U.S. Open Golf Championship 2008 Betting
The 2008 U.S. Open Golf Championship will be played at Torrey Pines South Course in San Diego, California between June 12 and June 15. This is only the second time in the tournament?s history that the U.S. PGA has chosen a municipal golf course for the event. Unlike Augusta National, home of the Masters, where God sometimes has difficulty getting a tee-time, you or I could hack around it any weekday for twenty quid. Of course, they close it for some time beforehand, grow the rough to U.S. Open length, narrow the fairways and cut the greens with nail scissors, but, other than that it?s a course of the people.
Will Tiger Woods Be A Sure Bet?
Uppermost in the thoughts of online betting fans must be the condition of Tiger Woods? knee, which was operated on seven weeks ago. He commandeered the course earlier this week to play his first round since the surgery and declares himself ready to ?play through the pain? if he has to. When it comes to the hair difference between top players in these Major tournaments, an ounce of added adversity can be decisive and a dodgy knee might be the breaking of Tiger and produce his second disappointment this year, the first being his defeat by Immelman in the Masters in April.
Having said that, Torrey Pines is the home of the Buick Invitational and Woods has won the last four so, knees apart, as it were, he must be looking good at around 7/4. Phil Mickelson can never be discounted from contention in these U.S. dominated Majors and, at 8/1, he is attractively priced. And Ernie Els at 20/1 looks a good bet if he has managed to overcome the last of the demons that have been troubling him in the past two or three years.
What Hopes For The British?
The U.S. Open was first played in 1895 and, of the first sixteen tournaments, the English won four and the Scots took twelve. Since then an Englishman has won only three times, the last one being Tony Jacklin in 1970 and English online betting enthusiasts are advised not to hold their breath. Our best shot this year, according to online betting sites is world ranked number 17, Luke Donald, who at 25/1 performed well in the Honda Classic earlier this year. Justin Rose, who entered the top ten of golfers at number six in 2008, is priced at 33/1 although Justin has yet to show he can deliver the last of the goods when it comes to the majors.
Padraig Harrington, Open Championship winner in 2007, has been threatening to win a U.S. Major for some time now. Ranked in the top ten of world golfers and Ireland?s number one, he must be worth a look at 20/1. And what about Trevor Immelman, winner of the 2008 U.S. Masters? You can get 90/1 on the South African on some online betting sites. He last won at Torrey Pines in 1998 so he knows the course and it?s unlikely he has faded that much, if at all, since his outstanding Masters triumph where he performed the remarkable feat of leading for all four days.