Sports Betting News: Clarke Breaks Through for First Major at British Open

While Rory McILroy was the favorite heading into last week's British Open, it was another golfer from Northern Ireland that was in the spotlight at Royal St. Georges Golf Club. In an improbable triumph, Darren Clarke recorded a three-stroke victory to claim his first win in a Grand Slam event. The 42-year-old entered the tourney ranked 111th in the world. However, Clarke had recorded a pair of top 3 finishes in the British Open over the course of a solid career. Still, many analysts felt that Clarke was no longer a viable title contender at this point in his career. In the end, everything fell into place for the champion at Royal St. Georges. As a +450 favorite, McILroy was frustrated by the poor weather conditions at the course. He was never really a factor in the tourney en route to a 25th place effort. Top contenders Lee Westwood and Luke Donald both missed the cut. Along with the absence of Tiger Woods due to injury, the weekend field lacked some star power. Still, one of the game's top performers did make a surge up the leaderboard on Sunday. Despite a poor track record at the British Open, Phil Mickelson made up five shots on Clarke at one point in the final round with a five-under par 30 on the front nine. Mickelson was briefly tied for the lead before fading on the back nine. He and Dustin Johnson finished in a tie for second place. With the victory by Clarke, 11 different golfers have won a major since the 2009 Masters. McILroy an early favorite to capture PGA title Golf's final major of the year will be held next month in Atlanta. The 2011 PGA Championship will get underway on August 11th at the Atlanta Athletic Club. In the last PGA Championship to be held at the course, David Toms held off Mickelson to claim his only major title in 2001. Despite his struggles at the British Open, McILroy is a +715 choice to rebound at the PGA. In his only two appearances at the PGA, he has finished in a tie for third place on each occasion. Mickelson and Westwood are the next options in the field at odds of +1015. In his career, Mickelson has posted eight top 10 finishes at the PGA. Westwood's only top 10 effort at the PGA was a third place finish in 2009.