Golf: US Open 2008

[kevshat]

The 2nd major of the year gets underway tomorrow at Torrey Pines. Woods returns after 6 weeks on the sidelines through injury and the 7/2 Coral and Paddy Power offer on him could look ridiculous come Sunday but last time Woods missed golf before a US Open he missed the cut by a distance so I'm staying clear of that. I'm going with 3 for the tournament though. All bets are at Boylesports or Paddy Power because they pay 6 places ew. 2pts ew L.Donald to win US Open 30/1 Boylesports Luke Donald has a very good record around this golf course in the Buick Invitational and that should give him confidence to take on the course in the US Open. Donald's worst finish here was T24 but he has two 2nds in the event, one of which was via a defeat in a playoff to Tiger. Luke also has a pretty decent record in the US Open with a couple of top 20's in his 4 tries. Donald has had 3 top 10's on the PGA Tour this season which included a T6th on his last outing at The Memorial so his game is in good shape and on a course he goes well at Donald could well be in contention to break his major duck come Sunday. 2pts ew S.Cink to win US Open 35/1 Boylesports Stewart Cink is another player who has a decent record around Torrey Pines. In 8 Buick Invitationals he's only missed the cut once and has made the top 15 on 4 occasions. He's got a pretty decent US Open record too with 3 top 10's from his 12 starts, the highest of which was 3rd in 2001. Cink is having an ultra consistent season too. He started the majors with a tied 3rd at The Masters and that came after finishing runner up to Woods in the Accenture Matchplay. He was also 2nd at the PODS Championship too so he's been playing some good golf. Further top 10's here at the Buick early in the season and at the Veirzon Heritage and Wachovia coupled with his US Open record suggests Cink should be in the mix when the back 9 on Sunday comes around. 2pts ew M.Weir to win US Open 55/1 Paddy Power Very few players have a record in this event in recent years as good as Mike Weir without actually winning it. He's been T6, T4 and T3 in the last 5 years so is generally on the scene on Sunday at the US Open. He's gone well at Torrey Pines in the past too with a T5 in 2001 so the course shouldn't hold too many problems for the former US Masters champion. He began the year with a 4th place finish in the Mercedes Championship and was 2nd at the Memorial two weeks ago so his game isn't in bad nick and his straight hitting and solid putting could well put him in contention for the US Open again.

