Can anyone stop Dustin Johnson winning the Open Championship?
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Betting odds and preview for Claret Jug
There’s not long to go until the 147th Open Championship gets underway from Carnoustie in Scotland. Dustin Johnson is the pre-tournament favourite for the third major of the season.
The 34-year-old has been priced up at 10/1 to win the Claret Jug for the first time. And it’s easy to see why. The Coral News Team has previewed his chances ahead of tee-off on Thursday.
Bang in form
2018 has been good to Johnson. He kicked off the year with a first-place finish in the Sentry Tournament of Champions and followed that with a T2 finish at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. A succession of middling performances followed before a T10 placing in The Masters.
He continued his impressive form in June by winning the St. Jude Classic prior to an impressive showing in the US Open. DJ led through rounds one, two and three but ultimately relinquished the lead during the final round to come home in third-place.
The course at Shinnecock Hills didn’t help anyone out. Carnoustie is another tough challenge but Johnson has shown a liking for Links courses over the years. He’s one of the most consistent players on the circuit at the moment and his near-perfect technique when striking the ball should lend itself to the dry brown fairways in Scotland.
Solid Open Record
As the Coral News Team have already mentioned, Johnson usually fairs pretty well on Links courses. His record at the Open Championship reflects that. The 2016 US Open winner has carded three top-ten finishes at the tournament in the last seven years, including finishing runner-up in 2011.
Last year didn’t go quite to plan for the world number one at Royal Birkdale. After returning to the clubhouse with a score of +3 after the first two days, Johnson put himself right in the mix with a -6 on day three. A disastrous final round saw him finish well down the leaderboard at T54.
That performance could spur him on here. And he’ll have an added advantage over his competitors having played the Dunhill Links Course twice before. The difference between winning and losing is often decided by tight margins in sport. Johnson’s extra knowledge of the kinks of the course could be key.
Competitors lack consistency
Above all else, Johnson has been a model of consistency this season. Potential each-way backers should note the Palm Beach-native has carded seven top-ten finishes from 11 PGA Tour appearances since the start of January.
The Coral traders consider Justin Rose the biggest danger at 12/1. He’s an undoubted threat on recent form. But he’ll need to improve on an Open best T4 back in 1998 as an amateur. Likewise Rory McIlroy (14/1). The Northern Irishman won the tournament in 2014 but has failed to make the cut after round two at both The Players Championship and the US Open this season.
British hopeful Tommy Fleetwood lacks consistency but does hold the course record after shooting a round of -9 during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in 2017. He’s 16/1 to win at Carnoustie.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
