U.S. Open

Course: Bethpage State Park (Black course), Farmingdale, New York
Yardage: 7214
Par: 70  (two par-fives)
USGA Rating: 76.6
Greens: Bentgrass/Poa Annua  - 7,000 sq.ft  (Tour average: 6,000 sq.ft)

GCSAA Tournament Fact Sheet

Weather Forecast

Best Players Last 10 Years

Past Winners:
2001 - Retief Goosen
2000 - Tiger Woods
1999 - Payne Stewart
1998 - Lee Janzen
1997 - Ernie Els
1996 - Steve Jones
1995 - Corey Pavin
1994 - Ernie Els
1993 - Lee Janzen
1992 - Tom Kite

Outright plays (1 unit):

Vijay Singh to win 25/1 e.w. @ Bet365 , though available generally
Singh and Toms are retained from last week's selections and with the addition of Price that makes three selections who have already won a Major, usually important in these events. Ignoring the Fijian's missed cut last week because of the proximity of this event, he has been in good form so far this year and with top-10 finishes in each of his last three U.S. Opens, he looks destined to go close again.

David Toms to win 33/1 e.w. @ Heathorns
Looked in good form last week until an early double-bogey killed his momentum on the final day. He finished 12th last week for a rare finish outside the top-10 and in that form he can compete with the best this week. Does not have a great U.S. Open record with just one decent finish in the last three years - 16th in 2000 - but he has entered this event having finished 55th, missed cut and 53rd in his previous event in the last three years. In much better form coming into the event this year and a very consistent performer.

Nick Price to win 66/1 e.w. @ Heathorns
Somewhat more speculative, at least until he won the MasterCard Colonial on his last outing. Apart from his season-opening event in the Phoenix Open, he has never finished outside the top-20 in ten events this year and finished in the top-10 in all but three. Extremely consistent this year and he should be suited to the tight conditions this week. Widely available at half these odds.

Matchup plays (1 unit unless stated):

Luke Donald to beat Peter O'Malley -110 @ LuvBet
Basically opposing European Tour players who do not have a good record in this event. O'Malley is no exception. He finished 67th in his only other start in this event in 1996. He has missed the cut on both occasions he has played in the PGA Championship and has yet to qualify for the Masters. He may be straight off the tee, but he will struggle this week and a repeat of last week's missed cut looks very likely. Donald looks far more likely to play well in the U.S. having made 11 of 16 cuts on Tour this year and came through qualifying for this event last week with rounds of 69-64 around Woodmont.

Brian Gay to beat Peter O'Malley -111 @ BetandWin [2 units]
Gay is another who should make the cut; he's made 13 of 17 this year. Like Donald, he came through qualifying at Woodmont and is more accurate than long off the tee. Might struggle to match his top-25 finishes of the last two week's, but should beat O'Malley before the weekend.

Craig Perks to beat David Howell -111@ BetandWin
Howell has only ever played in one tournament in the U.S. and that was a forgettable affair. He shot 76-79 in the 1999 Memorial to miss the cut. Neither is he a particularly straight driver or in any form at the moment. He returned from a 3-month injury layoff to finish 45th at the English Open last week, so is not particularly well-prepared for this event. Expect to see Perks struggle, but Howell struggle even more.

Tom Pernice to beat Thomas Levet -111@ BetandWin [2 units]
Levet has played in ten PGA Tour events and has made the cut in just one of them - he finished 69th in the Buick Invitational in 1994. Has been struggling on the European Tour in the past month before an improved performance as defending champion at Woburn saw him finish 30th. Just can't see him making the cut this week. Pernice finished 3rd in last week's qualifier at Boone Valley and is far more likely to be playing at the weekend.

Final update:

Matchups: 2-2; -2.44 units

Donald/O'Malley WON by 3
Gay/O'Malley LOST (both tied)
Perks/Howell WON by 5
Pernice/Levet LOST by 3

Outrights: 0-3; -3.00 units

Singh 30th
Toms 45th
Price 8th