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A fantastic final round from Matt Kuchar saw him seal the deal in a playoff with Scotlands Martin Laird. After being a model of consistency throughout 2010, Kuchar finally added another title to his CV. For Martin Laird, it was a case of what might have been as he bogeyed the last to fall into a tie for the lead when a par would have won the championship outright for him. At the beginning of this year, I stated that I felt Martin Laird would have a big 2010 and I reckoned he would win at least once on tour. Approaching the 72nd hole, I thought I had been spot on. Nevertheless, there is still time for a player I think could have a very promising career.

Elsewhere, yesterday was the day when Colin Montgomerie finally had to announce his wildcard selections for his Ryder Cup team. I will be posting a more in depth piece this week but for those who are unaware, Padraig Harrington, Luke Donald and Edoardo Molinari god the nod ahead of the likes of Paul Casey and Justin Rose. Watching Berhard Langer win again on the Seniors Tour yesterday, I wonder if he was a consideration for Monty? A pairing of the two Germans, Kaymer and Langer would certainly look formidable in foursomes, although in truth, a long, possibly wet, Celtic Manor would not be the ideal venue for the veteran.

On the ladies front, Michelle Wie won on the LPGA Tour over the weekend. I wrote a blog post entitled “Michelle Wie, No. 1 To Be” some time ago on this blog putting forward the case for the talented youngster. Her career has been somewhat stop-start to say the least but hopefully she can now finally push on and realize the abundance of talent that she undoubtedly possesses.

Finally, my brother and I squared off in Rosslare Golf Club on Friday evening under beautiful sunshine. Conceding 10 shots to him, he got off to a flyer with a birdie (nett eagle) on the first hole. The match see-sawed for the next 5 holes with Ian never behind but never more than 1up. When I birdied the 7th we were back to level, which was followed by the 8th and 9th both being halved in pars. The 10th and 11th were messy affairs but halved in bogeys nonetheless. With Ian having no shots on the 12th, 13th and 14th, I knew it would prove difficult for him, and so it proved. Although I missed 3 birdie putts from within 15ft, the pars were enough to go 3up playing the 15th. An errant tee shot from Ian on the 15th and a 20ft putt for birdie from me was enough to close the deal and claim a 4&3 victory. No doubt Ian will be looking for revenge soon but for the moment at least, Im winning the Battle of The Brothers.

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Last week he brought you Hunter Mahan at 40/1, but who does We Get Golf’s tipster Ian, suggest could win the USPGA Championship this week. Lets find out….

Once again the US PGA Champioship returns to Whistling Straits, with it last being played here in 2004 when Vijay Singh won the title. The Straits is a Links style golf course with long fescue, undulating greens and numerous deep pot bunkers. It is situated right next to Lake Michigan and this usually adds a stiff breeze to the course. Also, it is a long walking course, approximately five miles, which might favour younger and fitter players.

After going through my filtering process, six players remained: Mahan, Kuchar, O’ Hair, Overton, Harrington and Goosen. I had difficulty narrowing it down to three players but in the end, I was left with and all American affair.

Matt Kuchar each way @ 55/1
Consistency is the name of the game when it comes to Kuchar. He has already recorded eight top tens this year, which include two third places and one second place. Yet, despite this brilliant play, a win has evaded him so far. Surely a win can only be just around the corner for a golfer as talented and in form as Kuchar. Already this year, he has been tied sixth in the US Open and tied third in a World Golf Championship proving that he can play difficult courses and is not fazed by the big events. Also, in last week’s Bridgestone Invitational he finished in a tie for ninth which gives him another good finish in a big competition. Although only an average length hitter, he is very accurate and hits a lot of greens in regulation with a short game which is equally impressive. His scrambling stats are over eight percent better than the PGA Tour average while his putts per round are nearly half a shot better. When you add to the mix that his scoring average is also impressive on Tour, it can be confirmed that Kuchar is an in form player with a great game. At odds of 55/1, I cannot see how he can be ignored.

Sean O’ Hair each way @ 40/1
Following the Open Championship, I picked two players who I thought might do well in the USPGA and O’Hair was one of them. With his recent form, that remains the case. He has an impressive record in the majors, making all three cuts and finishing tied seventh in the Open Championship and tied twelfth in the US Open. His stats, while not being as impressive as Kuchar’s, are still much better than the PGA Tour average. The only part of his game that lets him down is his putting but if he can keep the flat stick working like he has in the other majors this year, O’Hair will not be without his chances. While he slipped back in the final round of the Bridgestone to finish 5th overall, he was leading going into the final round and this reinforces my belief that he is not far off his best form. At 40/1 O’ Hair looks good value.

