Steve Bamford

Steve Bamford's Open Championship Longshots & Barracuda Tips

Get Steve's previews as soon as they're published @Bamfordgolf Follow Now
Follow us on twitter @Bamfordgolf
Join over 6,300 punters on our facebook group
Watch our latest tips videos on YouTube

With the leading bookmakers all keen to get your business, the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool makes for an exciting punting proposition this week. With a record-breaking amount of additional each-way places on offer, finding a value outsider is a tactic that’s potentially packed full of profit this week.

Some players simply can’t handle links-style golf where the ability to grind in bad weather or score in calm conditions is paramount. In reality this is probably the most likely of all Majors to produce a long-priced, even 3-figure winner, as per Louis Oosthuizen in 2010, Darren Clarke in 2011 and Zach Johnson in 2015. The last few years have produced the following outsiders, each of whom finished in the top 7:

  • 2022: Cameron Young (110/1 2nd); Brian Harman (175/1 6th).
  • 2021: Dylan Frittelli (275/1 5th); Mackenzie Hughes (350/1 6th).
  • 2019:  Tony Finau (80/1 3rd); Lee Westwood (110/1 4th); Tyrrell Hatton (90/1 6th); Robert MacIntyre (200/1 6th);  Danny Willett (125/1 6th).
  • 2018: Xander Schauffele (110/1 2nd); Kevin Kisner (300/1 2nd); Kevin Chappell (250/1, 6th); Eddie Pepperell (175/1 6th).
  • 2017: Hao-tong Li (300/1 3rd).
  • 2016: J.B. Holmes (200/1 3rd), Steve Stricker (250/1 4th), Tyrrell Hatton (175/1 5th)
  • 2015: Zach Johnson (110/1 Winner); Marc Leishman (250/1 2nd); Danny Willet (125/1 6th); Jordan Niebrugge (1000/1 6th).
  • 2014: Marc Leishman (150/1 5th); Edoardo Molinari (200/1 7th).
  • 2013: Hideki Matsuyama (250/1 6th).
  • 2012: Brandt Snedeker (175/1 3rd).
  • 2011: Darren Clarke (200/1 – Winner); Thomas Bjorn (200/1); Chad Campbell (250/1); Anthony Kim (175/1) – all finished 5th.
  • 2010: Louis Oosthuizen (250/1 – Winner); Henrik Stenson (100/1 3rd); Nick Watney (125/1) & Robert Rock (300/1) – both finished 7th.
  • 2009: Stewart Cink (175/1 – Winner); Tom Watson (750/1 2nd); Chris Wood (500/1 3rd).

bet365 have also upped their game for the 2023 Open and as they have done for every Major Championship this year, they are offering standard 8 places each-way at 1/5 odds plus market-leading odds. 8 places each-way at 1/5 odds is also a feature at all full-field PGA Tour and DP World Tour events via their Each Way Extra facility.

bet365 8 Places Each-Way at the 2023 Open Championship with bet365

bet365 are offering a superb balance this week at the 2023 Open Championship, with market-best odds on a whole host of leading players, plus extended 8 places each-way at 1/5 odds. Brand new customers 18+, receive a fantastic Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets:

✅ Bet £10 get £30 in free bets for new customers
✅ Bonus code SPORT30 can be used, but does not change the offer amount in any way
✅ For further details read our bet365 new customer offer page
✅ Early odds available each week on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour
✅ ‘Each Way Extra’ promotion where you can choose between 3, 8, 10 or 12 places each way

bet365 New Customer Offer: New Customers only. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5 and £10 to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. Registration required. The bonus code SPORT30 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. #Ad

CLAIM T&Cs

boylesports Get up to 12 places each way on golf with Boylesports’ ‘Pick Your Place’ promotion.

Boylesports have recently launched their innovative ‘Pick Your Place’ promotion on golf, allowing punters to choose up to 12 places each way on golf tournaments.

