Wednesday 29 June 2016

Open de France 2016 - Le Golf National (Albatross)

The 100th staging of the Open de France takes place this week and sees Rory McIlroy headline a stellar field in an event that is staged in direct competition to the WGC Bridgestone in Ohio. The Irishman arrives making his first appearance since announcing his withdrawal from The Olympics. With The Open just three weeks away, this will be Rory's last outing before teeing it up at Troon.

Last Week

Henrik Stenson put the two fingers up to everyone last week by winning in Germany, recovering well from his "neck injury" in Pennsylvania the week before!A disappointing effort from this blog as it looked like Joost Luiten would contend after day one but the stop/start nature of these tournaments of late does impact how players focus and challenge once they have been disrupted. Going forward, any tournament under threat of thunderstorm forecasts will have to be seriously considered as no-bets. You can't win a tournament on Day One but you can certainly lose it or make it near impossible to. Benjamin Hebert had a round to forget on Thursday but shot best of the day, 64 in round two to sit just outside the TOP20 and hopes were high, but alas the weekend effort wasn't what we wanted. With the emphasis last week in staying with recent selections (Luiten & Colsaerts) it was very frustrating to see Thor (Thorbjorn Olesen) in the mix as I had collected on his TOP20 in Ireland and put him up again to no avail at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. "Keeping the Faith" was my theme but I chose the Belgian over the Dane! In hindsight the Dane was the bet, especially @ 66/1 and 7.00 for TOP10 and 3.75 for the TOP20. (he was runner-up). We'll approach this week a bit differently.

The Course this week 

The "Albatross" course underwent some design changes since last year but having had a look at the changes, the course setup should still suit those who have 1) played here previously and 2) have a good "links" pedigree as the Albatross does have that feel about it. The changes to the greens and bunkers could emphasize that again this week. The changes have been brought about in preparation for the Ryder Cup to be held here in two years time.


The Ones to Beat


Rory will go off favourite against a field not too dissimilar to the one that teed it up at The K Club last month. And the Irish Open results may be a marker for what may unfold here albeit a different type of course. So, who has course form? McDowell won back to back here two years ago before Bernd Wiesberger prevailed twelve months ago. Martin Kaymer has won here as too did his compatriot Marcel Siem. Victor Dubuisson has gone close since fellow Frenchman Thomas Levet won in 2011 and Rapahel Jacquelin warmed up nicely for his National Open by finishing 4th last Sunday to complete back to back TOP10s. (8th at The Nordea Masters). He was third back in 2012 here and can lead the home challenge.

With the WGC event on at the same time, there may be a greater desire from those competing here that would normally have competed at Firestone to produce the goods. Not that they don't try each week but its an ideal tournament to lay down a marker ahead of The Open and the PGA Championship two weeks after that. Its getting serious now the next few weeks!
Rory has dropped to World Number four following Dustin Johnson's win at Oakmont and Stenson did himself some good in the rankings by climbing to number five. The event has an estimated Strength of Field (SOF) rating of 235 where the winner could collect ~42 points in OWGR points but it's worth noting that the WGC event will be over 625 SOF, and the winner could collect ~ 68 ranking points. Rory has motivation to perform well this week!
Martin Kaymer is a former winner at the course and has slipped outside the TOP50 OWGR rankings. He will be looking to get a much needed win and move back up the rankings. The former World Number One is looking for his first win since winning his second Major at Pinehurst two years ago. Not only a past winner here, but he also finished 4th twelve months ago. His results the past seven years read 4-12-13-70-4-6-1. He has maintained his likeness for the course despite the changes and I don't see him suffering this week with the latest ones either, in fact he may prefer them. His scrambling game though is a worry but if the irons are dialed in it may be enough to contend.
Francesco Molinari returns to European action having played extensively on the PGA Tour this season and he arrives in good form with his third TOP10 in nine starts over there coming at Congressional last Sunday. He just doesn't win though, does he? Just three wins on tour with the last coming back in the 2012 Open de Espana doesn't inspire a win bet. His course form is solid too (6-26-18-2-mc-2-25-13) and he's probably more a TOP10 bet than anything else considering.

Bernd Wiesberger, the defending champion, has been very solid this season with 12/13 and 6 TOP20s under his belt. (missed cut coming at Oakmont) He was TOP 10 last week and in his homeland the week before the US Open and these came on the back of a TOP15 at Wentworth. On world rankings, he is the 8th best player in the field. (Five of the seven ahead of him have all won this season with the exception of Rafa Cabrera-Bello and Lee Westwood). The Austrian is a much different player the past eighteen months and its taken me awhile to respect his chances but he's certainly worthy of consideration to defend again.

