Poulter and Choi the picks at value prices

SPORTS BETTING: BOOKMAKERS are out to get Rory McIlroy in the Open Championship which gets under way at Sandwich tomorrow.

A week ago, the Northern Ireland sensation was as low as 11-2 for Open glory following his brilliant victory in the US equivalent.

This morning, Bet 365 were offering him at 10-1.

No, Rory has not broken his arm. Nor are there any suggestions that his form has suffered following all the media attention sparked by his win in the States.

It is simply that the odds-layers are desperate for business during Open week and the easiest way to attract bets is by offering the favourite at the best odds they dare.

To be fair, 10-1 is probably the right price for McIlroy, who will win again if reproducing the brilliance he showed at Congressional last month.

That’s a big if, though, as the focus on the 22-year-old will be intense and others will be able to play their game without such unwanted distractions.

Luke Donald will be a popular choice at 12-1 following a superb season which culminated in last weekend’s Scottish Open triumph.

On a course which demands superb chipping and putting, no-one is better equipped and he must surely be in the mix on Sunday evening.

However, I don’t fancy Lee Westwood (14-1), whose putting is not good enough, and the likes of Martin Kaymer (25-1), Graeme McDowell (33-1), Sergio Garcia (35-1) and Nick Watney (40-1) can be opposed for form and scrambling reasons.

So where does the value lie in the betting markets?

First of all, you have to decide who you are going to bet with. Boylesports offer place returns on the first eight, but their odds are generally shorter than those of their rivals.

Corals, on the other hand, are betting on the first five placings, but you will get a third of the odds for a place - the best out there as the Chronicle went to press.

This column is odds-orientated, so my two against the field at this stage are England’s Ian Poulter and Korea’s K J Choi.

Poults has an Open runner-up placing on his CV and has been practising extensively at Sandwich.

A World Match Play Golf Championship final triumph in Casares, Southern Spain, came Poulter’s way in May, yet he can be backed at 80-1 for Open glory whereas the excellent Donald, his victim in that final, is trading at almost eight times’ shorter.

Choi, winner of the TPC at Sawgrass, has been in cracking form all season and is overpriced at 50s.

And, as one of the early starters tomorrow and a player who usually blasts from the blocks, he is well worth a bet to be first-round leader at the same odds.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Ian Poulter, e.w., first five, 80-1 (Coral) or e.w., first eight, 70-1 (Boylesports); K J Choi, e.w., first five, 50-1 (Coral), or e.w., first eight, 45-1 (Boylesports); Choi to be first round leader, e.w., first five, 50-1 (William Hill).