Louis Looks Likely At St.Andrews

The less said about Camillas Wish the better. It was a lifeless effort and well below what she showed last time. The way the horses have been running lately I am delighted to be able to change sports for this post, and below is my view on the upcoming Open Championship.
The British Open this year has already lost some of it's lustre  with the withdrawal of Rory McIlroy due to an ankle injury picked up in a kickabout with his mates. However, it will still make for a fascinating tournament and the current favourite, Jordan Spieth, will be the choice of many to emerge victorious. He can currently be backed at a best price of 7/1 (Ladbrokes), but if you want to play safe and back him each way there are a number of bookmakers offering each way terms on 7 places. It pays to shop around.
There are a number of likely challengers in the field available at more generous prices, and chief among them is the previous course and distance winner Louis Oosthuizen. He came out on top the last time The Open was held at St Andrews, and he has hinted that he is returning to that sort of form again this year.
Back in 2010 Oosthuizen didn't just win, he absolutely demolished the field and cruised home by a seven shot margin on -16. He took control on the 2nd day and never looked like relinquishing the lead for the remainder of the tournament.
This year his form has been patchy as he has come back from a fairly serious back problem. He has seemed to reserve his best form for the majors though, and after a respectable T-19th place finish at Augusta in the Masters he arrived at Chambers Bay for the US Open full of hope as the course looked likely to suit. However, he had an absolute nightmare opening round, and carded a 77. His two playing partners, Woods and Fowler also played terribly and it seemed that they dragged eachother down during the round. Little did we know what was to come next!
He bounced back in a big way, and his new putting technique started to reap rewards as he closed with three rounds of 66,66 and 67 to finish a mere shot behind winner Spieth.
Surely Oosthuizen will be gutted that such a poor first round cost him what surely would have been an easy victory, and he will be out to make amends at St Andrews. He has spoken during the week about his liking for the course and how happy he is with his form. At his current best odds of 25/1 he looks to be well worth an each way bet.
From an Irish perspective Shane Lowry looks the most likely to challenge, and he also had a great US Open. He was right in the mix until a pretty average closing round saw him drop out of contention, but even still it was a hugely encouraging tournament for the Offaly man. He has a super record at St Andrews and on links courses in general. He played well in the first two rounds of the Scottish Open last week and showed that he remains in decent form. The 50/1 available from Ladbrokes looks too big, and if the wind gets up and the weather turns nasty he could be well worth a saver at those sort of odds.
The last player I would like to mention is a young Englishman that caught my eye during the Irish Open. 23 year old Tyrell Hatton hasn't been a pro all that long and only joined the main European Tour in  2014. He has already had some good performances though, including a 2nd in the Joburg Open last year, as well as a good fourth in The Scottish Open at Aberdeen. He played well again there this year, T-22nd (closing with a 66), and also claimed 4th at the Irish Open at Royal County Down.
His strong performances at both The Irish and Scottish Opens would suggest he has a liking for links golf, and there is every chance St Andrews will suit him. Admittedly it is only his second Major Championship as a professional, and he missed the cut last year at Royal Liverpool. However, he definitely looks to have something about him, and it wouldn't be a massive surprise to see him play well this weekend. A small interest at his current best odds of 350/1 mightn't be the worst idea in the world!

Main Fancy: Louis Oosthuizen (25/1)

Small Stakes Savers: Shane Lowry (50/1) Tyrrell Hatton (350/1)