Hunter Mahan each way @ 35/1
Yes, I am returning to the winner of last week but with good reason. As I said, I was following two people since the Open Championship and believe it or not but Mahan was my second man. Everybody knows that it is hard to win two competitions back-to-back but I firmly believe that Mahan has the game. His major performances this year have been average though he did record a tied eighth in the Masters which should give him confidence. However if you include into that, 2007, 2008 and 2009’s major performances, he amasses four top tens and eight top twentys in only fourteen tries. If anything this surely shows that Mahan is a man for the majors. Now for recent form and the result that clearly stands out is last week’s win at Firestone. Fatigue of course could be an issue coming off the back of his win last week but Im hoping it drives him on more than anything. In terms of stats, he is a lot like O’Hair in that the only weak part of his game seems to be his putting. Even though his odds have been cut since his win, Mahan still looks promising at 35/1.

So there are Ian’s tips. As always, for the main competitions, I always throw in the players I like and will be backing also. From what I have read about Whistling Straits, it will very much depend on the wind. Pete Dye set this course up on the back of the inspiration he received from multiple Irish links golf courses. Therefore, Im expecting it to play hard and fast, possibly not to dissimilar to that of Pebble Beach at times earlier in the year. I do not think looking at results from this years British Open is of much use because St. Andrews wide fairways and inability to cope with many of the pro’s length, made it a disappointing test of golf in my view. So, should the wind pick up this week, I am especially looking for guys with a good US Open record and those that are comfortable on fast greens. If the greens do indeed dry out, we can expect to see the chipping skills of the pro’s tested. With the Americans dominating this event over the past 10 years (Harrington upset the odds somewhat), my selections are also primarily Americans. Ross Fisher and Padraig Harrington are two Europeans I think could go well but on this occasion, I will let my head rule my heart and go with the following 5 players:

Matt Kuchar @ 55/1
Reteif Goosen @ 30/1
Dustin Johnson @ 50/1
Sean O’Hair @ 40/1
Nick Watney @ 50/1

Tags: USPGA Championship 2010 by admin
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With Casey Blacks (who I might add seems to be filling Win McMurry’s space admirably……time for another interview?) rundown on the Greenbrier Classic above, it’s straight to Ian’s (who certainly couldn’t replace the beautiful Win McMurry) review of who he fancies to perform this week.

“This week the White Sulphur Springs golf course hosts the Greenbrier Classic, which is a completely new tournament to the PGA Tour. Being a par seventy, seven thousand yard long course White Sulphur Springs offers up only two par fives and four par threes. It is similar to last week’s course where greens in regulation and putting will be key. The course offers generous fairways and undulating greens and when the caddies went out on the course for the first time they felt that the winning score could be in the twenty under range, perhaps even lower depending on conditions. So we are looking for a player who hits a lot of greens in regulation but is also a good putter and these are the players I felt most suited to the task:

Matt Kuchar each way @ 16/1
Kuchar is a solid all round player. Tied seventh in scoring average per round on the PGA Tour, he is also tied eighteenth on average birdies per round. As already stated, low scoring seems to be the order of the week and Kuchar doesn’t seem afraid to go low. He averages over 68 percent in driving accuracy and over 69.5 percent in greens in regulation. Heard enough? Wait, there is more, he is over nine percent better in the area of scrambling than the PGA Tour average and he averages 28.89 putts per round. Consistency is also a feature of Kuchars with seven top tens so far this year and after finishing tied fourth last week in Canada on a similar course to here, my confidence in him doing well this week are high. Although he hasn’t won too many tournaments over the past few years, he has been knocking on the door regularly. If he can continue to do, I think that door can open soon……in fact, very soon!

Charley Hoffman each way @ 40/1
Hoffman has only had two top ten finishes all year but one of them came last year in the RBC Canadian Open. He hits the ball over 296 yards off the tee and even though length is not imperative this week, it certainly helps if you are hitting wedges for your second shot rather than 7 and 8 irons. The man also hits over 65 percent of greens in regulation and has a ‘putts per round’ average of 28.81. All in all, despite his form not being overly exciting, I think that Hoffman could fly under the radar this week and challenge for top honors. At 40/1 he represents good each way value.

Jeff Overton each way @ 20/1
Although Overton’s odds are a little skinny, when I weighed up my option, I found I couldn’t ignore him as a tip this week. Statistically, Overton is a long, inaccurate hitter who hits a lot of greens in regulation but his short game around the greens and his putting are sometimes prone to letting him down. However, he is fourth in par 3 performance this year on the PGA Tour, playing them in a combined total of four under and is eleventh in par 4 performance all year by shooting a combined total of seven under par. Now for some recent form and trust me, Overton’s is impressive. He has had two second place finishes this year and two third place finishes. On top of that, Overton finished tied eleventh in the Open Championship, which shows that he is not afraid to perform on a big stage, which is where he might be come Sunday. Despite short odds Overton looks promising.

Tags: Tournament Previews/Odds/Reviews by admin
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