Pick Your Place gives you the option to increase the number of places when you’re betting pre-event on the outright market on selected golf events, with 6, 8, 10 and 12 places each way options available at 1/5 odds.

pick your place

Odds above used for illustrative purposes and were correct at 10:00BST 17.7.23, but are naturally subject to fluctuation.

To access the different options and odds, simply select the ‘Pick Your Place’ market from the selected golf coupon to see the additional place terms that are available on your chosen event before the first group tees off.

Don’t panic if Boylesports is not a sports betting account that you currently have, as new UK customers who sign-up with Boylesports via Golf Betting System receive their latest sportsbook account opening offer:

✅ Bet £10 Get £20 Free Bets for new mobile customers using this qualifying link
✅ For further details read our Boylesports Sign Up Offer page.
✅ Regularly extending full-field PGA Tour events to a market-beating 10 places each-way
✅ Offered 11 places each-way 1/5 odds at all 4 Majors in 2022

Boylesports UK New Customer Offer: New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Mobile exclusive. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. 18+. T&Cs apply. **18+, 1/5 6 Places, 1/5 8 Places, 1/5 10 Places and 1/5 12 Places in The Open. Pre-live each-way bets on the outright market only. Dead Heat rules apply. Account & Payment restrictions apply. Does not apply to free/void/antepost/cashed out bets. Offer does not apply to multiple bets. Does not apply to Combined Odds. T&Cs Apply. #Ad

CLAIM T&Cs

My pick of the longshots are as follows:

Corey Conners 1pt EW 100/1 (8ew, 1/5) with bet365

I still think that straight, true driving will play an important role at Hoylake, where Out of Bounds on 6 holes will cause carnage, as will long fescue just off the fairway. The transition between fairway, 2-3 yards of 2″ long fescue and long knee-high fescue is amazingly short in distance and stark in result. Conners is 18th for Strokes Gained Off the Tee, tellingly 6th for Distance from Edge of Fairway, and 5th for Greens in Regulation this season on the PGA Tour.

17th at the 2021 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island (10th after 54 holes) and 12th at the Oak Hill-hosted PGA Championship in May where he was 2nd going into Sunday, Conners was 15th at Sandwich in 2021 where he was 4th heading into Sunday. Finished Sunday’s windswept final round at the Genesis Scottish Open with a -4/66 which was second only to Robert MacIntyre. RESULT: T52

✅ Bet £10 get £30 in free bets for new customers
✅ Bonus code SPORT30 can be used, but does not change the offer amount in any way
✅ For further details read our bet365 new customer offer page
✅ Early odds available each week on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour
✅ ‘Each Way Extra’ promotion where you can choose between 3, 8, 10 or 12 places each way

bet365 New Customer Offer: New Customers only. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5 and £10 to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. Registration required. The bonus code SPORT30 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. #Ad

CLAIM T&Cs

Russell Henley 1pt EW 125/1 (8EW, 1/5) with Boylesports

Russell Henley is another player whose game logically fits when it comes to Hoylake. Ranking 2nd only behind Collin Morikawa for Distance from Edge of Fairway on the PGA Tour, Russell also ranks 1st for Driving Accuracy and 5th for Proximity to Hole; from a Strokes Gained perspective he ranks top 35 for Around the Green, top 30 for Approach and top 26 for Tee to Green. He’s also upped his game in Major Championships recently. 4th, yes 4th, at The Masters, he was also a competitive 14th at a Los Angeles Country Club set-up which ultimately suited the longer hitters as most United States-based Majors actually do.

A winner of the 2013 Sony Open and 2022 WWT Championship by the coast on the PGA Tour, Russell also won the arduous Florida-based Honda Classic in 2014. He’s also shown flashes at the Open Championship. 20th in 2015 at St Andrews, Russell was also 10th after 36 holes (finishing 37th) at Royal Birkdale in 2017 – Birkdale to Hoylake isn’t a bad comparison when it comes to the Open course rota. 18th going into the final round at St Andrews 12 months ago – he eventually finished 62nd – you get the feeling with the 34 year-old, who studied at the University of Georgia, that he would actually hang around close to the each-way places with his current level of Major confidence and form. RESULT: MC