[WoodyTHFC]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Totally agree regarding Cink and Donald, going with four myself (it could have been more with the likes of Stricker poor very recent form but over priced considering he was the world no.3 two months ago, now no.8 and Verplank whos style suited to the US Open and suddenly has found good recent form just missing out) also going with the 6 places option although it means reduced odds at times. Concentrating just on the win market so 20 pts staked Cink 35/1 boy 2.5pts e.w I have constantly backed Cink in major events this year e.w and it has paid dividens e.w, notably at the world matchplay when he was a big price 80/1 or something and also at the Masters. He does not win a lot and indeed it has been said he often fails to get the job done on sundays but what he does do is play consistent solid golf regularly and this year has been no different, only one missed cut (dq apart) and a stack of top 10s and four times he has been in the top 3 on the pga tour. He nearly won the US Open in 2001 when he missed a simple put that cost him ultiamtely a play off and i have always considered that he has the type of game that suits the traditional us open style courses, ie. pretty straight, solid putter. Ironically he seems to have driven the ball further this year and maybe has lost a touch of his accuracy but I still consider him in the us open barcket style of player. He also has some form round here (third this year and other top 10s/15s) in the buick invitational (not like Tigers record though) and even though the set up will still be slightly different this week that still has some revelance imo. Furyk 30/1 boy 2.5 pts e.w Furyk was the last American winner of this in 2003, his only major win but in truth he could have won the last two US Opens. In 2006 he missed a routine putt that he took ages over which ultimately cost him a play off and in 2007 his unusual aggressive play on the 71st hole of the championship lead to a crucial bogey on a hole that was offering rare birdie opportunites and ultimately cost Jim the championship as he ended up one short of Cabrera. One of the main reasons he does so well in the US Open is that the style of courses played upon generally suit he style of golf, ie. hitting fairways is crucial in the US Open and Furyk regularly does that with his unusual swing and has done so for years. He is not in as bad form as perhaps suggested by his odds, personally I would have him third fav for this, he has had a second, fourth and fifth this year and despite having the odd trouble with the putter this year, that is not too shabby a record. One of the only main negatives I would have is that he doesnt have a particularly good record in the Buick Invitational but that is not enough to put me off Furyk. Donald 30/1 var 2.5 pte e.w My own personal feelings on Donald are mixed, he can obviously play but like so many of the other Europeans he has a mixed record really when it comes to the crunch of the Majors and arguably an underachieving record for someone of his talent and world ranking position. He has come third a couple of times in Majors but like so many of the Europeans he has never really gone on and progressed into a consistent serious player, his best chance so far probably was in the US PGA Championship of 2006 when he fell away somewhat on the final day when paired with Woods in the final group. However of all the majors, the US Open is possibly the one that favours him the most with his normal style of lots of fairways being hit suiting. He also has hit some recent form with third and sixth the last two weeks and earlier in the year he had a second and a third. Another encouraging stat is that in terms of putts per round he is second on the PGA tour behind Harrington and that bodes well. Also of huge encouragement is his record in the Buick Invitational which is played here, he has been second twice including a play off defeat to John Daly and has a string of top 10s, top 25s whenever he plays in that particular event. Maybe he might just deliver in a Major this week. Stenson 80/1 boy 2.5 pts e.w Stenson has a history of starting years very well, in past years he has won the World Matchplay and even beaten Tiger in Dubai in the early part of the year and whilst he has not always maintained that form throughout the year enough, he should not be written off. His form in 2008 shows that he has not missed a cut and has five top six finishes including two seconds and that needs to be respected. Unlike my other three picks, he is not necessarily a straight hitter and is more instead someone who can drive the ball some way but that should not be dismissed in US Opens, look at Cabrera last year. Stenson is an atatcking golfer who can live with the best on the tours and major worldwide events if not so far in the majors but that might change soon and it could be this week.

[Kozzin Benson]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 I read all the comments about Tiger choosing to come back from his knee operation straight in to the US Open. Is it good value to lay the Tiger @ 4.4 BF, then hope he has a normal to poor first round thereby giving you the opportunity to back Tiger to make profit either way? Also VJ is 6.6 on BF to be top rest of the world. Is it good value to lay VJ and ditto for his first round? The US Open is a very difficult competition & the course is usually set up that way too. You dont normally see all the top ranked players huddled round the leaderboard so i am tempted to lay the 2 above rather than try to back the winner/high finisher. Any comments?

[bigstumur]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008

US OPEN 2008

This weeks Tips:

Top Aussie: Robert Allenby,in his own words he is in the form of his life and his Stats off the tee and G.I.R back this up.There are 9 players in this market but reallistically only 5 contenders. Robert Allenby 10pts Top Aussie@Betfair 5/1.

Top Scandinavian: Robert Karllson has never hit the ball as far&straight as he has this season on europeantour,he is more patient also which will help round the demanding Torrey Pines course! Robert Karllson 10pts Top Scandinavian@Betfair 3/1.

European Winners:Arron Baddeley went into last years US Open as the Leader on Sunday,so this market is appealing if you can delve in heavy! You need to finish higher than the following: Jiminez,Kaymer,Levet and Sterne. 50pts Arron Baddeley@Betfair 8/5.

Fill Your Boots Boys!:dude

[kevshat]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Good luck all.

[kevshat]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008

I read all the comments about Tiger choosing to come back from his knee operation straight in to the US Open. Is it good value to lay the Tiger @ 4.4 BF, then hope he has a normal to poor first round thereby giving you the opportunity to back Tiger to make profit either way? Also VJ is 6.6 on BF to be top rest of the world. Is it good value to lay VJ and ditto for his first round? The US Open is a very difficult competition & the course is usually set up that way too. You dont normally see all the top ranked players huddled round the leaderboard so i am tempted to lay the 2 above rather than try to back the winner/high finisher. Any comments?

