013: Favorites Who Won't Live Up to Vegas Lines

It is always difficult for favorites to live up to expectations in golf; there are simply too many good players trying to win the major tournaments.

While the biggest stars in the sport are likely to finish near the top of the leaderboard a majority of the time, it seems like every week there is a new player winning a title. In the last 18 major championships, only Rory McIlroy has won more than one.

This leads to the fact that many players with low odds are not necessary good bets. These men especially will fail to live up to expectations at the British Open.

Note: Odds courtesy of Vegas Insider.

Justin Rose (22-1)

As previously mentioned, it has been extremely rare for anyone to do well in multiple majors.

Some first-time winners struggle to live up to the pressure, while others were simply fluke wins to begin with. Either way, the odds are not in Justin Rose's favor to break the streak, regardless of how well he is playing at this point. 

Additionally, the English player has surprisingly struggled at the Open Championship. He has missed the cut in two of the last three years and finished tied for 44th in 2011. In fact, the only time he has ever been in the top 10 was in 1998, when he was an amateur.

Rose has the talent to do well, but history shows that he will struggle.

Adam Scott (25-1)

Thanks to his win at the Masters, Adam Scott is among the favorites to win another major at Muirfield. However, he has struggled immensely over the past few tournaments.

The Australian finished tied for 45th at the U.S. Open and then finished tied for 57th at the AT&T National. After having three rounds under par at Augusta, he only has one such round in his last two events.

To make matters worse, his putting has not been as strong in recent events, which is something that will really hurt him at the upcoming tournament.

There will likely be many more tournament wins in Scott's career, but this week is not likely to be one of them.

Tiger Woods (7-1)

After starting the year in dominant fashion, Tiger Woods has slowed down a lot recently. He won the Players' Championship in May, but then followed that with a poor showing at both the Memorial Tournament and the U.S. Open.

Woods could not handle the tough course at Merion and finished 13 strokes above par at the U.S. Open. Considering he has not competed since then, it is hard to have a lot of confidence in him entering the British Open.

The course at Muirfield is one that requires consistency to succeed. At this point, that is Woods' biggest issue. He has been unable to follow up good shots with more of them.

Until he can show consistent work on the course, you should not bet on him. 

Other Notable Odds

Player	Odds
Phil Mickelson	18-1
Jason Day	25-1
Rory McIlroy	25-1
Luke Donald	28-1
Lee Westwood	28-1
Ernie Els	28-1
Graeme McDowell	28-1
Sergio Garcia	30-1

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