Tiger is the favorite for the British Open

[Wansteadimp]

Originally Posted by Zwick

I'd say it's a similar course to Hoylake, where he played exactly like that.

Except Hoylake was baked, it has pissed it down in the UK pretty much full time since April, Lytham is unlikely to be rock hard and the rough stands a very good chance of being very lush.

[MEfree]

Originally Posted by Wally Fairway

nice listing of his history - how about this, since 2006 (his last Open Championship win) he has no top 10s. Would you still pick him to win this year?

As stated earlier - odds are about balancing the wagers, Tiger is still a fan favorite & people want to bet on him...so the odds go down.

Looking at the recent Open Championship winners (Clarke, Cink, Oosthuzien), I'd lean towards picking Westwood, Rose or Colsaerts to wager my euros on.

I agree and would be hesitant to bet on him because of that and his mediocre showing at this years course in 2001 (when he was playing great).  I was just explaining why he is the favorite.  Westwood, Rose and Colsaerts might be attractive picks, but only because you can get better than 10-1.

Question, when they say 10-1, do they mean 10 to 1 or 10 for 1?  When I checked Betfair, which tends to have pretty good odds, Woods was listed at around 9.5 for 1 (= 8.5 to 1).

[Wansteadimp]

Originally Posted by MEfree

I agree and would be hesitant to bet on him because of that and his mediocre showing at this years course in 2001 (when he was playing great).  I was just explaining why he is the favorite.  Westwood, Rose and Colsaerts might be attractive picks, but only because you can get better than 10-1.

Question, when they say 10-1, do they mean 10 to 1 or 10 for 1?  When I checked Betfair, which tends to have pretty good odds, Woods was listed at around 9.5 for 1 (= 8.5 to 1).

Depends where your looking on the exchanges (Betfair etc) 9.5 for 1 (= 8.5 to 1 - you get 8.5 for every 1 you put on, plus your 1 back)

On a bookmakers site - William Hill, Ladbrooks etc the odds quoted don't include the return of your stake. so 10 - 1 actually gets you 11 back.

There cleared that up for you!

I find the Open the hardest Major to pick.

Unless the forecast is for the wind to howl anyone in the top 80 in the world could win.

If the weather is going to be dreadful - 30mph winds plus - go with Texans, Saffas and Irishmen.

[k-troop]

This,

Originally Posted by Wansteadimp

The bookies dont expect him to win, the bookies set the odds to minimise their loses on any given result.

Tiger attracts more money than anyone else because of his previous record and having more fans than anyone. Therefore a Tiger win is usually the worst possible result for them therefore he is the favorite.

this,

Originally Posted by eich41

This.  Apparently not many of you understand how odds and "favorites" are determined.  Bookmakers set the odds based on the amount of money (or before betting opens the anticipated amount of money) being placed on that golfer/team.  The lines then move up or down depending on the amount of money bet on that golfer/team.  Ideally they want to balance the money as much as possible, to minimize their exposure to one particular golfer/team.  The reason why Tiger is the favorite is simply because he has more of a following and is the best known golfer in the world and therefore there are more people who pick him to win.  This is further exacerbated in major championships, because the average joe who rarely watches or follows golf will throw down a bet on a major championship, and the only two golfers he knows are Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.  How many uber-casual golf fans had heard of Bubba Watson or Webb Simpson prior to their majors this year?

and this.

Originally Posted by Zwick

First: The oddsmaker can't give much higher odds on Woods, they would risk to go broke if they would put him at 1-20 or something like that. Because everyone would bet on Woods with those odds.

No other reasons.  Certainly Tiger's on the list of top-10 favorites to win based on recent performance, but the reason for his betting odds being so low is to prevent the bookies from going flat broke if he wins and they have to pay out at 20 or 25 to 1 where Tiger probably gets more bets than every other contender combined.

[stoverny]

This is a good example of why you can make a lot of money betting ABT to win a major (anybody but Tiger).  Tiger's odds are almost always WAY out of whack compared to everyone else in the field, simply because of his name recognition and the fact that golf does not generate a lot of betting interest generally.

As for who SHOULD be the favorite... I'd say Westwood if I had to pick a single name -  but he and Rory at 12-1 are also ludicrously overpriced.  The big names almost always are.