✅ Bet £10 Get £20 Free Bets for new mobile customers using this qualifying link
✅ For further details read our Boylesports Sign Up Offer page.
✅ Regularly extending full-field PGA Tour events to a market-beating 10 places each-way
✅ Offered 11 places each-way 1/5 odds at all 4 Majors in 2022

Boylesports UK New Customer Offer: New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Mobile exclusive. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. 18+. T&Cs apply. **18+, 1/5 6 Places, 1/5 8 Places, 1/5 10 Places and 1/5 12 Places in The Open. Pre-live each-way bets on the outright market only. Dead Heat rules apply. Account & Payment restrictions apply. Does not apply to free/void/antepost/cashed out bets. Offer does not apply to multiple bets. Does not apply to Combined Odds. T&Cs Apply. #Ad

CLAIM T&Cs

Denny McCarthy 1pt EW 150/1 (8EW, 1/5) with Boylesports

Denny McCarthy makes his Open Championship debut this week and as regulars will know I tipped him at the recent John Deere Classic where he was T2 after 54 holes, eventually finishing T6. That followed on from 7th at the Travelers Championship (designated tournament) plus his heroic 2nd place finish at the Memorial Tournament (designated tournament) where he was beaten by Viktor Hovland in a play-off, on a crazily tough Muirfield Village set-up. Indeed to put his current level of play into context, he sits 14th in Team USA Ryder Cup qualification, just behind Rickie Fowler and Justin Thomas plus ahead of Tony Finau.

7th (2022 U.S. Open), 29th (2023 PGA Championship) and 20th (2023 U.S. Open) across his past 3 Major Championship outings, PGA Tour coastal assignment top 10s include 4th at Pebble Beach (2023), 4th at Corales (2018), 4th (2020) and 6th (2022) in Bermuda, plus 8th (2019) and 10th (2021) at Sea Island. A short game wizard who ranked 8th for Driving Accuracy, 4th for Total Driving, 4th for Greens in Regulation, 3rd for Total Accuracy and 3rd for Ball Striking last time out at the John Deere Classic. RESULT: MC

✅ Bet £10 Get £20 Free Bets for new mobile customers using this qualifying link
✅ For further details read our Boylesports Sign Up Offer page.
✅ Regularly extending full-field PGA Tour events to a market-beating 10 places each-way
✅ Offered 11 places each-way 1/5 odds at all 4 Majors in 2022

Boylesports UK New Customer Offer: New UK customers (Excluding NI) only. Mobile exclusive. Min Deposit £10. Min stake £10. Min odds Evs. Free bet applied on 1st settlement of any qualifying bet. 30 days to qualify. Free bets expire in 7 days. Cashed out/Free Bets won’t apply. Account & Payment method restrictions apply. 1 Free Bet offer per customer, household & IP Address only. 18+. T&Cs apply. **18+, 1/5 6 Places, 1/5 8 Places, 1/5 10 Places and 1/5 12 Places in The Open. Pre-live each-way bets on the outright market only. Dead Heat rules apply. Account & Payment restrictions apply. Does not apply to free/void/antepost/cashed out bets. Offer does not apply to multiple bets. Does not apply to Combined Odds. T&Cs Apply. #Ad

CLAIM T&Cs

Barracuda Championship Tips

Whilst the Open Championship takes centre stage at Hoylake, another ‘opposite’ alternate tournament on the PGA Tour takes place. The Barracuda Championship is played at the Old Greenwood Golf Course in California. Played at altitude in the Sierra Nevada mountains, this event since 2012 this event has been played utilising the Modified Stableford scoring format.

Won by Richy Werenski (33/1), Erik van Rooyen (66/1) and Chez Reavie (40/1), the full 2-year PGA Tour exemption available to the winner is a huge carrot, as is the possibility of harvesting enough FedEx Cup points to help grab a spot in the magical top 70 for the FedEx Cup Playoffs.

