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U.S. Open @ Betfair

FINAL RESULT:

Loss = 11.50 pts

Bank is now £692.43 after 10 weeks (Minus 15.38 pts overall).

Summary:
Can have no complaints, Mickelson was simply marvellous - what a run he had until the disaster at the 17th. Up until then he was on target to be the only player in the whole of Sunday to shoot under par on possibly the toughest day's golf in Major history. Usually this level of performance would've been easily enough to secure victory.
But throughout Sunday, Goosen's putting was just unbelievable and ultimately that was enough to conquer Mickelson's far superior iron play. Both players deserve tremendous credit.


Update after 3 rounds:
No prizes for suggesting the winner should come from the big three at the top now and, although two behind Goosen, we do have two of them. Worries are that late last night Mickelson started missing the putts he's been making all week and also Els looked exhausted after finishing. I've been harping on a lot recently about how this is the final leg of a mammoth period for him and he'll do superbly well to keep everything going for another gruelling 18 holes (or more) but I am sure he can raise himself for this big finish. I think a good start from Mickelson is vital to his chances, as he could start playing too aggressively if he gets further behind and I can't see that being the answer, but he had looked the best player on view for so long this week and hopefully he can keep the controlled game going. No more bets now, the book could be virtually levelled out to no win or loss but I remain happy to have our two against the field.

Page Update #4 (after round two):
(Winner market)
Back Ernie Els 4 pts @ 6.2
I'm finding it very hard to see Els out of the equation now he is 3 under, tied 6th and only 3 off the lead. He has won two US Opens and a British Open and therefore has every quality necessary to challenge on this golf course. I didn't select him from the start because he is on his 6th straight playing week, and that looked to be undoubtedly the right decision as he laboured to +3 thru 3 on day one. However, I cannot see weariness being any issue whatsoever now he is fully involved in the US Open leaderboard as he has recovered superbly and, as he did when winning a fortnight ago at The Memorial, he is putting absolutely brilliantly. I can't forget how he charged at Mickelson in the Masters and he looks booked for a very good weekend, whatever the course and the weather throws at the players.
There are other good players populating the leaderboard but I don't fancy any of them, and to now have Els playing for us alongside Mickelson, who is quite simply in the best shape of his life, both in terms of his golf game and his mental approach, gives us a very strong hand indeed, although I fear Tiger won't now get involved. Click the image below to see the state of the book.



Page Update #3:
(Winner market)
Back Dudley Hart 0.25 pt @ 540
Just one last addition to the team, a player who was born in New York, finished tied-12th in the New York Open of 2 years ago, and finished tied-17th in the Pinehurst Open of 1999. He has seemingly got over his injury problems of recent times and has secured two top-5s in the last two months. He opened with a Thursday 67 to lie 4th last week in the nearby Buick Classic and in fact his first round scores have been his lowest of the week in 4 of his 5 latest tournaments (and all four were sub-70s) - the importance of that is his tee time here, first out at 7am, and I can see him starting well in quite possibly the best of the weather. And once they're near the top, who knows.....

Page Update #2:
(Winner market)
Back Phil Mickelson 2 pts @ 14.5
Back Thomas Levet 0.25 pt @ 500
As mentioned below, Mickelson has been talking about this course, and he is going into the tournament very well prepared indeed. He has been practising at Shinnecock a lot recently and, while he admitted he was a little rusty last week, he said how Westchester was the ideal tune-up on firm greens with difficult pin positions. He already knows what clubs he will be hitting from the tees (no irons apparently) and his driving is much improved this season; he hit more fairways at Westchester than the winner, Garcia, and also Singh, for example. If he can keep the ball in play, there are, at the moment, few in the world so brilliant with their irons, and even fewer with the ability, confidence, and imagination around the greens. All those abilities will be absolutely necessary, you can be sure, and Mickelson's near miss on the similar greens at Pinehurst in 1999 must be a super experience to call on, as must his 2nd at Bethpage in 2002 which was, like this week, in New York.
At the other end of the price scale is someone who had, until Mickelson's Masters win this year, gotten even closer to a Major. Levet, of course, made the playoff in Els' Muirfield Open of 2002. He also made the top-20 in that year's US Open, a fine effort on his first attempt, and the fact that this is a linksy course with emphasis on accurate iron play gives me hope that he may be the surprise package in this year's event. He has had three top-3s in 14 events this season in Europe (six top-12s) and he currently sits 3rd in GIR. He is a million miles from being a reliable putter but sometimes the trickiest greens suit these types and he has shown he can contend in the very highest company if it comes down to a war of attrition. Being in such good form with a some good recent Major finishes does not equal 500/1 in my book.

Page Update #1:
(Winner market)
Back Tiger Woods 5 pts @ 6.8
Putting this up so early in the hope that Ladbrokes' going of 6/1 will entice the Betfair price out this far. I can't see that price lasting all week so will put up a not-unreasonable request that will hopefully be matched today or tomorrow.
I just think Tiger once again looked like Tiger in finishing third last time out at the Memorial. The confident flick of his right foot as he hit some very straight tee shots (he was T21 for driving at the Memorial) was accompanied by much better iron play (T16 for GIR), some super scrambling, and, for the third straight tournament, some excellent putting. Mickelson has said the short-game demands this week are similar to that of Pinehurst in '99 (shaven run-off areas surrounding greens) and Tiger finished a very close third there. After the Memorial, it's not hard to envisage him keeping the ball in play as much as anyone else, scrambling well and persistently making those par putts when he needs to, something he is undeniably best at when it come to Majors. I think this is when Tiger finally puts everyone in their place again.