2011 US PGA Championship
The US PGA Championship is your last chance to bet on a golf major this year, and the good news is that by now, we’ve all had a chance to have a good look at the players and their statistics. The return of Tiger Woods will also add some interest and attract plenty of punters’ dollars with it. The yanks will be desperate for a victory, with no American currently holding a major title, and no American winning this tournament since Tiger back in 2007. Australians have won this event three...
2011 British Open Championship preview
Hosted at the Royal St George’s Golf Club this year, the 140th Open Championship will be hard to pick with many good golfers in this field. Aussies have a good record in the British Open going back to golfers like Peter Thomson, but have not saluted since Greg Norman in 1993 at this very same golf course. The English will be itching to get one of theirs over the line here, since their last winner was Nick Faldo in 1992, yet this year they have the top two ranked golfers in the world in Luke...
2011 Barclays Scottish Open
The Open at the home country for the game of golf is always a good event, particularly in the lead up to the British Open. It carries a handsome prize pool in its own right, and always has a strong field. Whoever wins this year will be beating a really top field. Aussies have not won here for a long time but have a good record going back some years, with wins in 1973, 1991, 1992 and 1995. Peter O’Malley still holds the record aggregate score of 262. However the Aussies may struggle against...
2011 John Deere Classic preview
You know you’re playing golf out in the sticks when the tournament is sponsored by a tractor company. Illinois seems a long way from the next stop for many of the players, the British Open. This tournament has been held since 1971, and its honour roll shows that less well known golfers have a shot at winning. The 2009 and 2010 champion is Steve Stricker, who will be back again defending his title. Last year, he blew the lights out with a tournament record of 26 under. Stricker is having another...
2011 AT and T National preview
The AT and T National is an invitational event hosted by Tiger Woods, that has been going for only four years. While Tiger is the host, he is still out with injury. This is a challenging tournament, with the last four winners being top golfers in KJ Choi, Anthony Kim, Tiger Woods and Justin Rose. It is being held at the Aronimink Golf Club in Pennsylvania for the second year in succession. Aronimink is inspired by the links courses of Europe, so it might be a good pointer for the chances of players...
2011 Alstom Open de France preview
The French golf open is not quite as prestigious as its tennis counterpart, but it boasts of being the oldest national open championship on continental Europe and also the richest, so it will attract a top field and be a good betting event. The quality of this tournament is shown by the fact that previous champions include 19 major winners. In the long history of the event, Aussies have had their share of success, with six winners. The most recent was Robert Allenby back in 1996. Americans,...
2011 Travelers Championship preview
So players from the European tour still hold all four majors, and a northern Irishman has given the Americans a golfing lesson in their own Open. Ouch. If history is anything to go by, the Travelers Open should give the Americans a chance to return to the winners’ circle, with the last non-American winner being Greg Norman in 1995. This tournament is played at the TPC, River Highlands in Connecticut which is sometimes described as “forgiving” – in other words, a golfer has a chance...
2011 BMW International Open preview
The BMW International Open will be held for the Golfclub München Eichenried for the final time this year. It is the only chance for the German players on the European Tour to impress the home crowds, although only one German has won it, Martin Kaymer, who saluted in 2008. Kaymer will be one of the big chances again this year and probably a worthy favourite in a weakish field. The defending champion is another form player, Englishman, David Horsey. The record score on the course is held by John...
2011 US Open preview
Players from the European tour currently hold all of golf’s major titles, so there will be plenty of interest in whether or not the Americans can hold off the charge in their own Open. Once again, Tiger Woods has pulled out with injury, so he won’t be there to help them out. This course is tight, with plenty of water hazards, so accuracy off the tee will be at a premium. The top ranked players in the PGA for combined driving distance and accuracy include Brandt Jobe, Adam Scott, Bo van...
2011 BMW Italian Open
The BMW Italian Open has been part of the European golf tour's schedule since the tour's first season in 1972, but its history goes back as far as 1925. The Royal Park Golf and Country Club near Turin is not the most demanding course on the tour, and the winner usually shoots around 20 below par. This means that it is a difficult tournament to tip as outsiders tend to perform better on the easier lay-outs. The winners' honour roll is a licorice all-sorts of nationalities, with four Aussies,...