This is a real pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey task. It's 24 years since the British Open was played at Carnoustie and the course has changed so much since the Scottish Open was held there in 1995 and 1996 that it is impossible to go on the horses for courses theory.

But this is no place for the fainthearted and only those who have length off the tee and a sound mind will win out. Inevitably, the two men who have dominated the number one spot on the world rankings in recent months - Tiger Woods and David Duval - also dominate the betting. Woods, winner of three of his last four tournaments, is 5 to 1 favourite, while Duval represents somewhat better odds at 10 to 1.

This is a track that demands long, straight driving - and, if wayward, to accept the consequences and just get back into play.

Colin Montgomerie's record in the Open - where he comes under so much pressure - is a poor one. He has missed the cut six times in 10 championships and, despite his win at Loch Lomond, the odds of 12 to 1 seem a mite miserly. And Sergio Garcia, who was on offer for Carnoustie at 50 to 1 just a week ago, has been cut all the way down to 18 to 1.

In fact, better value for European golfers comes in the form of 25 to 1 on Jesper Parnevik, a proven links player who has a fine record of two second place finishes and a fourth in just six British Open appearances. Darren Clarke, another good links player, also represents decent value at 33 to 1. Australia's Stuart Appleby also has the required length to cope with the monster carries and should give punters a good run.

The Americans have a tremendous record in the British Open and, so, Duval at 10 to 1 gets to vote to win his first major - the each-way saver bets to go on Parnevik and Appleby.

5-1 - Tiger Woods (USA).

10-1 - David Duval (USA).

12-1 - Colin Montgomerie (Scotland).

18-1 - Sergio Garcia (Spain).

20-1 - Ernie Els (SA), Vijay Singh (Fiji), Lee Westwood (England).

25-1 - Davis Love III (USA), Jesper Parnevik (Sweden).

33-1 - Darren Clarke (Ireland), Phil Mickelson (USA), Nick Price (Zimbabwe).

40-1 - Jim Furyk (USA), Tom Lehman (USA), Justin Leonard (USA), Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain), Payne Stewart (USA), Hal Sutton (USA).

50-1 - Retief Goosen (SA).

66-1 - Steve Elkington (Australia), Carlos Franco (Paraguay), Lee Janzen (USA), Greg Norman (Australia), Mark O'Meara (USA), Steve Stricker (USA).

80-1 - Stuart Appleby (Australia), Mark Calcavecchia (USA), Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spain).

Prices supplied by Ladbrokes Ireland.