The US Open is set to be one of the most ‘wide open’ tournaments of the past 10 years and a shift in control at the top of the world ranking might see the media circling around the top Europeans rather than the Americans!
However many Americans are in contention, Ricky Fowler the confidence man for one, with his orange onesy and attacking style is due a top five finish. Down on fedex cup standings compared to what is expected. Is he in the same league as fellow young guns Matteo Manassero, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy? All of which have had some really good performances this year already. As we get closer to the US open all the big name players seem to raise their game and he won’t be any different. He see’s friends like Donald, Day and Bubba doing so well lately he won’t want to be left behind. Ricky is 48th in the world at the minute and anyone can see that he has the skill level to match those above, as yet some element has been lacking which has left him a bit inconsistent. The second biggest major for the Americans will bring more drive and focus from him, raising his game and consistency, so watch out for him in preparation tournaments running up to the US open on the 16th of June.
Another American who will be trying to peak at the right time is the BIG hitting Bubba Watson from Florida. Top in the Fed Ex Cup standings after already racking up two wins this year, the only thing missing is a good run in a major. He has the game off the tee and isn’t too shabby when targeting the greens either (First in PGA GIR stats), adding to that the experience and confidence gained from his wins at the Farmers Insurance Open and the Zurich Classic. You might find he is worth an each-way bet if his putting looks good in the tournaments prior to the Open.
Favourites
Cool hand Luke Donald is certain to be favourite after hitting the world number one spot, even when he wasn’t playing his best golf. After a Seve-esk battling performance at Wentworth he showed great mental strength and confidence in his ability to wrestle the top spot from fellow Englishman Lee Westwood. He is a complete golfer now, as people are realising that he doesn’t hit the ball as short as he used to, finding an extra 15+ yards over the last year and a half. Donald also has a short game that trumps Phil Mickelson at the minute, 3rd on the PGA Tour ‘Scrambling Stats’, never mind being 5th in the ‘total Putting’ Statistics. Another top 5 finish or better is very much expected out of the remaining Major tournaments, but good luck finding good odds if you want to venture a bet on this man. Phil Mickelson himself will be scary low odds and always seems to raise his game around the majors. The main reason seems to be because it is all about the majors for Phil, just as it is for Tiger Woods. US Opens of past have seen them surrounded by a media circus which expects a certain win for Phil or Tiger and with the records that both hold, you can see why.
Players Getting Back to Their Best
Paul Casey is coming back to form as he showed some very good ball striking at the BMW Championship. The world number 8 hasn’t played up to his standards so far this year, but you can expect a good run in the US Open if he can find confidence in his putter. (A good each-way bet)
Ernie Els has also been playing excellent tee to green lately shown in his Greens in Regulation Stats (Ranked 10th hitting 69.97% of GIR), unfortunately he is another player whose putting leaves him frustrated. A respectable T16 finish could have been much better if not for a couple of near misses on the greens. He feels comfortable at the Congressional Country Club, winning the US Open their in 1997, other notable past winners on the course are Anthony Kim, Tiger Woods and steady KJ Choi who are all capable of a Top 10 finish.
As you look out for contenders in Majors, it is very easy to end up with 15 golfers who you want to put your money on and the odds in golf are high for a reason, but it’s always fun to see 2 or 3 of your guys in with a shout on the final day, so watch how players build up to the big tournaments of the year. Being in contention in Tournaments like ‘The Memorial Tournament’, ‘FEDEX St. Jude Classic’, ‘Sabb Wales Open’ and the ‘BMW Italian Open’ can do wonders for a player’s belief as they set foot on a Congressional Course steeped in history.
Post by James
Please feel free to share your thoughts and tips below on the upcoming US Open and the tour events in the run up!
Where's the proper info about the tournament? Any clown can find their way to the PGA Tour stats websites and rustle up a load of waffle, which this garbage is.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. We are all entitled to our opinion. I don't think James was trying to do a definitive preview with stats etc. It is everybodys first time doing something like this on the blog. Have you read other posts? If not do. But any more opinions send them on here
ReplyDeleteI've read some of the other posts and in terms of grammar and overall sporting knowledge, I think it's below average.
ReplyDeleteBut, at the end of the day it all depends what you are looking to achieve from the blog. If it's in terms of SEO, then I'm afraid it's a fail. There is a serious lack of keyword usage and long-tail information. The overall quality of the articles would be snubbed by google's spiders. Hence, if you google Kingbet Sports Blog, it's nowhere to be seen in the top 10 pages in google search (I haven't gone any further than that).
If it's a bit of craic for your Facebook friends, then cool, good luck with it.
Point taken. Id like to think it's a serious work in progress. Anyway thanks for the feedback
ReplyDeletePeter
No worries, you are welcome.
ReplyDeleteIf you have high hopes for the blog, you'll need to employ a professional seo sports writer, plus, you'll need to work hard on link building otherwise, you are wasting your time.