The Open Three-Ball Tips: Pod to start strongly on day one at Royal Lytham

"Padraig Harrington looks like he's hitting peak form at the right time."

2pts Back Padraig Harrington @ 2.01/1

Dan Geraghty is spoilt this week as the hard-working boys in Betfair Market Operations have loaded every single Open Championship three-ball for him to pick from. That means he has no excuses for getting it wrong of course, so how do these six selections look to you?

There's quite a bandwagon forming for Padraig Harrington. Even the Irishman himself has been quoted as saying he's value at 20.019/1 to win the whole thing. I certainly wouldn't put anyone off backing the likeable Irishman. He's been in fantastic form recently - I was particularly impressed with his effort at the recent Irish Open - and he looks like he's hitting peak form at the right time. Rickie Fowler and little known Austrian Manuel Trappel have their work cut out to stay with Pod on day one.

While Steve Stricker was dealing with the disappointment of failing to complete a four-timer at the John Deere Classic in the USA this week, Anders Hansen was completing his second fine performance in as many weeks on the European tour as he finished 11th at the Scottish Open. There can be no doubt as to who has had the better preperation for this week, and early in the week is certainly the best time to catch the Dane. Toru Taniguchi makes up the three-ball and his open record leaves a lot to be desired.

Rory McIlroy's price in the outright market - 25.024/1 - is insane, it's a price that is screaming "BACK ME" at every single golf punter in the UK. Don't fear the weather, some of McIlroy's very best rounds have been on links courses and it wasn't long ago that many thought his best chance of a Major was our Open. Sure his last seven outings include four missed cuts, but they also include three top 10s. I really think his price is a huge overreaction. Take him to beat 2010 champion, Louis Oosthuizen, and Keegan Bradley on day one.

Jeev Milkha Singh was left proclaiming that he "loves links golf" after claiming a spot in this week's Open Championship through the back door on Sunday. Singh can thank his lucky stars that others around him collapsed to give him the chance to tee it up this week, and he should be bouncing off the walls as he takes to the tee with Greg Chalmers and Alejandro Canizares at 07:14 on Thursday morning.

Raphael Jacquelin played fantastically on an extremely tough course in France recently, he is the standout option in his Thursday three ball with Miguel Angel Jimenez and former Champion here David Duval who are both struggling at present.

American Kyle Stanley was 44th at last year's Open in difficult conditions on his debut in the event. Expect him to improve on that performance this year with the experience behind him. He has been in decent form and looks overpriced to get the better of Robert Rock and Stephen Ames who have both been quiet of late.

For outright recommendations read the Punter's excellent preview here.

Recommended Bets
2pts Back Padraig Harrington @ 2.01/1
1pt Back Anders Hansen @ 2.81/1
2pts Back Rory McIlroy @ 2.41/1
1pt Back Jeev Milkha Singh @ 2.561/1
1pt Back Raphael Jacquelin @ 2.21/1
1pt Back Kyle Stanley @ 3.02/1

Season Profit/Loss: +8.42pts

*Follow me on twitter @dangeraghty10

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Open Championship: Will Lytham spell an end to Lee's major hopes going West?

"So while the golfing gods can also be cruel, Westwood is the first to point out that there’s more joy than struggle in the eternal labour of the game he loves."

Romilly Evans asks if Lee Westwood can finally get over the major line in the Open at Royal Lytham...

The philosopher Albert Camus always believed that anticipation was the purest form of pleasure. Better than the memory, better than the deed. In that, while the good things that actually happen to you often disappoint, those that never come to pass become engraved upon your heart with a bittersweet sadness.

Camus even argued that Sisyphus, Greek antiquity's poster boy for a bad day at the office, took satisfaction from his eternal punishment of pushing a boulder up a mountain, only for it to tumble back to the bottom as it reached the peak. The gods of Olympus had intended for Sisyphus to endure eternal frustration. Camus countered that there was joy to be found in this seemingly pointless struggle.

If Camus was right, Lee Westwood must be having the time of his life. After all, The Worksop Wonder has been rolling his boulder up the mountainside of major golf for longer than English golf fans care to remember. A total of 57 majors and counting to be exact. Every time he posts his name near the top of the Sunday leaderboard, down it falls. The near-misses have stacked up like planes approaching Heathrow, with eight top 10 finishes in the last 12 Majors. Westwood simply appears incapable of landing one safely.

Along the way, Westwood has become world number one, a prolific worldwide winner, multi-millionaire, contented family man, even an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. So while the golfing gods can also be cruel, Westwood is the first to point out that there's more joy than struggle in the eternal labour of the game he loves.

Of course, the mountain of public expectation grows ever steeper with the passing years. Especially at Westy's home Open next week, where the crowds will flock to see if their man can finally end his hoodoo in an event no Englishman has won since Nick Faldo triumphed at Muirfield in 1992. However, Westwood's form ahead of the Open suggests they can dare to dream once more.

The 39-year-old has contended wherever he has roamed this season, notching five top-10 finishes in eight events on the PGA Tour and five top-10s in 10 European Tour starts, punctuated by a recent victory at the Nordea Masters. He also reclaimed his Indonesian Masters crown.

As for the all-important majors, it's been a perennial refrain: third at The Masters, then a tie for 10th at the US Open, which looked altogether more promising until he bizarrely lost a ball up a tree in the final round. Even Westwood admitted to suffering from a severe case of the here-we-go-agains.

But as the Open returns to Royal Lytham this year, there is perhaps more reason for him to fend off the mental demons. And not just because this classic Lancashire links doesn't have any trees. Rather, when the Open last visited this corner of Lancashire in 2001, another nearly man of peerless precision with his woods and irons walked off with the Claret Jug. David Duval was that player and the similarities between the two golfers are stark: forever gifted, forever thwarted. Maybe Westwood's time is finally at hand around a course which should reward his accuracy and ball-striking.

Fears over last week's injury scare at the French Open (where he slipped walking over to the first tee) have proven to be unfounded - "the leg is perfectly fine, my fitness guy said I could play again this week if I really wanted to." Which means the only missing link is his old caddie, Billy Foster, who sadly hasn't recovered from his own leg injury to be on the bag this week. That said, the affable Foster will still be at Lytham to cheer on his great friend and despite the mixed emotions, none will be pulling harder.

If Westwood does manage to shake the monkey off his back (and Betfair players make him second favourite at 18.017/1 to back), he may be left feeling as Duval did in the wake of his milestone win. "I just thought it would feel sweeter than this," Double D opined to his caddie soon afterwards.

So maybe Camus was right about the human condition. There can be no joy without the struggle. Still, after all the years of frustration, Westwood's legion of supporters won't mind one bit if they see their man home. The Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain a major champion.

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