Don’t panic, its still 2010, Tiger has only been gone a month or so, he hasn’t shagged you into a coma; I’m not talking about him. It’s time for golf’s finest to return to Pebble Beach for this year’s US Open.
As the World focuses on South Africa and the World Cup, the golfing population carry on business as usual and so I felt it was time to take a break from blogging about the football and dedicate some time to my other passion; golf.
The United States’ oldest golf tournament returns to the Californian shores ten years after a certain 24-year-old superstar tore the course apart, winning the US Open by 15 shots, to kick off a run that would see him claim all four majors in a row. Back then Tiger was a force to be reckoned with and was pretty much unstoppable.
Fast-forward ten years and the great man seems a shell of his former self. Still only 34-years-old, the mischievous Californian has seen his form diminish after revelations of his private wrongdoings turned his life upside down, ruining his marriage and forcing him to take an indefinite break from golf.
Now he’s back and raring to go, but recent performances suggest that a once safe bet is now unlikely to reclaim the title he won in 2008. Back then he was a hero, competing on one leg, holing a superb putt on the last and then seeing off a strong fight from Rocco Mediate in the play-off to claim his 14th major title.
Now he is a broken individual who has lost hoards of fans along with numerous sponsorship deals, not to mention his family. So as much as Tiger will believe he can win, and as much as fans will want to see resurgence to his former greatness, I just can’t see it happening. Much like with his return at the Masters, I think the pressure will get to him and your money is safer elsewhere.
So let’s have a look at some of the contenders this week.
Phil Mickelson
Lefty is currently the World Number 2 and has the chance to usurp his long time nemesis Mr Woods this week as World Number 1 for the first time. The following scenarios will see the housewives’ favourite claim the coveted spot:
- Phil wins he’s the new number 1
- Phil is 2nd alone then he’s number 1 if Tiger is outside the Top 4
- Phil is 3rd alone then he’s number 1 if Tiger is outside the Top 18
Considering the current form of Mickelson and Woods’ lack of it, there is a good chance that this could happen and we could have a new top dog for the first time for over five years.
The big man is desperate to win a US Open to go with his Masters and USPGA titles after narrowly missing out more than once in recent years.
Lee Westwood
The man from Worksop has been in inspired form over the last two years. You would be hard pushed to find someone in better form than Lee at the moment. Two years ago he missed out on the playoff with Woods and Mediate by a shot. Then last year he came agonisingly close at the Open before finishing third at the USPGA. HE followed that this year with a second place finish at the Masters, leading into Sunday, only a phenomenal display from Mickelson prevented him winning his first major. Add to that the fact that Westwood is coming off a win at the St Jude classic last week and he looks a promising contender at Pebble Beach. The only problem is he has nerves akin to an England goalkeeper when it comes to the crunch.
Could we finally be seeing a British winner of a major for the first time since Paul Lawrie’s surprise Carnoustie victory in 1999? It looks like there could be every chance, with five of the top ten golfers hailing from these shores, outnumbering Americans in the top ten for the first time ever. Not too shabby if I do say so myself, and I will. Look out for Rory Mcilroy whose had a great season so far, Luke Donald whose recaptured the form of old and the fiery Ian Poulter - he won't win but he’ll no doubt be wearing some rather fetching unmissable pantaloons.
It’s now been forty years since a Brit won the US Open. Not since Tony Jacklin’s heroics at Hazeltine has one of us made an impression on the yanks biggest stage.
Monty came close in 2006, when a par at the last would have won him the trophy. Unfortunately he decided he hadn’t got his money’s worth and took an extra chip and putt to feel customer satisfaction.
Miguel Angel Jiminez came agonizingly close back in 2000 at Pebble Beach when he finished second, just a mere 15 strokes behind Tiger. Nailbiting!
If I’m perfectly honest I’m not holding high hopes. This is the time of year that I’m supposed to believe England will win, but know deep down that there’s no chance. I’ve come to accept that its just not going to happen, but I will still, as I do in the world cup, go down the bookies and stick a tenner on the English (I’ll go with Lee Westwood, like I have for the last 3 years – I tell you what, if he didn’t have a twitchy bum he’d have made me a fortune) and once again be disappointed. But hey, I’m English, that’s what life’s about.
If you fancy a flutter this weekend I advise you to check out the PGA website rather than listen to me: http://www.pgatour.com/2010/r/06/15/picks-usopen/index.html
A tenner on Westwood is a far better investment than a tenner on England, after last weeks win I think hell have the confidence to push on and finally win a major. Can he do it on the big stage..... we can just hope but my guessing is that Rob Green has done enough gassing for the whole country this month
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