Mark Hubbard 2pts EW 25/1 (8ew, 1/5) with bet365

Mark Hubbard is as straightforward a bet as you want, where course form and current form collide. Having the season of his career at 55th in the FedEx Cup with 4 top-10 finishes, Hubbard who grew up at altitude in Denver, Colorado and who attended San Jose University in California, must see the Barracuda as a huge opportunity. A maiden PGA Tour win is up for grabs, or a top 5 finish would solidify his spot in the big money FedEx Cup Playoffs.

5th at the Sanderson Farms Championship in the autumn, Mark has really hit his straps post-Masters. 11th at Harbour Town (designated event), 18th in Mexico, 9th at Colonial, 6th at Oakdale G&CC and 6th last time out at TPC Deere Run, Hubbard thrives on short to medium length golf courses and prefers mid-score to resort-level scoring tests.

Hubbard has also played well in “opposite” events across his career. 15th at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open, last season saw Mark finish 3rd at the Barbasol Championship before flying from Kentucky to California to finish 3rd at the Barracuda Championship 7 days later. That makes total sense at real birdie-fests as his 2 professional victories have come at -20/264 and -26/262 respectively. RESULT: T10

✅ Bet £10 get £30 in free bets for new customers
✅ Bonus code SPORT30 can be used, but does not change the offer amount in any way
✅ For further details read our bet365 new customer offer page
✅ Early odds available each week on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour
✅ ‘Each Way Extra’ promotion where you can choose between 3, 8, 10 or 12 places each way

bet365 New Customer Offer: New Customers only. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5 and £10 to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. Registration required. The bonus code SPORT30 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. #Ad

CLAIM T&Cs

Justin Suh 1.5pts EW 35/1 (8ew, 1/5) with bet365

Justin Suh is the second-highest ranked player in this field on the Official Golf Ranking at 71st – outranked only by Keith Mitchell who sits at Number 62. More pertinently for the task ahead at Old Greenwood, he sits 8th for Total Birdies on the PGA Tour this season and amongst those in the Barracuda Championship field who play regularly on the Tour, he ranks top 8 for Birdie Average.

Statistics aside, Suh is an amazing talent who is undoubtedly on a path to elite status. Number 1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking between October 2018 and April 2019, Suh was part of the All-American pack that included Morikawa, Hovland and Wolff who hit the PGA Tour in the summer of 2019. Whilst the other 3 had immediate success, Suh struggled with his play and an injury. That all changed though in 2022 winning the Korn Ferry Tour Championship and in turn ranking number 1 in the season-long points race, earning full status for the PGA Tour this season.

A slow start to his rookie season soon exploded in 2023. 5th at the Honda Classic on the Jack Nicklaus designed PGA National, Justin then went on to finish 6th at his first ever Players Championship. He also showed well in the Majors, finishing 26th at the PGA Championship – he was 4th heading into the weekend – and 27th at the U.S. Open – he was 12th heading into the weekend in Los Angeles.

After a 2023 which has featured the biggest and best tournaments the PGA Tour has to offer, Californian Suh drops down a significant level or two this week and I think Justin will be looking forward to a return to Old Greenwood where he finished 23rd (12th going into Sunday) in 2020, when playing his first event post-Covid. RESULT: T34

✅ Bet £10 get £30 in free bets for new customers
✅ Bonus code SPORT30 can be used, but does not change the offer amount in any way
✅ For further details read our bet365 new customer offer page
✅ Early odds available each week on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour
✅ ‘Each Way Extra’ promotion where you can choose between 3, 8, 10 or 12 places each way

bet365 New Customer Offer: New Customers only. Bet £10 & Get £30 in Free Bets. Sign up, deposit between £5 and £10 to your account and bet365 will give you three times that value in Free Bets when you place qualifying bets to the same value and they are settled. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits. Min odds/bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. T&Cs, time limits & exclusions apply. Registration required. The bonus code SPORT30 can be used during registration, but does not change the offer amount in any way. #Ad

CLAIM T&Cs

Odds and bookmaker offers correct at 16:40BST 17.7.23 but are naturally subject to fluctuation.