McIlroy a Strong Favourite for Open Championship

A very interesting partnership was announced for the opening round of the 2011 Open Championship as current US Open winner Rory McIlroy was placed alongside Ernie Els and up-and-coming American sensation Rickie Fowler.

The Norn Irish linksman is considered to be the outright betting favourite for the 2011 Open by some distance and most punters will find odds of around 8/1 on the 22 year-old star. At the time of this writing, McIlroy was the only contender floating at a single-digit price.

Both Luke Donald and Lee Westwood are the other major contenders for this one with the pair trading at 12/1 for a major victory. Both of McIlroy's opening day partners are considered a ways off the pace in terms of potential to win the Open – both are available at prices of 80/1.

The defending Open Championship winner is Louis Oosthuizen and he'll be lining up with Phil Mickelson and Martin Kaymer – the US PGA Champion. The South African Oosthuizen is also available at 80/1 to successfully defend the crown he won last year by a massive seven stroke margin. Mickelson sits at 40/1 while Kaymer can be backed at 25/1.

This year's Open is set to unfold at the legendary St. George's Golf Course and Tiger Woods will not be participating this year due to injury. Colin Montgomerie also missed the cut in the Scottish Open and will not play for the first time since 1989.

The action gets underway this Thursday as American Jerry Kelly tees off the first ball at 0630 BST.