0-5; -5.00pts

Further outright play (total stake: 1pt)

Vaughn Taylor to be 1st round leader 80/1 e.w. @ Bet365  65th
With finishes of 5th and 6th in the last two years, plus three top-10 finishes in his last four starts, Taylor had been considered for the tournament outrights, but 50/1 was far too short against such a strong field. He does, however, stand a better chance of beating them over 18 holes and he did hold the lead after the 1st round as recently as the Arnold Palmer Invitational against a strong field. The place terms with Bet365 (1/4 1-2-3-4) may be very poor, but, for this player at least, the odds more than make up for them.

Outright plays (total stake per play: 1pt)

Vijay Singh to win 18/1 e.w. @ Paddy Power [6 places]  7th
A course that is running hard and fast with the feel of a U.S. Open and with four reachable-in-two par-5s and two driveable par-4s ... it should point to players with a good record in majors and are long off the tee. That's the justification for these picks. On top of that, Singh is a former winner here (2005) with top-10 finishes in three of four years and has been very consistent this year with two wins on Tour already this season. As I would have expected no more than 16/1, he represents value particularly with the extra place on offer.

Retief Goosen to win 28/1 e.w. @ Victor Chandler and Bet365  43rd
Goosen fits the bill just as well. He is a two-time U.S. Open winner (2001, 2004) and was in particularly good form last time in the States when he finished 2nd in the Masters. Add in a top-10 finish last year on this course - he had been 2nd after a 3rd round 65 - and the setup looks ideal for him.

Adam Scott to win 30/1 e.w. @ BetInternet  24th
Scott is the exception to the rule in this group: his record in U.S. Opens is not good, though he did make his first cut in 2005 to finish 28th and improved to 21st last year so he is certainly improving as a 'Majors' player. More encouraging, though, is the fact that he won on Tour only a month ago (Houston Open) and finished 3rd here last year, so at the level of normal PGA Tour events, he is one of the better converter of chances and he is playing well enough to give himself another chance for victory this week.

Geoff Ogilvy to win 40/1 e.w. @ Victor Chandler and Coral  24th
And then there's the current U.S. Open champion. He hasn't won on Tour this year, but two top-3 finishes in his last five starts and an excellent Masters (apart from a run of seven dropped shots over the last four holes of the 3rd round) suggest that is capable of winning soon. If the course conditions are as expected, this could be such a week.