JoePa's 138th BRITISH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

[joepa66]

Absolutely love watching The Open Championship! Looking forward to early mornings this week to tune in and grab a cold one or two before work. Hell, I might even have a beer too!

THE 138TH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

Looking at multiple entries again this week.....I tend to go overboard and have trouble paring down my list for THE OPEN every year! They say the course is an easier layout than in the past, but you still have to hit the ball straight to stay out of the thick stuff.


ANTHONY KIM 7/2 TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 - Through 14 events this season he's made 11 cuts. Along the way he's picked up a 2nd---at the Mercedes Benz---and a 3rd---at the AT&T National (that's 2 Top10s, along with 6 Top25s), a T11th at the Travelers, T16th at the US Open, and a T17th at the WGC Accenture. In his last 3 starts he's gone from a T16th to a T11th and then his 3rd place finish. Kim is 17th in driving, 5th in putting average, 2nd in birdie average, 2nd in par breakers and 19th in putts per round. Can't squawk about his recent form along with a T7th in the 2008 Open and a T20th in 2007! Recent form and showing in his first two starts in The Open make him a valuable consideration.

STEVE STRICKER 10/3 TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 - Stricker has 2 wins his last 4 starts this season to go along with 7 Top10 finishes. He's also managed to play well on the links in recent years with Top10s in his last 2 Opens, with 7th and 8th place finishes, and has finished in the Top25 in 8 of his last 12 majors! He ranks in the Top15 in GIR, putts per GIR, and scrambling. Don't be surprised to see him near the top once again.

MARTIN KAYMER 10/3 TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 - OK, I'll bite, but it's not as if he hasn't done anything this year! Kaymer is 19th in the World of Golf rankings, 4th in scoring on the Euro Tour and 2nd in the Race to Dubai, AND he's won the last two events on the Euro Tour, the Barclays and the Open de France! Talk about having the hot hand! He has however missed the cut in 4 of the 6 majors he's played in, but with better stats this season he ranks in the Top30 in GIR, putts per GIR, and putts per round. And, at the Open de France he won in a playoff over Lee Westwood. His stats in both the Scottish Open and Open de France are impressive with a 67.3 scoring average, driving accuracy over 76% last week, GIR percentage in the high 70s, putts per green at 1.66, and 100% in sand saves. He is also having a career year in scoring at 69.83 but 1.5 strokes, driving accuracy, GIR, and average putts per GIR.

ROSS FISHER 10/3 TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10
ROSS FISHER 35/1 TO WIN OUTRIGHT - Now why would I back a virtual unknown like Ross Fisher? He's basically unknown to those of us on this side of the pond but not on the Euro Tour where he ranks 4th on the Order of Merit, aka. the Race to Dubai! He T8th last week at the Barclays, was 5th at the US Open, and 2nd at the BMW. He's also well ahead of his 2008 pace when he finished 6th on the Order of Merit winning 1.8 million pounds, as he currently is 4th and has won 1.3 million pounds to date! He's also experiencing career bests in scoring average (70.72), GIR (72% which is better by 3% over last year), and lowest putts per green at 1.79! He finished 8th last week at the Barclays.

SOREN KJELDSEN 9/1 TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 - Kjeldsen is simply a play on a golfer who has shown some great recent form! He ranks 15th in the Race to Dubai, T4th last week at the Barclays, was 3rd at the BMW PGA, and T9th a the BMW International. He is also experiencing the lowest scoring average of his career at 70.34, along with lowest putts per round, and his last two starts hit 78% of fairways last week and 73% of greens in Scotland, and 73% of fairways and 71% of GIR at the Open de France! Last season he missed the cut at The Open and finished 10th on the Order of Merit.

BEN CURTIS 5/1 TO FINISH IN THE TOP 10 - Sentimental play on Kent State graduate and former Open Champion to make some kind of noise. He's 3 for 6 in Top10s at The Open with a T7th in 2008, T8th in 2007, and a win in 2003. Sandwiched in between he missed the cut 3 times in a row. He's a 55/1 shot to win. This is a small 1/2 unit play!

[dananderson32]

Like lee westwood myself good sir...............good luck to you