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.