British Open Odds 2013: Locating Top Bets After Day 1

The first round of the Open Championship left us with plenty of big names in contention, and a host of possibilities as to who will become the eventual champion. 

While Zach Johnson looks strong atop the leaderboard at five-under, I wouldn't rush out to bet on him at the 9-1 odds Bovada has posted for him. 

For starters, he went out in the early group, when conditions were more conducive to scoring. Conversely, he'll likely have to deal with harder conditions in the afternoon on Friday. More than that though, being in the lead after Round 1 is not the best place to be.

As PGATour.com points out, just five golfers since 1975 have gone on to win the British Open after taking the 18-hole lead.

All of this to say, you won't find Johnson on this list. However, these next three guys are all worth a play.

Before getting into my three plays, take a look at the leaderboard:

All odds according to Bovada following the first round.  

All scoring and stats information courtesy of the major championship's official site.

Tiger Woods, 7-2

Tiger Woods was the favorite before the tournament started, and he remains the favorite after firing a two-under 69 on Thursday. 

Typically, I stay away from golfers with short odds, but my inclusion of Tiger in this list indicates how confident I am of his chances. 

There are two big factors leading me into siding with Woods. First is the fact that his two-under came in the afternoon. It was an impressive performance on the hardening greens that were already playing like glass. 

However, more than that is the fact that the world No. 1 did not look bothered in any way by the elbow injury that had kept him out of action since the U.S. Open.

There's more to like about Woods' chances, too. He got better as Round 1 went on, which isn't saying a lot since he jacked his first shot way left and had to take an unplayable. It was an ugly ball and prompted this tweet from ESPN's John Buccigross: 

After firing a one-over on the front, Woods went on to card a three-under on the back, and he will take a hot hand into Round 2.

This is classic Woods. He often lurks in contention in the first round, makes a big charge in the middle rounds and then slams the door with safe and solid play on Sunday.

Brandt Snedeker, 14-1

Brandt Snedeker is tied for fourth after carding a three-under 68 on Thursday, and were it not for a bad two-hole stretch, he'd have the lead to himself at six-under.

Snedeker suffered a double-bogey on the par-four sixth and then a bogey on the par-three seventh.

The second bogey pushed him to one-over, and it looked like he was going to play his way out of contention quickly.

However, that would prove to be his last over-par score of the day, and he carded four more birdies for good measure.

Snedeker is playing this course exactly like he needs to. He hit 13-of-18 greens in regulation and let his nice putting stroke do a lot of the heavy lifting. He averaged 1.56 putts per green.

While Snedeker has yet to prove he can hold it together on Sunday when in or near the lead in a major, his time is coming. He has a great chance to pick up his first major at Muirfield. 

Jordan Spieth, 25-1

Jordan Spieth shows poise on the course that belies his age of 19. He put this on display while winning last week's John Deere Classic in a playoff, and he put it on display while firing a two-under-par 69 in the opening round of the British Open. 

It wasn't even until he picked up his first PGA win last week that he even qualified for this tournament. Yet there he was taking it all in stride and playing his game. 

Making his opening round even more impressive was the fact that he accomplished it while playing in the afternoon group. 

Spieth played solid and consistent golf as he suffered just one bogey on the day. That isn't surprising considering he hit 15-of-18 greens in regulation. 

While it would certainly be surprising if this 19-year-old could win a major already, he has been playing wonderfully all year and has passed more than $2 million in earnings. At 25-1, he is a solid bet.