Dougherty 66/1 for The Open

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June 30, 2009

Nick Dougherty is 66/1 with Sky Bet to win the Open Championship following his BMW International Open victory.

Nick Dougherty is 66/1 with Sky Bet to win the Open Championship following his victory at the BMW International Open in Germany.

The one-stroke win over Argentina’s Rafa Echenique, who, in a dramatic finish, sank a 243-yard three-iron for an albatross two on the closing hole, earned Dougherty a place in the Open at Turnberry.

Dougherty’s slide since his mother died suddenly from a heart attack just after his Masters debut last year had taken him not only out of the world’s top 50, but out of the top 100 as well.

During this bleak time he also failed to make it into the Ryder Cup, failed to earn a return trip to Augusta and failed to come through qualifying events for the US and British Opens as well.

But now he will be at Turnberry – thanks to a mini-Order of Merit that he did not even know much about until he was told during last week’s tournament that he was in position to take one of the two Open spots on offer.

We know now that he went on to clinch one of those places with his victory on Sunday

Meanwhile Kenny Perry is available at 80/1 after jumping to the top of the FedEx Cup standings with victory at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut – his second triumph of the year.

Perry, 48, shot a final-round seven-under-par 63 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, to reach 22 under par for the tournament, three shots clear of David Toms, who closed with a 65 to tie for second with Paul Goydos – the leader after 54 holes.

Tiger Woods remains favourite at 5/2 with Sergio Garcia, defending champion Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy next in the betting at 16/1, 18/1 and 22/1 respectively.

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