Early 2016 British Open Expert Betting Pick

It’s an unusual week on the PGA Tour this week because there’s no tournament. That’s very rare this time of year but the scheduled Greenbrier Classic in West Virginia had to be canceled because of severe flooding in that area. Greenbrier County, where The Greenbrier Resort is located, has been particularly hard-hit by torrential rains. The Greenbrier Classic was set to be the final PGA Tour event before the British Open at Royal Troon. So let’s go ahead and look ahead to that tournament. And right now there’s a three-way tie on betting odds to win the third major of the year between Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, all at +800.

Closer Look at the Early 2016 British Open Expert Betting Pick

Get pumped.

The Open is almost here. https://t.co/oh2GyDcWBT — PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 4, 2016

Day, the world’s No. 1 player, is looking for his first British Open title. The Aussie was on track for a fourth win of the year and eighth win in 20 starts when he led the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone Country Club on Sunday with four holes to play, only to implode. Day missed a four-foot par putt on the 15th before butchering the par five 16th with a double-bogey seven. Needing to finish birdie-birdie to force a playoff Day’s effort from the fringe on the 17th came up short and then a wild drive on 18 ended any hopes of a miracle hole out. He finished tied for third with, among others, Spieth. Day says he will use that tournament as motivation for the British Open. He finished just out of a playoff last year. Dustin Johnson won the WGC-Bridgestone, his second straight tournament win after also taking the U.S. Open for his first major title. He is now up to a career-high No. 2 in the world and is +850 to win the British Open. “It’s the first time I’ve won two tournaments in a row,” Johnson said after his 1-shot victory over Scott Piercy. “I mean, that’s big. I’m excited and looking forward to going over to the British with the golf game in good form.” The Open Championship, or simply the British Open, is the oldest of the four major championships in professional golf. Held in the United Kingdom, it is administered by The R&A and is the only major outside the United States. This will be the 145th British Open and for the ninth time Royal Troon will be the stage. Royal Troon Golf Club dates to 1878, when it debuted with a five-hole golf course. As with many Scottish courses, Troon is the name of the club and the town where it’s located. Royal Troon will play 7,190 yards for the 2016 Open at a par 71 on nines of 36-35. This is 15 yards longer than it played for the 2004 Open Championship. Todd Hamilton was the unlikely winner that year. The past six Open Champions at Royal Troon have been American. The defending champion is Zach Johnson and he’s +5500 on betting lines to repeat. He beat South African Louis Oosthuizen and Australian Marc Leishman in a playoff. Johnson closed with a 6-under 66 by holing a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole in regulation. Spieth fell one shot short of the playoff, which would have given him an opportunity to clinch the third leg of the Grand Slam. It was the first British Open playoff since Stewart Cink beat Tom Watson at Turnberry in 2009.