Golf betting tips: Preview and tips for the 2021 British Open Championship

The Open Championship returns to Royal St George’s Golf Club for the 15^th time this year, when the club will host the 149^th Open Championship.

The host course for the year’s final major was founded by surgeon Dr William Laidlaw Purves in 1887. The course was named ‘St George’s‘ after the English patron saint.

In 1894, after only seven years of play, the club hosted its first Open Championship. This was the first Open to be played outside Scotland.

Open Championship Winners at Royal St George’s Golf Club

One of the sternest tests on The Open rota, Royal St George’s has traditionally proven tough to score on.

It last hosted the 2011 Open Championship, when Northern Irishman Darren Clarke captured his only Major winning with a total -5 (275) for the week.

Overview of Royal St George’s Golf Club

Founded in 1887, Royal St George’s is located in Sandwich, Kent, England. It is a classic Par 70 links that can stretch to just over 7,200 yards from the back pegs. The course was granted Royal patronage in 1902 and the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII) became club captain.

The Club’s Challenge Cup dates from 1888 and is one of the oldest amateur events in golf. A 19-year-old Jack Nicklaus won the tournament in 1959.

The course is famous for its thatched roof shelters, the red cross of St George on the flags and the tallest and deepest bunker on The Open rota on the 4th hole. Historically, many holes featured blind or partially blind shots, however this has been somewhat reduced through several modern redesigns and modifications.

St George’s has plenty unique and difficult holes with challenging greens, run-off areas and bunkering. The layout represents a difficult test requiring solid ball striking. Severely undulating fairways make good scoring very tough. Tee shots will often come to rest on an uneven lie making it challenging to hit long irons or a fairway wood into the green.

Royal St George’s Scorecard

The Par 70 course will play at 7,204 yards from the back sticks this week. The strong winds which blow along the exposed links plays a huge factor in the scoring.

History tells us that those who wish to win the Claret Jug will need to putt and scramble brilliantly. Links experience is key and if conditions permit to be aggressive on the Par 5’s.

It will be important to keep a close eye on the weather throughout the week as it can play a major role in scoring.

Even when the wind is not blowing that strongly, Royal St George’s is a course that produces a stiff challenge. However, when the wind gets up breaking par becomes extremely challenging.

Patience will be key this week. Players will need to take their medicine after wayward shots and deal with whatever presents. More importantly, it will be imperative to capitalise on scoring opportunities when they arise.

Greens will be missed so players will need to scramble well and have a better than average week with the flat-stick.

British Open Betting Tips

Xander Schauffele 18/1 (E/W) – this is his 4^th trip across the pond for the Open Championship with his best finish to date a T2 in 2018 at Carnoustie. His last outing on Tour yielded a T7 at the US Open played at Kiawah Island. In all, he has 7 x Top 10’s among 14 x Top 25’s so far this season. Despite weak Scrambling stats, he still features inside the Top 20 in this week’s Stats Analysis. This is more than compensated for being 12^th on Tour for Strokes Gained Tee-To-Green and 11^th for Strokes Gained Putting. Time is now for a return to the winner’s circle.

Louis Oosthuizen 25/1 (E/W) – a past Open Champion, he won the 2010 edition of the tournament at St Andrews. Finished runner-up in his last outing on Tour in the US Open. He preceded this with a T8 in the Memorial and a T2 in the PGA Championship. A zero red flag game puts the 32 year inside the Top 30 in this week’s Stats Analysis. More notably he is 10^th on Tour for Strokes Gained Around-The-Green and 1^st for Strokes Gained Putting, key attributes for this week’s challenge. The South African is certainly riding the crest of a golfing wave at the moment. Ticks a lot of boxes for the year’s final Major.

Russell Henley 100/1 (E/W) & 5/1 To Finish Top 20 – sticking with the Georgia native again this week. Has no form of note at the Open Championship despite having a game (at least on paper) that should be tailor made for links golf. Has 8 x Top 25’s this season including a T13 in the US Open and a T11 in last week’s John Deere Classic. Statistically solid, the 32 year old features just outside the Top 30 in this week’s Stats Analysis. He is 15^th on Tour for GIR and 12^th for Scoring Average. With game and confidence in a good place together with zero pressure or expectation makes for a good each way punt.