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The Open is the only one of Golf's four majors played outside of
the United States. The event takes place every year on one of nine
historic links courses in Scotland or England, and was first
played on 17 October, 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire,
Scotland. There are nine courses being used on a rotation basis,
with the Old Course at St Andrews used every five years.
The Open's prize money was consistently the least of the four
majors but it has been growing year-on-year. A unique feature of
the Open is its four-hole playoff format if there is a tie at the
end of regulation, followed by sudden death if required.
Various medals and trophies are awarded, with the famous "Claret
Cup" going to the winner.
The 2012 Open Championship
The 2012 Open Championship will have a prize fund of £5
million, with a large chunk of that going to the deserving winner.
A total of 156 professionals golfers will compete in this year's
Open, who gained qualification through exemptions, local
qualifying or international qualifying tournaments.
The championship takes place over the customary four days,
commencing this year on Thursday, 19 July 2012.
Players and Favourites
Picking a winner is no easy task, but after a two-year drought,
Tiger Woods has bounced back somewhat in 2012, having won three
tournaments. The US Open would be his fourth, and as a result of
his gaining some of his legendary form back, he has been posted as
the early Open Championship favourite by most bookmakers. But hot
on his heels are Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy
and current world number 1, Luke Donald.
Records
Tom Morris holds both the record for oldest and youngest winner
(46 years and 99 days, 17 years and 181 days respectively).
Scotland and the United States have both had 42 wins, followed by
England with 27, Australia and South Africa with 9 wins each, and
Northern Island with 1, courtesy of Darren Clarke in 2011. Harry
Vardon still holds the record with six wins (since 1914).
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The Open Championship 2012 Winner
| Outright Betting | Odds | |
| Woods, Tiger | 5/1 |
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| Mcilroy, Rory | 10/1 |
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| Scott, Adam | 12/1 |
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| Donald, Luke | 16/1 |
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| Westwood, Lee | 20/1 |
 |
| Rose, Justin | 22/1 |
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| Mcdowell, Graeme | 22/1 |
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| Garcia, Sergio | 25/1 |
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| Harrington, Padraig | 25/1 |
 |
| Els, Ernie | 33/1 |
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| Poulter, Ian | 33/1 |
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| Mickelson, Phil | 33/1 |
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| Johnson, Dustin | 33/1 |
 |
| Oosthuizen, Louis | 33/1 |
 |
| Snedeker, Brandt | 33/1 |
 |
| Schwartzel, Charl | 40/1 |
 |
| Kaymer, Martin | 40/1 |
 |
| Day, Jason | 40/1 |
 |
| Fowler, Rickie | 40/1 |
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| Olesen, Thorbjorn | 40/1 |
 |
| Kuchar, Matt | 50/1 |
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| Watson, Bubba | 50/1 |
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| Mahan, Hunter | 50/1 |
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| Molinari, Francesco | 50/1 |
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| Simpson, Webb | 50/1 |
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| Bradley, Keegan | 50/1 |
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| Colsaerts, Nicolas | 50/1 |
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| Dufner, Jason | 50/1 |
 |
| Stricker, Steve | 66/1 |
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| Manassero, Matteo | 66/1 |
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| Furyk, Jim | 66/1 |
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| Fisher, Ross | 66/1 |
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| Stenson, Henrik | 66/1 |
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| Lawrie, Paul | 66/1 |
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| Grace, Branden | 66/1 |
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| Ogilvy, Geoff | 80/1 |
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| Bjorn, Thomas | 80/1 |
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| Goosen, Retief | 80/1 |
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| Watney, Nick | 80/1 |
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| Hanson, Peter | 80/1 |
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| Johnson, Zach | 80/1 |
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| Van Pelt, Bo | 80/1 |
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| Lowry, Shane | 80/1 |
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| Karlsson, Robert | 100/1 |
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| Jacobson, Fredrik | 100/1 |
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| Laird, Martin | 100/1 |
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| Curtis, Ben | 100/1 |
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| Coetzee, George | 100/1 |
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| Senden, John | 100/1 |
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| Donaldson, Jamie | 100/1 |
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| Noh, Seung-Yul | 100/1 |
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| Dyson, Simon | 125/1 |
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| Yang, Y.E | 125/1 |
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| Casey, Paul | 125/1 |
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| Choi, KJ | 125/1 |
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| Hansen, Anders | 125/1 |
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| Haas, Bill | 125/1 |
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| Jimenez, Miguel Angel | 125/1 |
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| Allenby, Robert | 125/1 |
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| Noren, Alexander | 125/1 |
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| Cabrera Bello, Rafael | 125/1 |
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| Pettersson, Carl | 125/1 |
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| Sterne, Richard | 125/1 |
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| Molinari, Edoardo | 125/1 |
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| Moore, Ryan | 125/1 |
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| Clarke, Darren | 150/1 |
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| Rock, Robert | 150/1 |
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| Cink, Stewart | 150/1 |
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| Baddeley, Aaron | 150/1 |
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| Aiken, Thomas | 150/1 |
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| Leonard, Justin | 150/1 |
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| Daly, John | 150/1 |
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| Lawrie, Peter | 150/1 |
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| Matsuyama, Hideki | 200/1 |
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| Lehman, Tom | 250/1 |
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| Duval, David | 250/1 |
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| Aphibarnrat, Kiradech | 250/1 |
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| De La Riva, Eduardo | 250/1 |
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| Watson, Tom | 300/1 |
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| Calcavecchia, Mark | 300/1 |
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| Wu, Ashun | 300/1 |
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| Maruyama, Daisuke | 300/1 |
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| Lloyd, Darryn | 300/1 |
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| Harding, Justin | 300/1 |
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| Hamilton, Todd | 400/1 |
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| Lyle, Sandy | 500/1 |
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Big Guns v The Field
There are no current Paddy Power odds for this market Top English Player
There are no current Paddy Power odds for this market
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