The LPGA Tour will shift to Milton Keynes, England and the Woburn Golf Club for the RICOH Women’s British Open this week. The field for this week’s tournament will be absolutely loaded with World No. 1 Lydia Ko leading the way. We’re also going to see Canadian starlet Brook M. Henderson and rookie sensation Ariya Jutanugarn. The focus remains on a handful of young, talented players that have stolen the spotlight this season. Ko is the heavy favorite to win it all as she’s at about 3/1 while no other player is even inside of 10/1. We’ll see if she can get the job done.
Event Details
Event: RICOH Women’s British Open
Category: LPGA
Date: July 28-31
Location: Woburn Golf Club, Milton Keynes, England
The UL International Crown lived up to expectations as a rare team event on the LPGA Tour but the hardcore golf enthusiasts will be eager to see the best in the world compete on an individual basis this week with some major hardware on the line. There will be $3 million in prize money up for grabs and it will be interesting to see how things play out with a number of veterans looking to hold off a rising cast of young stars.
Past Five Winners
2015: Inbee Park
2014: Mo Martin
2013: Stacy Lewis
2012: Jiyai Shin
2011: Yani Tseng
What To Know About The Course
The Woburn Golf and Country Club has hosted the British Masters several times and has been the host of the women’s major tournament on nine different occasions. Accuracy off the tee will be an important statistic to consider for this week’s tournament and while experience will be important it is impossible to ignore what a young group of golfers has done on the LPGA Tour this season. Putting is always an important statistic to consider as well, especially when the pressure is on at a tournament like this.
The Field
Lydia Ko will be the obvious betting favorite in this field a +400 odds as her resume speaks for itself on the LPGA Tour this season. There is a major drop off following Ko in terms of the sports betting odds to win this tournament outright but that doesn’t mean a drop off in overall talent. Veteran Stacy Lewis and rookie sensation Ariya Jutanugarn are listed at +1600 odds to win outright with Sung-Hyun Park and Anna Nordqvist rounding out the top five picks in terms of the betting favorites.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Brooke Henderson over Stacy Lewis
It’s unreasonable to expect 19-year-old Brooke Henderson to win every single tournament she enters but while she has struggled with consistency she certainly has the talent to deliver as a high upside pick this week. Henderson followed up her first-career major tournament win at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship with a victory at the Portland Classic and she should be locked in for the opportunity to deliver at the Women’s British Open. Meanwhile, Lewis won this tournament in 2013 and has registered three straight top-10 finishes but she could be due for a letdown. Lewis struggled here a year ago when she finished tied for 17th so we could see her dropping just enough for Henderson to take advantage this week.
Top-Five Pick: Lydia Ko
While rookie sensation Ariya Jutanugarn was a tempting pick in this spot the reality is that Ko has simply dominated the LPGA Tour once again this season and it’s impossible not to make her our pick as a lock to finish in the top-five again this week. The world No. 1 has won two of her last three starts with a third-place finish at the U.S. Women’s Open lodged in between victories at the Arkansas Championship and Marathon Classic. There is no doubt that she will continue her dominance this week and even if she doesn’t pull out the victory she should be a lock to finish in the top-five at the Women’s British Open.
Top 10 Odds To Win The British Open
Laydia Ko +350
Stacy Lewis +1415
Ariya Jutanugarn +1615
Sei Young Kim +2050
Anna Nordqvist +2050
Sung Hyun Park +2050
So Yeon Ryu +2050
Lexi Thompson +2050
Brooke M Henderson +2550
In Gee Chun +2550
