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What a week it was for this blogs two tips. Brian Gay lead from start to finish and at 35/1, hopefully a few of you had him backed. What was even better was that our other tip, David Toms was second at 14/1. It’s not very often you will find that both tips have made the top 2 but that was the case this week.
If anyone out there did have them backed, please let me know. Also, the build up to the US Open begins this week so keep checking back to the blog regulalry and let me know who you fancy to lift the top prize. I myself will be checking the odds of David Toms very carefully after his excellent demonstration of driving accuracy and Greens in regulation at the St Jude.
Early days yet but a great start for my two tips.
Brian Gay leads the way on -6 after a superb round of 64. David Toms is also well positioned in T8 after a solid opening round of 67. No surprise to see Toms leading the driving accuracy stats. Regardless of what happens the next few days, with his driving is in such good shape, he has to be a serious consideration for the US Open next week.
While it is true that you cannot win the tournament on Thursday, you certainly can loose it.
Other notables with good opening rounds were Jose Maria Olazabal and Graeme McDowell with 66’s, Jerry Kelly, Robert Allenby and “Boss of the Moss” Loren Roberts with 67’s and crowd favorite Phil Mickelson, who leads the driving distance stats, is 4 shots back after a 68.
This weeks PGA Tour event is the St. Jude Classic which will again take place at TPC Southwind, the 21st consecutive season it has hosted the event. Last year, the par-70 TPC Southwind showed its teeth as the field was an average of more than 2 over for the week. Two of the holes ranked among the top 50 most-difficult on the PGA TOUR in 2008.
Two men making headline grabbing returns for different reasons are Phil Mickelson and John Daly. It is an emotional return for Mickelson after his wife Amy was recently diagnosed with cancer. It would be a truly wonderful story if “Lefty” could win this week in what will surely be a roller coaster week emotionally for the family loving American. John Daly returns in different circumstances, after his 6 month suspension. After listening to Daly speak, it does appear like his head is in the right place as he spoke of taking things for granted and the opportunity the lies ahead in order for him to resurrect his career. While he was quite honest, the big question remains about whether or not Daly can maintain his focus on golf and avoid the other demons surrounding his life. While I deeply hope he can progress again from here because he is such a talent, I can’t help but remain skeptical.
So, who can perform well this week? David Toms has been a little disappointing any time I have tipped him this season but is difficult to oppose this week. He is a two time winner of this tournament having lifted the title in 2003 and 2004 and is currently #1 in driving accuracy and #4 in scoring average this season. Toms has also finished in the top 10, six of the last seven years so he clearly is fond of the place. He did however fail to make the top 10 last year and the course has been lengthened since his wins here. At 14/1 also, it could be argued he does not represent enough value as he has not won on tour since 2006. However I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt this week.
Elsewhere, Brian Gay is at 35/1 and possibly offers the best value of the entire field. He has a good track record here and is third in driving accuracy this season with 72% of fairways hit. His last competitive round was also a 64 at the Crowne Plaza invitational so he looks to be moving in the right direction again after his huge 10-shot win at the Verizon Heritage. By his own admission, he likes it when the wind picks up and the course plays hard so this week could see him prosper. I think he is worth an each way bet at 35/1.
Finally, some other notable players to look out for are Justin Leonard, who like Toms has a fantastic record here. I debated tipping him but marginally favored Toms…marginally! Do not be surprised to see Leonard hovering near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday evening. Sergio Garcia has also seen his putting improve over the past few weeks at Sawgrass and the European Open. If this continues to be the case this week, Sergio will not be far away. He is an exceptional talent and it cant be long before he starts challenging again. A decent finish this week and it will be certainly put him back in with a chance of lifting the upcoming US Open.
I am currently going through the field in order to highlight who I think will do well at the St. Judes Classic which starts tomorrow. At this present time I’m torn between 6 different players so a bit of work yet to whittle it down to my top 2 or 3.
In the mean time, here is a pretty cool video courtesy of the pga tour, showing some of the memorable moments over the years from the St Judes Classic. I cant help but comment on just how ridiculous Tom Kite looked in those glasses!!
It is no secret that I am a big fan of Michelle Wei. For a lady of only 19 years of age, it seems like she has already been part of enough incidents to last a lifetime. Coming through Q-school in such impressive fashion was the kick-start Wei needed. I commented here at the beginning of the year that she was a winner in waiting and I am still convinced of this. She will win an LPGA Tour event and when she does, it will take so much weight off the young lady’s shoulders, we could see her really flourish.
You have to remember Michelle Wei is only 19 years of age. What she has achieved already is highly commendable yet most look at her as a somewhat failed promising star….nonsense! She has plenty of time yet and I believe the hard knocks she has endured so far will stand her in good stead as she progresses.
I look forward to watching Michelle Wei challenge the best ladies in the game of golf. Just picture the scenario: Michelle Wei decimating the field en route to another major victory, booming drives down the middle and sticking wedges to gimme distance. Then switch over the TV channel and watch Tiger Woods destroy another major field as he hits towering 3-irons to 3 feet and holes putt after putt…..not a bad nights viewing and better yet, it could be coming to home near you sooner than you anticiapted…..stay tuned!
The likable Fijian, Vijay Singh had a great year winning the Fed Ex Cup. Now in his 40’s, you would have thought he would be slowing down but being one of the mist dedicated and hardest working pro’s on tour, Singh just keeps adding those titles.
Steak lover, bouncer and a family man are just some of the things about Singh’s likes and dislikes. Find out more in the following video as Vijay gives us a quick insight. As always, the videos are courtesy of PGA Tour on You Tube.
We Get Golf have been hugely critical of Tiger Woods long game recently, stating he would continue to struggle unless he focused on hitting more fairways. Well, guess what? Woods this week was second in driving accuracy and hit all 14 fairways in round 4 on route to capturing the Memorial Tournament. When Woods hits fairways, it is difficult to see him getting beaten.
It was a simply sublime final round from Woods, topped off with an incredible second shot to the last to finish with a birdie. It was vintage Woods and it is ominous now ahead of his defence of the US Open. We Get Golf tipped Tiger to win a major in 2009 as our “Top Top Tip” at 5/6. We are ever more confident now!
