British Open 2011: Why Rory McIlroy Is Vegas' Favorite to Win

When trying to predict the person to come out on top of the 2011 British Open leaderboard, it seems that the betting world has fallen into old habits.

The world of golf had gotten used to having dominant figure, and that comfort certainly extended to the betting world.

For the majority of the past decade, the question heading into majors was not, "who is going to be the favorite," but "how low are Tiger Woods' odds going to be," or "are you betting on Tiger or taking the field?"

Now that those days seem long gone, it is striking how ridiculous that is. Not that it is ridiculous those were the questions—Tiger proved it was justified—but that he was dominant enough to warrant them. It is hard to win a major, and it is silly to expect anyone to win more than one in a year. 

The fields are deeper and more talented than ever. Picking a winner heading into a major is like throwing darts on the board, but we have all gotten used to having one golfer be so much better than the rest.

Tiger Woods' disappearance and fall after the result of his scandal-based hiatus coupled with his injury now keeping him out of tournaments happened so quickly that the rush of his departure from the top of the golf world created a vacuum, and that vacuum was just waiting for someone to pull in to replace the big newfound void.

So when Rory McIlroy dominated the field at the U.S. Open in a way no one but Tiger ever really has, the comparisons to Tiger were inevitable.

They were both identified as phenom talents at a young age. They both displayed the talent to play on a level beyond their peers' and they both exploded to win their first major before the age of 23 by obliterating the golfers around them.

The moment Rory McIlroy holed his final putt at the U.S. Open to claim the championship, he not only became firmly linked to comparisons of Tiger Woods, but also the expectations.

It is easy to see Rory's talent and the Woods comparisons and expect similar results. We are conditioned to have a favorite leading into every tournament. We are conditioned to have a golfer that is ready to perform at his peak for all of golf's majors. And for his part, Rory has shown he is ready to do that. 

He has shared the lead at some point in each of the last four majors. So even though he hasn't swung a club in a competitive setting since the U.S. Open, Rory McIlroy was a clear and large favorite to win the British Open.