My main problem with laying VJ is the lack of form in the RoW field. Neither Els or Goosen is in much form and while Immelman is the Masters champ, his record in this is poor so even if VJ has a bad round (and to be fair to him he doesn't have many in majors) he might still be in the top 3 or 4 in this market so his odds might not go up too big. Woods is among the early starters isn't he? I'm not much of a backer/layer but I know Billy Hills has used this tactic to good advantage in the past so it could be worthwhile :ok

[bowles10]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Had a look through quickly & ended up with David Toms who at 125/1 looks high especially as he has a top 10 finish in this comp in last 6 years. Tiger 50/1 to land a hole in one ! You never know!

[Tulenos]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008

US OPEN 2008

This weeks Tips:

Top Aussie: Robert Allenby,in his own words he is in the form of his life and his Stats off the tee and G.I.R back this up.There are 9 players in this market but reallistically only 5 contenders. Robert Allenby 10pts Top Aussie@Betfair 5/1.

Top Scandinavian: Robert Karllson has never hit the ball as far&straight as he has this season on europeantour,he is more patient also which will help round the demanding Torrey Pines course! Robert Karllson 10pts Top Scandinavian@Betfair 3/1.

European Winners:Arron Baddeley went into last years US Open as the Leader on Sunday,so this market is appealing if you can delve in heavy! You need to finish higher than the following: Jiminez,Kaymer,Levet and Sterne. 50pts Arron Baddeley@Betfair 8/5.

Fill Your Boots Boys!:dude

GL. Just - Aaron Baddeley is actually Australian, even on the BF market;)

[kevshat]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008

GL. Just - Aaron Baddeley is actually Australian' date=' even on the BF market;)[/quote'] I nearly fell into that trap T, however he's in the group called European Tour Winners :ok

[Matthewdvw]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Lads anyone know a website where you can watch the golf online for free. These ads on skysports are killing me??

[Tulenos]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008

I nearly fell into that trap T' date=' however he's in the group called European Tour Winners :ok[/quote'] Cheers kev, he is - interestingly with a mighty zero matched on him:loon:unsure:unsure:unsure

[Tulenos]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008

Lads anyone know a website where you can watch the golf online for free. These ads on skysports are killing me??

There should be a webcast on pgatour.com (there usually is). Failing this, go to the live sports subforum here as there are links a plenty (again, most of the time);)

[bigstumur]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 :spankF.A.O Tulenos! Good to know there are special people like yourself looking out for us guys that dont know our Australians from our Europeans,Yes Baddeley is an Aussie " Even my 74 yo Mother in Law& my Dog know that"!,but hey I am in it for a bit of fun and to help my fellow punters make money.All bets still in good shape&markets true to text " not made up honestly"! Cut me a slice of that Humble Pie mate,and get yerself down to Specsavers! P.S Cheers Kev!

[bigstumur]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Can Tiger be Tamed? Given Tigers record in the Buick the Answer is probably not! I backed a few at loud odds when I seen him wince with pain on the 1st hole " His Tenth"!,yesterday when he hit that shot from under the tree,he hit the shot 15 feet from the pin and boxed the Putt,he then progressed to a 30 for nine holes and probably the best putting exhibition I have seen for a long while. So who fits the bill if we ain,t wading in@ 6/5 on the Tiger. Well the USGA will want a sterner test on the greens over the next two days,so you could make a case for a steady putter sniffing about,Harrington falls into that Category and has forced his way back into this,remember there are going to be bogeys made by everyone including Tiger,and Harrington is what I consider a street fighter,"Not pretty to watch but boy can he get up and down from a tight situation"! Other than that Ogilvie has never shot under par in a US open apparently,but has a steely nerve. I would love to see Appleby come through but I do feel he comes up short at this level. I personally have backed Allenby for more,he was my original pick and I was foolish enough to think TW would limp out on His tenth hole yesterday."The Man Is An Absolute Robot made up of things us mere mortals can only dream of"! But Hey "I aint putting my hard earned cash on a Geyser with a dodgy knee on a course that is 7500yds long"!especially not@ 6/5. P.S I hope some of you are waiting for Karllson or Allenby for my tips to top groups,they are still in good shape,as for Baddeley well he needs a good 3rd round and Jiminez&Kaymer to collapse.But hey I have seen 80+ in 3rd round us opens so heres hoping! Keep The Faith!:hope

[theoldmaster]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 surely a small wager on Mediate and / or jimenez is value at the ridiculous odds of 33s and 50s worth fifty pence from anyones pocket!

