British Open 2010: Ernie Els 18-1 in Golf Picks

Ernie Els will enter this weekend's 2010 British Open as an 18-1 longshot at online bookmakers to win the event, which makes him one of the better potential values on the board in golf odds. Tiger Woods, who hasn't won an event this year, opened as a 5-1 golf betting favorite in British Open picks. Els is currently ranked 6th on the Official World Golf Ranking and has made the cut in 11 out of 13 events this year with 2 wins, 6 top 10 finishes with an average score of 70.18 and total earnings of over $3.9 million. Els won the World Golf Championships-CA and the Arnold Palmer Invitational while finishing 3rd in golf odds for the Valero Texas Open and the US Open.

The US Open was something of a disappointment for Els as he was in contention to win it before collapsing in the final stages of the final round. Heading into the British Open 2010, Els has 3 major titles for his career with wins in the US Open in 1994 and 1997 and a win in the 2002 British Open. He has finished 2nd twice in The Masters and has finished 3rd twice in the PGA Championship. Els has had a solid recovery in his game after struggling for much of 2005 with a knee injury. The South African is ready for the Old Course at St. Andrews this weekend.

Although he missed the cut in last weekend's Scottish Open, he believes he can win his second Claret Jug. "I feel like I've got a good chance this week," said Els. "I guess I've been looking forward to this week since the US Open and now that I'm here, I'm preparing well, even with Tiger playing well and Phil playing well, I still think I have a decent chance of playing well this week and maybe having a chance." All the British Open 2010 picks will be teeing off on Thursday from St. Andrews and can be seen on ESPN and ABC.