The Open Championships: Three-ball tips for round one at Carnoustie

Golf

Thu July 19, 2018 · 6y ago

Golf expert Ben Coley has two fancies for Thursday's first-round three-balls at The Open Championship.

Recommended bets:

3pts Snedeker to beat Davis and Locke at 4/5

2pts Armour to beat Ancer and Kawamura at 13/8

For details of advised bookmakers and each-way terms, click here

Snedeker to beat Davis and Locke (1136 BST)

A straightforward start here as Brandt Snedeker has a huge class edge on all known form and should put it to use.

It's not just that Snedeker is by far the best player on display here, but he also has experience in bundles and loves the Open, where he was third in 2012, 11th a year later and 22nd on his latest start.

Having qualified courtesy of third place at the Greenbrier, his second top-six finish in four starts, this 11-time winner must rate a confident fancy on another tough, traditional links where his attitude is a big positive.

Cameron Davis won the Australian Open last year in shock fashion and has already won on the Web.com Tour. He has bags of ability and time on his side, so don't be surprised if one day he contends for a Claret Jug.

Sky Bet are paying 10 places on the Open Championship

However, four missed cuts in succession is no way to prepare for your Open debut and it's hard to expect much at this stage in his career when he's been unable to compete at a much lower level for over a month.

As for Sam Locke, the big positive is that he's received plenty of advice from mentor Paul Lawrie, winner here in 1999, but he's way down the World Amateur Golf Rankings and faces a battle to make the weekend.

Snedeker should produce the solid round which would likely be more than enough and 4/5 is generous given the opposition. It's possible he wins this after even a bad day at the office.

Just hit one 427 on 18 @TheOpen .. Guys would be hitting it in the burn in front of green 450+.. Carnoustie is baked out but greens are pure.. Never seen an Open this firm.. Will be an awesome week if it stays like this.. pic.twitter.com/AUXyPGF4iu
— Brandt Snedeker (@BrandtSnedeker) July 14, 2018

Armour to beat Ancer and Kawamura (1543 BST)

An obscure one, this, and we'll have to wait until late in the day to collect, but Ryan Armour looks rock-solid.

The veteran has made six cuts in a row, a runner-up finish on his penultimate start enough to qualify for his first major championship, and fell in love with Carnoustie immediately after arriving from the US.

Armour's game is built around finding fairways and he's doing that beautifully at present, having been 17th or better for driving accuracy throughout this run of solid golf. That will serve him well at a firm, fast Carnoustie, where various straight-hitters have thrived in the past, and he is playing well enough to advance to the weekend.

Abraham Ancer is a similar player but his form is nowhere near as solid, even if he too played well enough at The National to earn an Open debut.

The Mexican was behind Armour both there and at the Greenbrier and while most bookmakers can't separate them, I consider Armour to be playing much the best golf and he is, don't forget, the one with the PGA Tour victory to his name. He's also more experienced and that's a massive edge given the challenge which awaits.

Both men figure prominently in the first-round scoring charts this season but once more it's Armour with the edge and he deserves to be clear favourite.

As for Masahiro Kawamura, last time out he shot 77-73 to miss the cut in his native Japan, where he's been out of sorts for more than a month now, and also missed the cut on his sole previous start in a major at Chambers Bay three years ago.