[stereoman]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Who was offering 33/1 on Mediate at the start of today? Was that on the exchanges? :unsure :loon You're gonna get a run for your money if you backed Mediate! I'm listening to the commentary on Five Live and one of 'em doesn't like the almost happy-go-lucky smiling nature of Rocco almost hinting that that isn't the demeanour of a champion citing Paul Goydos (who lost to Sergio Garcia) and somebody else as reasons why you should have Tiger Woods' determined steely business-like thousand-yard stare (my words not those of the commentator's). A helluva story for Mediate (health problems and his age), Westwood (British success) or Woods (increasing his legend) abut it'd be remarkable to think that at the 14th time of asking Tiger finally relinquishes a lead and therefore the title after the third round of a Major.

[gazza]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Did I just hear right ? Did they just say if it's a tie at the end there's no play off - they come back tomorrow and play 18 holes :loon:loon:loon:loon

[meatman]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 yeh 18 holes mate, last time it happened was back in 2001 I think. I must say that was one hell of a tournament- seriously class viewing throughout the 4 days, one of the best Major's I've seen I think. :clap:clap:clap Rocco Mediate - the fella has hit so many fairways and greens all week. His consistency has been remarkable. Then you have Tiger who's been all over the place yet somehow has managed to end up in this play off. He's walking wounded but has kept going superbly well. I wish they did the Bittish Open style of a 4 hole play off right now, but sadily we have to go and do the full 18 tommorow. A lot of the drama and tension is often gone by then.

[boyd]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008

Then you have Tiger who's been all over the place yet somehow has managed to end up in this play off. He's walking wounded but has kept going superbly well. Considering Woods has dropped six shots or something on the opening hole over the four days and still manages to get in the play offs is phenomenal. He showed a lot of bottle to put that one on the 18th, will hopefully be a good play off, but can't believe they have another 18 holes to play.

[stereoman]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Huh. Tiger Woods a general 4/1 ON and even worse to beat Rocco Mediate in Monday's play-off. Peter Oosterhuis remarked on Sky Sports wondering whether Rocco was 20/1 against! :eek :lol Rocco had chances at 13th and 15th to cement the win but it just seems to be that the golfing gods are with Tiger. Tiger most likely won't make the same mistakes he did today and Rocco might crumble under the 'pressure'.

[TheRat]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Caught the last few holes, excellent viewing It is a shame there is no playoff now though Well done Lee Westwood as well

[meatman]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008

Well done Lee Westwood as well

Yeh I was really impressed with him this week, played very sensibly. Sometimes you get guys playing with Woods who severly crack under the pressure - Karlson yesterday an example. But Lee held his nerve pretty well and is maybe unlucky not to be in that play off. Is he can adopt that sort of approach at Birkdale next month then he's got to be a worth considering IMO

[^Newbie^]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 hmmm , i got myself into quite a shit hole now . Layed Rocco Mediateto win and later on saw that Rocco was probably going to win it , so i went huge on Rocco . Now that Tiger had putted that equalising birdie in , the situation looks bleak . I got a huge loss on Tiger and a tiny loss on Rocco (not sure why there is a -ve as i made sure i got a +ve on him entering the last few holes ) . Now that there are only 2 players left , my betfair account is showing red on both areas . Any idea how did Rocco Played this tournament ? And is there a chance that he might just upset Tiger on these 18 holes ? What happens if its tied after 18 holes again tomorrow ? As far as i understand , Tiger's back from surgery and went straight into the US Open . Comments are much appreciated as i don't want to see this huge loss go down the drain . :spank:spank:spank:spank:spank:spank

