By Tony George
The 4th major is upon us after a huge tourney last week where Rory McILroy had a great fourth round and won the Bridgestone last week defeating Sergio Garcia who tanked on Sunday, and continues his Tiger-like domination in the latter stages of the PGA Tour schedule this season. No doubt at 5/1 Rory is the odds on favorite to win this week, and we all know he has a PGA Championship under his belt already, but can the streak continue? It seems like there is one or two Major’s every year where a dark horse comes out of nowhere to win it, and while last year’s winner Jason Dufner was not a no name, I sense for one reason or another there may be a surprise winner unless Rory continues the rapid fire pace he is on. There is no doubt the biggest name in Golf right now will a factor this week.
Numerous storylines surround this week’s tourney, namely, Tiger Woods, who won a PGA Championship on this very course in 2000 (Valhalla has had 3 PGA Championships held here). He was an insane 18/1 favorite in the British Open, which was a waste of money for anyone placing action on him, and while the PGA Tour has extended the registration time for Tiger, it would shock me to see him in this tourney, and if you wager on him if he is entered, then you might as well flush that money down the drain. He is not ready for prime time, had his worst finish ever in a Major at the British Open, and was 16 off the pace last week when he walked off the course with a back injury. I spoke with LVH Superbook Director Jay Kornegay on my weekly Yahoo Sports radio show this week, and he stated if Tiger is entered in any tourney, the mutual handle they take is up around 20% on the average, and trust me, the books would love to take Tiger action if he enters because he has no chance what so ever, I would be shocked if he entered that he would make the cut.
Valhalla is a very tough test of golf located in Louisville Kentucky. It is also been a past venue for this Major and will no doubt be tricked out for this tourney and many of the tee boxes have been extended since the last Major played here. There will be some scoring on this course, but as always in a Major setup for any course, too many wayward shot and you can lose ground quickly to the field.
Rory is paired with Bubba Watson, who looks ordinary outside of Augusta in the Majors and I do not see him in contention this week, and Martin Kaymer the US Open Champ who has struggled since his domination of the US Open at Pinehurst, none the less this grouping will get plenty of attention with this year’s Majors winners, but as we have seen, Rory can handle the pressure and his momentum coming in here will no doubt be a popular wager. Some of my money will be on him, and a host of others who I feel can best utilize their game on this course and make some noise.
Here are my Top 6 Picks plus my 2 longshots
Rory McILroy 5/1 – (What’s not to like – the guy is on fire and dialed in)
Phil Mickelson 20/1 (Like his closing 62 last Sunday coming in here – previous PGA champ – just might surprise if his putter works)
Sergio Garcia 15/1 ( He cannot close – but his game in solid and he has been in the hunt and is due)
Ricky Fowler 20/1 (finished 2nd twice in 2 Majors this year, only 1 tour win but worth the stretch)
Charl Schwartzel 30/1 (Finished 3rd last week and his game fits this course, a dark horse pick)
Adam Scott 12/1 (Always a front runner, played well week last week, and fully capable of winning this week)
LONSHOTS – Worth the stretch
Marc Leishman 50/1 (Mad skills, has been sniffing around the leaderboard all year in big tourneys, strong finish last week – great 50/1 bet)
Graeme McDowell 40/1 (Past Major winner, has the game and iron play to do well here, not his best year, but I think he contends this week)
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