Thorbjorn Olesen is definitely on the way back to establishing himself on Tour following a runner-up spot last week in Germany. The Dane has missed just three cuts from his twelve starts this season. He has been in the TOP20 seven times and he is worth taking @ 3.25 to do so again this week. He has though missed the cut the last three times he played here but was second in 2011 so I'm not particularly worried about those missed cuts. He has worked hard the past twelve months and that effort is starting to reap benefit with excellent form of late (19-8-15-10-mc-2). He is available @ 48.00 on the exchange too and could be about to win.

Kristoffer Broberg on the other hand is not in good form of late having missed three cuts in his last four starts. Ranked just outside the TOP100 in the OWGR, the Swede has course form having posted 25-12-12 in his three starts. He's not ranking well for GIR at present which is a concern but does seem to be putting well. If he can find the fairways he can produce another solid Golf National performance and sneak a TOP20 @ 9.00

Selections

1.50 pts WIN M. Kaymer @ 17.00
0.75 pts WIN T. Olesen @ 48.00
3.75 pts TOP20 T.Olesen @ 3.25
1.00 pts TOP20 K.Broberg @ 9.00

I really like the chances of Dustin Johnson at the WGC Bridgestone this week so its an each way double with Martin Kaymer. DJs driving and new found confidence from victory at Oakmont could see him go in again and the double can be backed in general @ 153.00

0.25 pts e/w DOUBLE D.Johnson (WGC) / M.Kaymer (ODF) @ 153.00 




Wednesday 22 June 2016

BMW International 2016 - Gut Larchenhof GC

The BMW International returns to Gut Larchenhof GC in Germany this week having last been played there in 2014. Fabrizio Zanotti prevailed then in a four man playoff, eventually seeing off Henrik Stenson on the fifth extra hole. (Zanotti was T12th here in 2012 in the previous staging of the event) We should expect birdies here this week which will be a welcome scenario for the thirteen players that arrive having competed at Oakmont last week. Stenson withdrew late on in round two citing neck injury in Pennsylvania and he was probably not the only player to have had a pain in the neck playing Oakmont last week. He is headed in the betting by a TOP5 US Open Sergio Garcia who really is playing some solid golf this season. At 9/1 he was tempting, I don't expect the exertions and travelling of last week to have an effect on him here and he most definitely is the player to beat. Danny Willett won his first European Tour title on this course back in 2012, beating Marcus Fraser in a playoff too, and he may be ready to shake off the post Masters cobwebs and get amongst the winners circle soon but he had chances at The K Club and Wentworth since to do that and he may need some downtime to recharge and @ 10/1 he's easily avoided.

Best of the Rest

Paddypower and Skybet are offering outright markets without Garcia, Stenson and Willett this week and perhaps it's the market to get involved in but there is a lot of value in the outrights this week in my view if prepared to take the three on. Back on the normal run of the mill European Tour events, we have a lot of players in really solid, consistent form that can upstage the leading players any given week and the field is littered with a lot of recent winners. These include Scott Hend who won the Queens Cup on the Asiantour last week, 'Beef' Johnston, Jeunghun Wang, Soomin Lee, Ashun Wu, and Haotong Li. With so many first time winners on tour this season, it can only act as encouragement to those knocking on the door such as Tyrell Hatton, Romain Wattel, Julien Quesne, Adrian Otaegui and Sebastien Gros. I believe the Englishman from this quintet is close to a breakthrough and on a course like this where hitting greens and sinking some birdie putts will be the way to go, he may just put an end to the maiden tag. He hasn't been outside the TOP20 in his last five starts and can continue that run of form this week. Nineteen TOP20s in the past two season includes nine TOP5s; He's knocking quite loud of late. He just misses out on a bet for me though. I hope I don't regret it although he makes my Fantasy Team over at Playon Daily Fantasy Sports where there is a £3000 (€3000) prize fund up for grabs.