[AJ]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 I certainly don't fancy Tiger here at all, Rocco is trading at 4's on betfair which is a total nonsense. Tiger is a great player, and a true champ. However his knee is screwed and his game is very very erratic, but 1.3 for him in current conditions ? No way at all, it's not remotely like value. I'm not even sure I'd make him fav, certainly would be interested in backing him at anything below 1.8. Medium stakes value bet on Rocco for me :ok

[^Newbie^]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Hopefully Rocco does the job then . I got my hands in this one deep now . Would swear never to go in-running like that again if this goes through . Here's hoping :lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol:lol

[wolves27]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008

I certainly don't fancy Tiger here at all, Rocco is trading at 4's on betfair which is a total nonsense. Tiger is a great player, and a true champ. However his knee is screwed and his game is very very erratic, but 1.3 for him in current conditions ? No way at all, it's not remotely like value. I'm not even sure I'd make him fav, certainly would be interested in backing him at anything below 1.8. Medium stakes value bet on Rocco for me :ok

tiger i would price at around 1.55 for the win maybe 1.5 purely because he is tiger and is class. its not just his name what brings price down he has the abilty to back it up i personally wonder how tigers knee is holding up another tactic could be to lay tiger pre 18holes. then back him at the end of the 1st so far he is 6+ on 1st hole over 4rounds. if he goes in par same as mediate then you should be able to back him at around same price if he drops shots then you back him higher price but personally i cant see past tiger in this one but reckon tigers price may rise throughout the round if its fairly close around hole 12 as in level. i may back mediate as im sure there would be some value and thats the only way tiger will lose today in a close encounter

[^Newbie^]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Well , at the 18th hole , both lee west wood and tiger has problems with their third shot . I saw that the in running bets was Rocco 1.44 whereas the other 2 were priced at 7 + . When both their shots were in putting zone for birdie , westwood's price remained the same while tiger's odds dropped half :eek:eek:eek:eek:eek . Class drops that price by half ???? If thats the way things go , i'm expecting tiger's prices to be way lower than it should be if things go slightly his way tomorrow . That should be way over-reaction ?

tiger i would price at around 1.55 for the win maybe 1.5 purely because he is tiger and is class. its not just his name what brings price down he has the abilty to back it up i personally wonder how tigers knee is holding up another tactic could be to lay tiger pre 18holes. then back him at the end of the 1st so far he is 6+ on 1st hole over 4rounds. if he goes in par same as mediate then you should be able to back him at around same price if he drops shots then you back him higher price but personally i cant see past tiger in this one but reckon tigers price may rise throughout the round if its fairly close around hole 12 as in level. i may back mediate as im sure there would be some value and thats the only way tiger will lose today in a close encounter

[stereoman]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 I'd put that down to Tiger's heroics on the third day where he managed to get a remarkable eagle despite just parring the 18th hole on the first two days. Also, while listening to the commentary there was some ridiculous statistic that Tiger has birdied every 18th hole of a final round at the US Open he's been at (I dunno if that's true!). OT: Gawd! The design for the US Open's website is overly complicated! Why don't they have the option to just put a guy's set of four rounds on one page rather than over four pages comparing everybody's scorecards?

[meatman]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 Woods always seems to 'find a way' and I expect him to do the same today. He'll likely be all over the place again, but all he needs to do is beat one man now. He's never lost a major when leading after 54 holes and he kept that record alive by sinking that 15 footer last night. No real value @ 1.25, but you just know he's gonna win it eventually. Could be some decent in running chances though..........

[kevshat]

Re: Golf: US Open 2008 What a sensational night's golf that was. Somehow that putt on the 18th seemed destined to fall. Rocco's only chance in this playoff is to be ahead through 8 holes. If he's not ahead through 8 he's gonna struggle because Tiger's length will swamp him over the last 10 holes. Rocco will hope Tiger shoots a 6 at the opening holes for the 4th time this week but surely he's gonna hit that fairway tonight isn't he?! I think Woods will win but I'd love to see Rocco win this. I've really enjoyed the way he's played his golf this week.