The Open will be well underway now, but with literally hundreds of in-running spread markets, there are plenty more opportunities to follow your judgement over the weekend.

Prior to the tournament, Sporting Index had the winning margin spread at 1.6-1.9, so sellers will be pleased to hear that five of the last 10 Open Championships have gone to a play-off, including the last one played here at Royal Birkdale in 1998. The course is regarded as one of the best and toughest in the world, so there will be plenty of punter interest in the winning score market. The spread was set pre-tournament at 276-277, which suggests we are in for a similar renewal to last year (Garcia and Harrington were tied at 7 under after 277 shots). Sellers will be delighted to hear that five of the last eight winners have posted scores lower than 276, but before you start to scream “sell, sell”, be warned that three of those victories were by a certain Mr Woods. When Mark O’Meara won here in 1998, he won at level-par, having played 280 shots for the 72 holes, whilst buyers will be praying for a repeat of the infamous Lawrie-Van de Velde battle at Carnoustie a year later, when the Scot eventually won in a play-off, with a 6 over par score of 290.

With two Europeans in the top three in Sporting Index’s finishing positions market, sellers of either Garcia or Westwood will be alarmed to hear that only two Europeans have won the Open since Nick Faldo became the last Englishman to win it in 1992. The Americans have an outstanding record at this major and the spread betting public will undoubtedly be interested in the USA Super 10 Index. Punters are awarded between 5 and 50 points based on a top-50 finish from a selection of 10 players. The USA have won 10 of the last 13 Open Championships and they have won five of the eight ever played at Birkdale; whilst a European is yet to win here. In addition to this, buyers of USA performance will be further buoyed by Americans occupying the top three spots here in both 1998 and 1983, whilst they had to put up with just five of the top six places when Ian Baker-Finch won for Australia in 1991. However, sellers of the stars and stripes will be more pleased to hear that not one American finished in the top five positions last year.