Joost Luiten is knocking loudly nearly every week and will have been disappointed to have missed out on a spot for the US Open having missed so narrowly. The Dutchman has nine TOP20s from his thirteen starts this season of which seven are TOP10s and was sixth last time out in Austria when chasing a TOP3 to make it to Oakmont. Joost ranks 3rd in scoring average for the season and ranks TOP15 for GIR and should have no issue finding the fairways off the tee at Gut Larchenhof. I've put up Joost a number of times this year already and I am prepared to keep the faith once more especially as I rated him a 16/1 shot for victory. He opened @ 28/1 on Monday and is now best priced 22/1 with the books but can be backed @ 27.00 on Betfair

I've put up Nicolas Colsaerts a couple of times too this season and I think he can contend here this week and reward some faith for going with him again. He's hitting greens for fun of late and if he can hole his share he'll be up there from the get go. He did miss the cut here two years ago but it's his recent form that catches the eye : 15-3-23-22-3 from his last five starts. He's a fair price @ 45/1 outright and especially @ 3.25 for a TOP20 return.

My third selection this week is Benjamin Hebert who has been having a solid season with five TOP20s from his thirteen starts having missed just three cuts. From the ten that he did make, his results are impressive ; 1xTOP5 - 2 TOP10s - 2 TOP20s. The Frenchman missed two of those three cuts in Ireland and Sweden within his last three starts but this course will be more to his liking here where he excels in the GIR department, being ranked 7th at present on tour and 11th for scoring average. Any bit of wind about won't bother him but the forecasted thunderstorm in the afternoon might. Indeed both Thursday and Friday could see some halt in play with a lot of rain forecasted but it will get hot and humid for the weekend. Should he get a decent opening round under his belt he can capitalize on Friday with a morning tee time. He's 140.00 with Betfair for a win (and back to lay option) and a nice 5.50 for another TOP20 showing.

Play this weeks Europeantour Fantasy Sports for the BMW International at Playon

Selections

1.25 pts WIN J. Luiten @ 27.00
1.00 pts WIN N.Colsaerts @ 46.00
0.25 pts WIN B.Hebert @ 140.00

2.00 pts TOP20 N. Colsaerts @ 3.25
1.50 pts TOP20 B. Hebert @ 5.50



Monday 13 June 2016

US Open 2016 - Oakmont

The toughest of all four Majors, The US Open returns to Oakmont GC for the ninth time this week. Angel Cabrera broke through here for his first Major win back in 2007 with a +5 winning score. He was one of only eight players to break par for a round that week and indeed was the only player to do so twice. Located in Western Pennsylvania, Oakmont at first glance looks quite straightforward: no trees, no dog-legs, just bunkers (~300) and the straightest of holes you are ever likely to see. Yet, this course is often referred to as the hardest golf course in America. It's long, its bunkers are deep and the fairways slope, the rough is a no-go area and the greens are tricky, very tricky. It'll be a test of shot making and a test of patience. It will suit those who can apply a strategy to make a score and I'm sure all will have level par as their target this week. It should be good enough to win.(however the experts say +5 again might get the job done). Oakmont has seen the cream of golf prevail in all its US Open hostings, from Tommy Armour, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Larry Nelson and Ernie Els all winning here. Nicklaus won his first of eighteen  Majors here in 1962 beating Arnold Palmer in a play-off, Ernie Els won his first of four Majors here in 1994, beating Colin Montgomerie and Loren Roberts in a play-off that extended to twenty holes.

What can we learn from 2007 ?

  • Fourteen of the TOP25 ranked inside the TOP20 for GIR 
  • Seven of the TOP25 ranked inside the TOP20 for Driving. 
  • Twelve of the TOP25 ranked inside the TOP20 for putting. 

The winner, Cabrera, ranked 2nd in DRIVING and 3rd in GIR and was 28th for putting. Tiger Woods who finished a shot back alongside Jim Furyk ranked 1st for GIR, 11th in DRIVING and surprisingly just 41st for putting. Furyk ranked down at 44 for DRIVING, 17th for GIR and 12th for putting. If Tiger had putted to his usual high standard he probably would have won, but Cabrera, although had a decent week on the greens, didn't seem to win it in that department. 

If looking at the DRIVING & GIR stats alone, we know that Angel Cabrera, Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson & Paul Casey were the only players to rank in the TOP20 for both of those categories. All four finished in the TOP10. But stats seem only useful after the event but can be used as aguide to who best fits the course. Given the difficulty of a US Open in general, complemented with the difficulty of Oakmont, we need to look at players that have the overall tools to contend. Those players will be needing some 2016 form as it's highly unlikely that the winner come Sunday will produce a miracle week. Some are suggesting that it could be a lottery, probably the same people who said it would be last year at Chambers Bay ! It won't. The best players will emerge over the four days and the field this time round has plenty of contenders just like the way it played out at Chambers Bay twelve months ago.

