by Renee Israel
The 2012 British Open golf championship begins on Thursday, July 19,
which this year will be held at the Royal Lytham and St. Anne's Golf Club in
Lancashire, England.
The British Open is the third of the majors in the annual golf calendar.
Historically it is the oldest of the majors and the only major to be held
outside the United States.
British Challenge at 2012 British Open
Three times British Open winner Tiger Woods starts as the favourite to win
the Claret Jug. He will face stiff challenge from three British golfers, none of
whom have won the championship previously. One of these is the current world No.
1 Luke Donald. Donald is celebrating a collective 52 weeks as the No. 1.
Donald is defending his Scottish Open title ahead of the 2012 British Open.
This will be the sixth straight time he will be entering a major golf event as
the No. 1. Donald has diagnosed his problem of getting a bit anxious and uptight
and his top priority will be in controlling that. He aims to play with a little
more freedom and have a little more fun.
The other British challenger is Rory McIlroy. He began the year as No. 1 but
has had a string of poor performances of late. He has taken time off to do
promotional work for the EA Sports' Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2013 video game, where
he was able to hit a soccer goal crossbar from 150 yards away with a golf ball.
In terms of specific practice for the 2012 British Open, McIlroy said,
"There's a lot of tee shots that you have to hit left to right at Lytham. So
I'll just work on the fade and make sure that's in good order."
The third British professional golfer in the race is world No. 3 Lee
Westwood. However, he had a bit of a scare when he slipped during the recent
French Open and suffered a groin strain and a tweaked knee. However, that will
not prevent him from playing in the 2012 British Open. He said, "I'm fine.
There's no problem. It was a slight strain and it's a lot easier now. It won't
be a factor when Royal Lytham comes round."
Online Odds For 2012 British Open
The online betting site Bet365 has posted odds for the 2012 British Open golf
championship winner. The odds for the top five contenders are as follows.
Woods - 6/1
Westwood - 16/1
McIlroy - 16/1
Donald - 18/1
Harrington - 18/1
