Features

Open field at Whistling Straits

Author: Lynda Collins
Date: 09/08/2010
Golf betting

With the final golf Major of the year just around the corner, we take a look at the contenders who should be in the running for US PGA glory at Whistling Straits next week.

The same tournament was played on the Straits Course six years ago, with Fiji's Vijay Singh coming out on top after a play-off with home duo Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco, with the links-style set-up proving a fearsome test.

Tiger Woods remains the man to beat in the eyes of the online betting markets, but the world number one has now won only two of the last 15 Majors and his chances do not look to be as strong as many pundits suggest.

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However, with four previous victories at the PGA, Woods can never start as anything else other than the favourite.

2010 has already seen two new names take their place among the list of Major winners, with Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell winning the US Open title and South African Louis Oosthuizen storming to glory in The Open Championship at St Andrews.

McDowell, in particular may well be a contender, if he can regain the focus which has been lost since his breakthrough earlier this year.

Fellow Irishmen Rory McIlroy and Padraig Harrington are also attracting plenty of support, with the former seeming certain to become a Major winner sooner rather than later.

Phil Mickelson is tipped to be the man most likely to deny Woods and a tied sixth finish six years ago shows that he has the game to cope with the testing conditions alongside Lake Michigan.

Englishman Lee Westwood is still chasing an elusive Major title, having finished as runner-up at both The Masters and The Open this year, while being tied for third place at the US PGA last season.

However, his hopes have been dashed by ongoing problems with a calf injury.

The PGA also has a habit of throwing up a surprise champion, with Rich Beem and Shaun Micheel among recent winners, while in 2009 Korea's Yang Yong-eun sprang a huge shock.

Starting the final round two shots adrift of Woods, Yang cashed in on the world number one's final-day struggles to take the title by three shots.

That makes predicting a winner much more difficult, but 2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover may be worth an each-way punt, while Dustin Johnson is also capable of being in the hunt of the final day.

All in all it is a very open field for 2010's closing Major and with five of the last seven Majors having gone to first-time winners, a surprise victor would not come as too much of a surprise.

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