Fully Stacked Sports Betting Weekend
Weekend sporting highlights, from Ronnie the Average sports guy, to get you excited for the upcoming action.
It was all about The Open this weekend. Even if you don’t care about golf, hang in there as there are some interesting stories this week. The Boks played Portugal on Saturday, and there was a whole bunch of other international rugby matches over the weekend. The Tour de France ended in emphatic style for Tadej Pogačar, and there is finally a bit of drama and intrigue in the F1 season after the Hungarian GP.
GOLF – THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP
For those who don’t know and are too afraid to ask, The Open Championship, also known as The British Open, is the 4th major of the year played at a rota of about a dozen coastal links courses around the UK every year in mid-July since 1860, and is the oldest golf tournament in the world.
Sunday could not have been more perfectly poised as 12 players were within 4 strokes, including major winners, Champion Golfers, and the world #1 (Scottie Scheffler). The rain had passed, and the wind shifted back to a south-westerly like it was on Thursday and Friday, just strong enough for the kitesurfers in the background of the 1st tee box. Lawrence made a great start with 4 birdies on the opening 9 holes to take the outright lead, but 2021 Olympic champion Schauffele kicked it up a notch on the second 9 with 4 birdies for a 6-under 65, the lowest score of the day and week, to lead by 3 strokes at -9 over Lawrence, Rose, and Horschel. The lead was too big to make up, as Schauffele claimed his 2nd major of the year after winning the PGA Championships in May, becoming the 1st man since Brooks Koepka in 2018 to win 2 majors in a single year.
An interesting debate has surfaced about who has had the better year between Schauffele and Scheffler (say those names 5 times quickly and you will summon a demon). Scheffler, world #1, has had an incredible year winning the Masters, 5 PGA events and 8 top-10 finishes, whereas Schauffele has 10 top-10 finishes but has won 2 majors, which are the ones that really count. I know many pro golfers would trade all their wins for major titles, so perhaps history will remember Schauffele in 2024.
International Rugby
It was green and red in Bloemfontein on Saturday as the Boks hosted Portugal for the first ever meeting of the 2 teams in men’s rugby union. My local correspondent on the ground, Mike Ferraris, said the vibe before the game was electric, with large groups of Portuguese supporters singing enthusiastically and sinking many beers, which he graciously partook in as any good host should. The multiculturism in the stands was also notable, a welcome surprise for a man who has been living in Germany for the past 10 years.
South Africa next face Australia in Round 1 of The Rugby Championships in Brisbane at 06:30am on 10 August, so plan your Friday night and Saturday morning carefully and don’t say you weren’t warned!
In other international matches, New Zealand beat Fiji 40-5 at the Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, while Australia beat Georgia 40-29 in an entertaining match in Sydney. Argentina thrashed their South American neighbours Uruguay 79-5 in Maldonado, while Scotland finished their successful American tour in Chile with a 52-11 win.
TOUR DE FRANCE
At 25 years old, Pogačar became the youngest man to win 3 tours and the first man in the 21st century to win the TDF and Giro d’Italia in the same year. Biniam Girmay held onto his Green Jersey to become the first African to claim the title (he’s from Eritrea – I googled it and it is in fact in Africa, so go Biniam – amandla!), while Carapaz was rewarded for his combative riding throughout the tour to claim the Polkadot Jersey over Pogačar and Vingegaard.
F1 – HUNGARIAN GP
It seems that I was wildly incorrect in my F1 prediction at the beginning of the season, that Max Verstappen would win every single race. Shows how much I know, so let that be a lesson to everyone to never believe my predictions. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri won his first GP, passing teammate Lando Norris late in the race. Norris, in a good bit of sportsmanship, seemingly allowed Piastri to pass him rather than attempting to block him. What a good mate.
Upcoming fixtures to look forward to: Bet Now
F1 – BELGIAN GP (Circuit of Spa-Francorchamps)
Fri, 13h30 – 14h30: Practice 1
Fri, 17h00 – 18h00: Practice 2
Sat, 12h30 – 13h30: Practice 3
Sat, 16h00 – 17h00: Qualifying
Sun, 15h00: Race
International Rugby
Sat, 21h00: Uruguay vs Scotland (Estadio Charrúa, Uruguay)
UFC 304 (Co-op Live in Manchester, England)
Sun, from 04h00:
- Featherweight: Arnold Allen vs Giga Chikadze
- Middleweight: Christian Leroy Duncan vs Gregory Rodrigues
- Lightweight: Bobby Green vs Paddy Pimblett
- Heavyweight (Co-main event): Tom Aspinall vs Curtis Blaydes
- Welterweight (Main event): Leon Edwards vs Belal Muhammad
All sporting Bets R100 or more before 31 July, enters you into a lucky draw to stand a chance to win the Ultimate Sports Fan Package in July 2024, this includes an all expenses paid double tickets to South Africa vs New Zealand! To get an entry into the Lucky Draw. Bet R100 or more on sport, each bet of R100 or more gets you additional entries into the lucky draw! Learn more
Does this sporting news get you excited for the action in the week ahead?