Tiger Woods on prowl in search of fourth US Open
Tiger Woods on prowl in search of fourth US Open
If this year's US Open is anywhere near as exciting as the last one, we're in for a treat this week at Bethpage. We're also in for another win in a major by Tiger Woods who has 14 already, three of them at the US Open, one of those on this course. The weatherman is calling for a good chance of rain throughout the tournament, as if the rest of the golfers didn't already face an uphill battle just playing against Tiger.
Tiger Woods is the overwhelming favorite going into the U.S. Open. In other news, tacos are delicious and the Earth revolves around the Sun.
The betting odds on Woods are consistently short wherever he goes, including this week at Farmingdale, New York and the same Bethpage Black course where Woods won the U.S. Open in 2002. He’s 5-2 to duplicate that performance, well ahead of second favorite Phil Mickelson at 7-1. Unfortunately, Mickelson is the man in the spotlight heading into Thursday’s opening round, after the recent diagnosis of breast cancer in his wife Amy.
There are more important things on Mickelson’s mind right now than golf. He’s already told reporters he will put his season on hold following the Open, as Amy prepares to begin treatment on July 1. Lefty’s No. 59 ranking at last week’s St. Jude Championship speaks for itself. Mickelson would otherwise be a strong candidate to win his first Open after finishing second on four occasions – including the 2002 Open at Bethpage Black.
The betting public will be cheering for Mickelson this week. So will anybody who has a heart, of course. But the value is not with Mickelson in this situation. Woods, on the other hand, is a three-time Open winner, the third coming in last year’s instant classic at Torrey Pines in a playoff with Rocco Mediate (75-1 this year). And Woods was the top dog at his Open tune-up event, the Memorial at Muirfield Village.
Woods has played only seven tournaments so far this year, so he’s “only” No. 4 in the money rankings and No. 5 in the FedExCup standings. Never mind that. Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world today. He finished in the Top 10 in each of his last six events with a big win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and sixth place at the Masters. This is a refined golfer we’re witnessing here at age 33. Even after last year’s surgery, his drives remain aggressive at 293.4 yards per blast. But Woods was also second at the Memorial in driving accuracy and 12th in putts per GIR (Greens In Regulation). That’s a winning combination for taming any course.
Woods’ consistency should also protect his golf game from falling apart in the rain. It’s going to be four straight days of misery over Farmingdale with thunderstorms anticipated by Saturday. Wind shouldn’t be too much of an issue, at least, and Woods also got rained on in 2002 when he led the Open from wire to wire.
Many of the holes at 7,426-yard Bethpage Black (212 yards longer than last time) are difficult enough to reach in regulation as it is. Naturally, handicappers are looking for big swingers like Woods and Mickelson to live up to the challenge. That profile fits only one of the three golfers tied at 15-1.
Ogilvy also happens to be No. 1 on the PGA money list ($3.32 million) after starting the year off right with victories at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the WGC-Accenture. It’s been pretty dry since then; Ogilvy was a respectable 15th at the Masters, but he’s had some very uninspired final rounds lately, including a 75 at the Memorial to fall from fifth to 10th place. Woods was the polar opposite, displaying his famous finishing kick with a 65 that brought him from seventh to the winner’s circle – one spot ahead of Furyk.
Ogilvy (2006) and Furyk (2003) have betting cachet as previous Open champions. Harrington has never finished higher than fifth, and he missed the cut in both 2005 and 2007. He’s a two-time British Open winner who does his best work on the links. Better to go with Ogilvy or Furyk from this grouping, or a longer shot like Angel Cabrera at 40-1. He’s seventh on the Tour with a 301.9-yard average drive and won the 2009 Masters in a playoff over Chad Campbell (50-1) and Kenny Perry (35-1).
If this year's US Open is anywhere near as exciting as the last one, we're in for a treat this week at Bethpage. We're also in for another win in a major by Tiger Woods who has 14 already, three of them at the US Open, one of those on this course. The weatherman is calling for a good chance of rain throughout the tournament, as if the rest of the golfers didn't already face an uphill battle just playing against Tiger.
Tiger Woods is the overwhelming favorite going into the U.S. Open. In other news, tacos are delicious and the Earth revolves around the Sun.
The betting odds on Woods are consistently short wherever he goes, including this week at Farmingdale, New York and the same Bethpage Black course where Woods won the U.S. Open in 2002. He’s 5-2 to duplicate that performance, well ahead of second favorite Phil Mickelson at 7-1. Unfortunately, Mickelson is the man in the spotlight heading into Thursday’s opening round, after the recent diagnosis of breast cancer in his wife Amy.
There are more important things on Mickelson’s mind right now than golf. He’s already told reporters he will put his season on hold following the Open, as Amy prepares to begin treatment on July 1. Lefty’s No. 59 ranking at last week’s St. Jude Championship speaks for itself. Mickelson would otherwise be a strong candidate to win his first Open after finishing second on four occasions – including the 2002 Open at Bethpage Black.
The betting public will be cheering for Mickelson this week. So will anybody who has a heart, of course. But the value is not with Mickelson in this situation. Woods, on the other hand, is a three-time Open winner, the third coming in last year’s instant classic at Torrey Pines in a playoff with Rocco Mediate (75-1 this year). And Woods was the top dog at his Open tune-up event, the Memorial at Muirfield Village.
Woods has played only seven tournaments so far this year, so he’s “only” No. 4 in the money rankings and No. 5 in the FedExCup standings. Never mind that. Tiger Woods is the best golfer in the world today. He finished in the Top 10 in each of his last six events with a big win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and sixth place at the Masters. This is a refined golfer we’re witnessing here at age 33. Even after last year’s surgery, his drives remain aggressive at 293.4 yards per blast. But Woods was also second at the Memorial in driving accuracy and 12th in putts per GIR (Greens In Regulation). That’s a winning combination for taming any course.
Woods’ consistency should also protect his golf game from falling apart in the rain. It’s going to be four straight days of misery over Farmingdale with thunderstorms anticipated by Saturday. Wind shouldn’t be too much of an issue, at least, and Woods also got rained on in 2002 when he led the Open from wire to wire.
Many of the holes at 7,426-yard Bethpage Black (212 yards longer than last time) are difficult enough to reach in regulation as it is. Naturally, handicappers are looking for big swingers like Woods and Mickelson to live up to the challenge. That profile fits only one of the three golfers tied at 15-1.
- Geoff Ogilvy: 293.4 yards per drive (No. 36)
- Padraig Harrington: 283.8 yards per drive (No. 118)
- Jim Furyk: 275.1 yards per drive (No. 176)
Ogilvy also happens to be No. 1 on the PGA money list ($3.32 million) after starting the year off right with victories at the Mercedes-Benz Championship and the WGC-Accenture. It’s been pretty dry since then; Ogilvy was a respectable 15th at the Masters, but he’s had some very uninspired final rounds lately, including a 75 at the Memorial to fall from fifth to 10th place. Woods was the polar opposite, displaying his famous finishing kick with a 65 that brought him from seventh to the winner’s circle – one spot ahead of Furyk.
Ogilvy (2006) and Furyk (2003) have betting cachet as previous Open champions. Harrington has never finished higher than fifth, and he missed the cut in both 2005 and 2007. He’s a two-time British Open winner who does his best work on the links. Better to go with Ogilvy or Furyk from this grouping, or a longer shot like Angel Cabrera at 40-1. He’s seventh on the Tour with a 301.9-yard average drive and won the 2009 Masters in a playoff over Chad Campbell (50-1) and Kenny Perry (35-1).
