Xander Schauffele and Tommy Fleetwood are the best bets for the upcoming Open Championship according to the Racing Post’s golf tipster Steve Palmer.
Palmer joined host Dave Clark on The Sweet Spot to preview the final major of the men’s golf season that gets underway at Royal Troon tomorrow (June 18).
On Schauffele, who won the US PGA Championship in May, Palmer said: “He was making swing changes over Christmas but it’s all come good. He’s added significant yardage [and] the swing changes have bedded in.”
“He became a major champion and it’s such a weight lifted off his shoulders. He’s finished in the top 20 in his last tournaments, he’s never had a more complete game and he is even putting well.”
Schauffele has recorded 14 top-ten finishes in his 29 major starts and finished in the top three of all four of golf majors.
The reigning Olympic champion is currently 16/1 to win the tournament with the show’s partner, AK Bets, and had a strong showing at last week’s Scottish Open, finishing 15th while not dropping a shot in the final three rounds of the event.
Palmer’s second favourite, Tommy Fleetwood, also competed last week at the Scottish Open, finishing tied 34th at nine under par and is currently 25/1 to win the event with AK Bets.
Fleetwood finished tied tenth in last year’s open after playing in the final round with eventual winner Brian Harman and Palmer describes the Englishman as an “elite links golfer”
He added: “He’s superb at controlling his ball flight in a breeze and we are going to be getting wind all week.
“I think Fleetwood can win the open, he’s been threatening to do so for years. I think the self-belief is there and he’s boosted by the return of his caddy Ian Finnis who had heart surgery and came back last week in Scotland. These two are great mates and a formidable alliance and so that could be the help we need to get Tommy over the line.”
His final picks are the 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry (45/1) and three European outsiders in the Swede Alex Noren (90/1), Frenchman Victor Perez (250/1) and the Finn Sami Valimaki (500/1).
The pair also considered the value in betting on Rory McIlroy (9/1) who is seeking to end his ten-year wait for a fifth major title victory.
On his prospects, Palmer said: “He’s always in the frame and his consistency in majors is incredible. He’ll probably contend, he so often does. If you are going to back McIlroy have an each-way bet. That ten-year winning drought has become a huge psychological hurdle. We saw that in the USA in the closing stages of the US Open.”
Clark added that it feels like a “muggy bet” to back McIlroy however he is “ready for the ride” and will be backing him at the weekend.
