U.S. Open (1.5pts):

Ernie Els to win 8.5/1 @ Pinnacle
‘The Big Easy’ is the perfect player for the U.S. Open: he earned his nickname not only for his swing, but also from his untroubled demeanour. And the U.S. Open is a test of patience. His links credentials are excellent with a win in the Open Championship in 2002 and three top-3 finishes in that event in the last four years and his scrambling abilities are not too bad either – he currently ranks 2^nd on the PGA Tour in this category. He looks good value at these odds to earn his third U.S. Open title.

Retief Goosen to win 40/1 e.w. @ SkyBet, Victor Chandler, BlueSq and Tote
Americans and South Africans have won 48 of the last 50 U.S. Opens and Goosen and Els have combined to win three of those for South Africa. This course is very different to the scene of his 2002 win, Southern Hills, but his links credentials are impressive enough. Aside from his record-breaking form around St Andrews in the Dunhill Cup, he has finished in the top-10 in the Open Championship in four of the last seven years. Coming off three top-11 finishes, he regaining confidence in his swing and deserves shorter odds.

Justin Rose to win 80/1 e.w. @ Sportingbet, Sporting Odds and Victor Chandler
Originally shot to prominence with a 4^th place finish as an amateur at Royal Birkdale in 1998 and in his debut in this event last year, he finished 5th. It is also only two months since he was leading the Masters after two rounds and while his 3^rd round took him out of contention that week, he has played in four PGA Tour events since and can boast finishes of 7^th, 5^th and 4^th. Definitely worth an each-way punt at that price.

Final update: 1-2; +34.50pts

Els 9th
Goosen 1st
Rose mc

Hugely impressive effort from Goosen ... he had everything against him today. It is difficult to lead an event with one round to play, but the USGA make the course virtually unplayable - they even needed to 20-minute break at one time as the 7th hole had become officially unplayable - so it was a monumental effort to defend a lead in those conditions. Plus he had to overcome an extremely vocal crowd who cheered when his shots went into trouble on the back nine. Hugely impressive win ... though I will admit to being a little biased today!