Class of 2016

Whilst we all anticipated a memorable Masters last April given the form of the current world's best at the time, few would have seen Danny Willett prevailing in the manner that he did or the capitulation of defending champion Jordan Spieth at Amen Corner. Since then, not only has Spieth won,(Dean & Deluca in his native state, Texas), but so too has Rory McIlroy (Irish Open) and Jason Day (The Players). So we come to the second and often regarded as the most difficult of the four Majors and the excitement and anticipation has increased again. The big 3 head the betting market and everyone will have their opinion of who is best suited to Oakmont for the week. From the 2007 stats above, I'd be inclined to favour those with strong Driving & GIR stats and therefore the new Strokes Gained Tee to Green (SG:TTG) statistic would be an ideal marker for who is likely to contend. As always, you need to be putting well, especially here. Jason Day seems the best equipped for Oakmont of the three. But, as with the course itself, we need to delve into something else as well, and that is the "how to make a score" category which the Texan excels at. If Jordan Spieth can find fairways he can make the required score and we can be confident that Jordan has a target number in Mr Greller's notepad. If Rory has a magic week with the flatstick he'll be adding a second US Open title to his haul. But it'll have to be a "magic week". He did show some signs at The Memorial that he was improving and may just time his game to perfection for the week ahead.

Challengers to the "Big 3"

Dustin Johnson arrives this week still scarred from his Chambers Bay failure twelve months ago but its the one Major that I do give DJ a shout in as proven by his form in them. He should have won last year as he should have at Pebble Beach in 2010 when Graeme McDowell prevailed. DJ hasn't won since March 2015, and he blew a glorious opportunity at St Andrews last July having led after 36 holes. So can he win this week ? He'll need a  bit of luck to do so but he can put all those demons to bed here with a strong Tee to Green game. He started well in Memphis last week, faded away only to finish strongly. He can go close and win but he's far too short in the market to trust and to keep his mental aspect intact which will be vital in making scores.

Justin Rose, the champion at Merion in 2013, will tee it up this week having being sidelined for a number of weeks due to injury. Rose was firmly on my radar for this one but the recent injury has cast some doubt about his readiness and sharpness for the challenge ahead. Still, he may have prepped with just this one in mind the past few weeks and by reading many tweets from those playing this week, he could well have more practice and knowledge under his belt. Fellow Englishman, Andy Sullivan tweeted Monday morning "First look at Oakmont...." and hes not the only one to roll up to Oakmont this week for the first time. I find this incredulous that the top world golfers are preparing for a Major in such a manner. They should have had numerous practice rounds under their belt by now if they have any intentions on winning. This enforces my belief that only serious competitors and serial winners will be in contention come Sunday . If it's a maiden winner like Jack Nicklaus in '62, we can be assured it wont be his only win over the ensuing years. Justin Rose has the game for Oakmont, has the temperament as shown at Merion to get it done over the course of the week and is a real contender. In the 2015 Majors, Rose finished 27th at Chambers Bay, a course that wouldn't have suited, 2nd at Augusta, 6th at St. Andrews and 4th at Whistling Straits. He was T10th at August this year to continue his solid Major form. He has five TOP10s from his eleven PGA Tour starts this season and four TOP20s. He was 10th here in 2007. If the back is ok, so too will he. He has a nice grouping with mate Henrik Stenson and Phil Mickelson

Adam Scott hit form earlier in the year but couldn't keep it going at Augusta. Like Rose, he has a lovely grouping for the first two days in playing alongside fellow Aussie and World Number One, Jason Day.Two TOP10s the past two years at the US Open suggest that Scott feels comfortable at this Major. From his 60 Majors to date he has produced 15 TOP10s and 28 TOP20s. Scott ranks Number One for SG:TTG and he also ranks one for SG:ATG (Approach the Green). At 33/1 there is some value here and should he find a putting stroke for the week, he could be adding to his Masters Title with another Major here.

Henrik Stenson could be the "surprise" packet this week. At 40/1 though I'm not rushing in. He's a player that I haven't really backed much over the years and at this price I find it hard to get excited but I do expect him to go well this week. His Major returns are patchy but he was T4th at Pinehurst two years ago. Hes 7/9 in the US Open with 2 TOPs (9th at Bethpage in 2009). He missed the cut at the Wells Fargo and The Players in his last two PGA Tour starts but finished well in his homeland at the Nordea Masters two weeks ago. Playing with Rose will help greatly.

