The 140th Open Championship will take place at Royal St George’s Golf Club in Sandwich, Kent from tomorrow through until Sunday. Winning golf majors is a tough task, so tough that many world number ones in the sport have never had a major championship alongside their name. Those who have often struggled to repeat those wins. The latest superstar of golf is young Irish player Rory McIlroy, and he proved his class with a sensational all the way win in the US Open three weeks ago.

Leading a major is not new to McIlroy. He lead in the US Masters before a meltdown and led in last year’s Open Championship before crashing out of contention on the last day. Since the Masters, McIlroy has embarked on a more controlled approach to his life and restricted the number of tournaments he appears in: No more than three consecutive before taking a break, and then taking a break after each big tournament.

This could be his secret. It certainly worked well for him in the US Open, and he has arrived in Sandwich looking relaxed and fresh and ready to tackle all. Bookmakers are not taking any chances with McIlroy, posting him as the early 8/1 favourite in Open Championship betting.  Lee Westwood and Luke Donald are both fighting it out for world number one ranking and bookmakers have them as joint second favourites at 12/1.

Those three won’t have the event all to themselves. There are several golfers coming into this tournament who have been showing glimpses of good form. The links setup at Royal St George’s will suit McIlroy along with Sergio Garcia (30/1), Jason Day (35/1) and Justin Rose (45/1).

At 8/1, McIlroy has to be a standout each-way bet. I would also include Day each-way at 35/1 and Lee Westwood – he would love to win an Open in his home country. Has McIlroy found the secret to consistency? We’ll find out this weekend.