Western Open

FINAL RESULT: 1-1; +11.63pts

Furyk 1st
Kelly 21st

Very impressive performance by Furyk. He did wobble a bit at the end, but it had otherwise been back to his old best in fending off a charging Tiger Woods.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1.5pts)

Jim Furyk to win 14/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes
It really was a cruel way for Furyk to be denied at least a playoff for last week's title as he had controlled the event for so long and that should shift the focus on to his ability to bounce back from such a circumstance. He finished 2nd in the MCI Heritage in April, but then finished 2nd in his next event, the Wachovia Championship. That was a playoff loss to Vijay Singh so it was an impressive bounce-back and in his next event he shot every round in the 60s to finish in the top-20 in the Byron Nelson Championship. Following his previous playoff loss (2003 Ford Championship to Scott Hoch), he bounced back with a top-5 finish the following week, so there is no real concern that he will crumble this week as a result of last week's title loss. And having finished in the top-7 in five of his last six visits to Cog Hill and the State of Illinois being the location of his 2003 U.S. Open win, there is plenty to suggest that he will again be in the thick of the action on Sunday evening.

Jerry Kelly to finish in the top-five 16.5/1 @ Centrebet and IASbet
That has been a regular feature in this event for Jerry Kelly in recent years. He finished 5th, 1st and 3rd from 2001 to 2003 and while his recent form has been poor, a look back at history for Kelly is also suggestive of a good week. In 2003, he came into the event off two missed cuts; in 2002, he also came into the event off two missed cuts; and in 2001, while he has finished 7th the previous week, his previous four finishes included three missed cuts and a 56th place finish. Being in form has never been a prerequisite for Kelly playing well on this course and so is not really a concern this week. The Wisconsin player looks set for his best performance of 2005 when he tees it up in his neighbouring State.