Phil Mickelson will complete the threeball for the opening two rounds with Rose & Stenson as he goes in search of his first National Title. "Lefty" has only missed two US Open cuts from twenty five starts. He has finished runner up on six occasions and needs this title to complete a career grand slam. He warmed up by playing last week in Memphis and finishing T2nd stating his putting was good. If patience is key this week, Mickelson is the man to get in the mix. 28/1 with Paddypower paying 7 places is fair (30/1 available for 6 places elsewhere widely available)

Patrick Reed most definitely has the short game to combat the greens at Oakmont. He tees it up this week in only his tenth Major (3rd US Open). The ever improving  Texan, who was a TOP15 last year, excels in the scrambling department, a key attribute required for this task at hand. Should he get a decent opening round under his belt, I expect him to figure. An early tee time alongside Matt Kuchar and Bubba Watson, Reed will have many supporters @ 50/1

Bubba Watson @40/1 interests me greatly. Oakmont will test patience and the mental aspect of the game, something which Bubba doesn't do well at ; if not playing well. If playing well and in the mix, its a different Bubba and his length and power will serve him well. Highly ranked in the SG:TTG and SG:ARG, Bubba will eneter the week fresh and relaxed having cooled off on Tour the past two months. Bubba has two wins this season (Northern Trust & World Challenge) and returns to Oakmont where he had his best US Open finish in finishing 5th in 2007. Missed cuts at Pinehurst and Chambers Bay may appear off putting as does his last three outings, but come Thursday we will see a well prepared Bubba ready to go on a course that just may prove to be his kind of course.

Brooks Koepka continues to be consistent on tour finishing second last Sunday for the second successive tournament. He will make his fourth US Open appearance this week as he chases his third TOP20 in them. 2015 Majors results are encouraging too (33-18-10-5) and he followed those up with a T21st at August in April. Recent form cannot be ignored and he might offer better value @ 50/1 than Reed?

Rickie Fowler certainly has the short game to tame Oakmont. At 33/1 best price we can take encouragement from his 2014 Major Form (he finished TOP5 in all 4 Majors including 2nd at Pinehurst) as well as Pennsylvania form. He was TOP10 at Merion and won the Sunnehanna Amateur back to back as an amateur in 2007 & 2008 at the Sunnehanna GC in Pennsylvania, just 100Km away from Oakmont (he was third in 2009 also). Has missed the cut at the Players and Memorial tournaments in his last two starts but was T4th at The Wells Fargo prior to them. 2016 has seen Rickie produce six TOP10s from his eleven starts and will play with good mate Rory McIlroy as well as Masters Champion, Danny Willett.

Hideki Matsuyama aims to become the first Japanese player to win a Major and has been in solid form all season having pipped Rickie at Phoenix Open to land the title back in February. Four TOP10s in his next nine starts include a brace of T7ths at Augusta and Sawgrass. Ranks 5th in SG:TTG and 3rd in SG:ATG , Matsuyama is real live contender although I do have concerns over his putting especially on these greens. At 33/1 I'll leave him be.

Branden Grace went close at Chambers Bay twelve months ago when finishing 4th and followed that up with a TOP20 at St Andrews and a 3rd place finish at Whistling Straits. He won his first PGA Tour title at Harbour Town this year before following up with a TOP10 at the Texas Open. Will tee off in the afternoon with fellow countryman, Charl Schwartzel as well as in form Kevin Kisner and if the wind blows as expected could be  solid T10/T20 bet.

Louis Oosthuizen showed solid 2015 Major form, losing in a playoff to Zach Johnson at The Open and finishing runner-up to Spieth in the US Open. Form has been solid this season with a 2nd  at the WGC Matchplay following a TOP10 at The Valspar. Two missed cuts at the Byron Nelson and Dean & Deluca tournaments though hardly ideal but he has the temperament for a US Open. He'll have his backers @ 80/1.

Matt Kuchar is probably as consistent as Jason Day at the moment and the 40/1 reflects those chances.I'm glad he took last week off after a four week run from the Players through to the Dean & Deluca saw him yield results of 3-3-6-4. US Open form is not brilliant though with just one TOP10 from thirteen attempts, a 6th place at Pebble Beach in 2010). Hard to ignore recent form and his scrambling game should serve him well.

