Sergio Garcia Now the Favorite to Win 2007 British Open

Sergio Garcia was suddenly thrust as the favorite to win the 2007 British Open heading into Saturday.  Bookmaker.com is now offering Garcia as a +185 favorite, still paying 2 to 1 odds.  Sergio Garcia opened at 30 to 1 odds. 

Garcia took another step toward validating his promise, grinding his way through chilly breezes with birdies on both par 5s and only a couple of mistakes that put him two shots clear of K.J. Choi.

He has contended for majors since he was a teenager, but the 27-year-old Spaniard looks as though he might finally have figured them out. Garcia wasn't at his best in the second round, but he was good enough.

"I was hoping for a little better than what I did," Garcia said. "But that was not a bad round. Every time you shoot on a difficult course ... an under-par or even-par round, you know you're not too far away."

Choi, from South Korea, was bearing down on Garcia with a string of birdies along the back nine until a bogey on the final hole that was a foot away from being worse. His tee shot narrowly avoided the burn left of the 18th fairway, forcing Choi to stand on the stone steps and punch back to the fairway.

"You've just got to play that hole as a par 5," Choi said after a 69. "Even if you get a bogey, just consider it a good par."

Choi offered remarkable value heading into Saturday.  Bookmaker.com had Choi at +700 or 7 to 1 odds, which would pay out $700 for every $100 bet.

Tiger Woods, meanwhile, was downgraded to +560 odds.

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Alistair Prescott, Sports911.com

Originally published July 20, 2007 11:33 pm ET