JoePa's The Open Championship

[joepa66]

Will be backing a handful of players this week, since it's a 'combined' tour event and the LPGA is holding a match play tournament. But really, even after posting a second straight LPGA winner, what else is there this week besides The Open....everything else pales in comparison!


THE BRITISH OPEN


RICHARD STERNE 100 / 1 – WHAT A BARGAIN!!! Sterne is currently ranked 7th on the Order of Merit, has 12 events under his belt and in his last 7 starts has 5 Top 5 finishes (10 Top 25s), and after finishing with a final round flurry 64 (2nd lowest final round for the day) he finished T4th @ -11 in the Barclays Scottish Open. His last three rounds at Loch Lomond were all under par and in the 60s. His scoring average is 69.88, his GIR is 68% and he's an amazing 81.82% in sand saves, which equates to knowing how to get out of trouble when finding the infamous bunkers around Carnoustie. Even if he finds the high grass he’s still solid in GIR with a 68% average. At one point this season he had of his Top 5 finishes in a row by finishing T2nd in the Johnnie Walker Classic, 5th in the Volvo China Classic, and T5th in the BMW Asia Open. He took a week off to rest and prep for the The Open before getting a tune-up in Glasgow last week and quietly went about his business. Biggest tournament of the year will bring out his best.

ERNIE ELS 12 / 1 - Ranked #5 in the World of Golf Rankings, and 8TH on the Order of Merit. Had good success at Loch Lomond last week finishing 3rd @ -13, one stroke away from being in a 3-way playoff with Mickelson and Havret. On the European Tour this year his has hit an amazing 76% of GIR and has a putting average of 1.75, a scoring average of 70.22, but a less than lusty 58.33% average in driving accuracy. In his last two 2007 European tournaments he has finished T7th and 3rd. His history in The Open is rich! He won The Open in 2002, finished 3rd in 2006 @ -13, 34th in 2005 when Tiger won by 5 strokes clear of Monty, lost in a playoff in 2004 to Todd Hamilton, was 18th in 2003 and T2nd in 2000 @ -11 when Tiger destroyed/eclipsed the field by 8 strokes! His PGA stats are just as impressive making the cut 9 times in 10 starts, has 1 - 2nd and 1 - 3rd place finish, 5 Top 10s, 5 Top 25s, and a 69.61 scoring average.

NICLAS FASTH 40 / 1 – Another bargain! Often over-looked, Fasth ranks #2 on the Order of Merit and after finishing 2nd @ -10 in the Smurfit Kappa (winner was -11) on July 8th has taken a respite from golf. Before that he won the BMW International, was 4th in the US Open finishing just two strokes behind Angel Cabrera, and T8th in the BMW PGA Championship. He has 7 Top 10s to his credit in his last 9 events, has only missed 2 cuts in 12 starts, and in his last four events has finished 2nd, 1st, 4th, and 8th. Fasth is enjoying a career high in both driving accuracy at 65.63%, and GIR at 72.41%. With two weeks off to prepare for The Open, I just hope he’s able to shake off the rust and get going early. He likes the big tournaments with the big boys and should be up to the task!

JIM FURYK 20 / 1 – Been riding Jimbo’s back all year and he’s another one of those golfers on the verge of getting a major this year. He finished 4th @ -12 last year and has 4, count ‘em, f-o-u-r Top 10s in The Open and tied for 10th in 1999, the year of Van de Velde’s Crash at Carnoustie. You just can’t argue with Furyk’s numbers this season….scoring average of 69.46 which places him 3rd on the PGA tour, 2nd in GIR at 74.71%, 10th in GIR with a 68.35% average, and he’s made 14 of 16 cuts on the year. On the PGA tour he has two 2nds (the Crowne Plaza and US Open, one 3rd, 6 Top 10s, 10 Top 25s. He took the week off last week to prepare for The Open.

JERRY KELLY 125 / 1 – Kelly has 2 Top 10s in the first two majors of 2007 by finishing T5th in the Masters @+4, and T7th @ +10 in the US Open. Despite a low point in driving accuracy at Oakmont (57%) and his worst putting average of the year (1.915), Kelly managed to grind it out at the US Open. He’s made the cuts in 13 of 18 events with a 3rd, 6 top 10s, and 8 Top 25s. At one point he finished with 4 Top 10s in a row with a T9th in Arnold Palmer’s Invitational, T5th in the Masters, T8th in the Verizon, T3rd in the Byron Nelson. Still, he’s 27th on tour in driving accuracy at 69.75% with 280 yard drives, 61st in GIR at 64.66%, and is 10th in scoring average at 69.75. What a dream come true this would be!

[joepa66]

Just in time for The Open here's Robin Williams on his linguistic Scottish Golf adventure....


YouTube - Robin Williams - Golf (Full Version)

[joepa66]

BRITISH OPEN PROPS -

Will Tiger Woods be in the final pairing?
NO / -300

Will Tiger Woods beat all the European golfers in the field?
NO / +115

[joepa66]

THE BRITISH OPEN

Winner @ -7

RICHARD STERNE 100 / 1 – T105th / +8

ERNIE ELS 12 / 1 - T4th / -5

NICLAS FASTH 40 / 1 – T35th / +4

JIM FURYK 20 / 1 – T12th / -2

JERRY KELLY 125 / 1 – T49th / +7

BRITISH OPEN PROPS -

Will Tiger Woods be in the final pairing?
NO / -300 / WINNER

Will Tiger Woods beat all the European golfers in the field?
NO / +115 / WINNER