Martin Kaymer is a favourite of mine and rewarded the blog with Major victories in 2011 & 2014. He can do so again in 2016. A return to The European Tour seems to have raised the confidence and recent form is encouraging. Last time out at Wentworth saw a T7th having finished strongly at The K Club the week previously for a T5th placing. Two TOP40 finishes on the PGA Tour (Wells Fargo & The Players) came after yet another strong showing at Valderrama for a T6th. He's 7/8 in the US Open. What I like about the German's chances this week is the ability for him to perform in the big ones. He produced T12ths at The Open & PGA Championship last year, a year where he seemed to have lost form. He had a TOP40 at Augusta this year, the one course where he usually misses the cut. At 80/1 he can't be dismissed so lightly and should he get a decent start he can repeat the performance of 2014 and stay the distance.

Sergio Garcia is not one I would normally put up for a Major but I just can't get away from the Spaniard this week. Is this the week he finally ends the drought? Recent form is very strong, being a winner last time out at the Bryon Nelson. Garcia is 14/16 at The US Open having produced four TOP10s (nine TOP20s). He missed the cut effectively after day one in 2007 shooting a 79, just one more than Padraig Harrington, before both players contested a playoff for The Open the following month)
Ranking in the TOP10 for both SG:TTG and SG:ATG, Garcia's game is in fine shape and is a fair price @ 40/1.

Outsiders to Consider

Can we consider anyone else apart from the BIG 3 and the fifteen players mentioned above? Paul Casey has Oakmont form , has decent current form and put in a bold bid at Augusta in April. His compatriot and Masters Champion,Willett, is far too short in the market and has also shown tiredness in his weekend efforts since winning the green jacket and can be easily overlooked. Daniel Berger won for the first time last Sunday and it was coming....can he go back to back ? Kevin Chappell has been every bit as consistent as Berger and holds claims @ 100/1. JB Holmes and Billy Horschel might find Oakmont to their liking but I'd prefer to take a chance if pushed on Jason Dufner or Webb Simpson here despite obvious putting concerns. Both have shown big signs of vast improvement of late. Instead though I've looked at the chances of three others that could put in a good week here. I had Graeme McDowell on the radar up to a couple of week ago but his performances with the putter have been a worry and he's discarded form the final shakeup.

At 6/1 for a TOP20 is twice winner, Retief Goosen who is having a solid season and has hit form of late by finishing inside the TOP15 in his last three starts."The Goose" is 11/17 at the US Open, making TOP25 on no fewer than eight times. Always unflappable, Goosen will have the patience for Oakmont although he missed the cut back in '07. It was in 2007 that he underwent swing changes which saw his ranking decline following his near miss at Augusta.He simple relished the US Open challenge!

I wanted to have a TOP20 bet in the shape of another last time out winner, Matt Fitzpatrick. I've been very impressed in his rapid rise within the golf world and he certainly fits the bill of a future Major Champion already. Having won the US Amateur at Brookline in 2013, the English youngster made his professional debut at the 2014 Irish Open at Fota Island before winning his first title last October at the British Masters. He won his second title last month at The Nordea Masters. On his debut major as a professional, Matt finished T7th at Augusta last April to cap a very successful week for English golf. It was a slow start to 2016 but the win in Sweden could very well be the catalyst for another strong second half of the year in much the same vein as 2015. He is not daunted by the big events as proven not only at Augusta, but in the European Tour Final Series last Autumn by finishing 26-7-13-4. He produced twelve TOP20s from his twenty five starts (48%) but @ 3.75 he represents no value.

Robert Streb will play in just his sixth Major and was a respectable T42 at Chambers Bay, T18th at St. Andrews  and T10 at Whistling Straits in 2015. He finished T20 at the Memorial last time out and he continued that form back in Kansas last week when practicing, by shooting a 59 at one of his local courses. At 10/1 for a TOP20 he may just be worth a flutter. He ranks inside the TOP40 for SG:TTG & SG:ATG and will tee it up on the back of solid Major attempts of twelve months ago.

Selections

With 6 places widely available the US Open selections are finalized as each way selections.

1.0 pts e/w J. Rose @ 29.00 
1.0 pts e/w A.Scott @ 35.00
1.0 pts e/w B.Watson @ 46.00
1.0 pts e/w S.Garcia @ 41.00
1.0 pts e/w M.Kaymer @ 71.00