U.S. Senior Open

FINAL RESULT: 1-2; +37.25pts

Jacobsen 1st
Thorpe 19th
Canizares 12th

What can I say? Jacobsen completes a treble of winners over four events this week at odds of 77,451/1!! It was always going to be tense with the seniors playing 36 holes on the final day and particularly from Jacobsen who has just recovered from hip surgery, but he held his nerve at the end when others failed. Almost got a place win with Canizares who had been around the top-5 all week, but being much older than the other leaders, bar Irwin, he looked exhausted by the end of the 4th round and he naturally slipped down the leaderboard. Still been a very memorable week!

Outright plays (2pts):

Peter Jacobsen to win 33/1 e.w. @ Ladbrokes
He has only played once since returning from hip surgery and that was in the Long Island Classic four weeks ago. He started with a 64 to be joint leader after the first round, but admitted that he felt tired over the final six holes and it showed over the weekend as he slipped back. He did enter the Senior British Open last week, but was a late withdrawal which suggests that he was targeting this event instead. There should be some adjustment in odds for a player returning from injury, but 33/1 is too high for a player who could dominate this Tour when fully recovered.

Jim Thorpe to win 33/1 e.w. @ Stan James and William Hill
Neither of the other two selections entered the Senior British Open so they coming off a two-week break and both were in great form beforehand. Thorpe won two of his of his last five events and even though his attacking play does not really suit U.S. Senior Open type courses, he has still finished in the top-30 in all five previous attempts. He was right in the thick of contention throughout the 2000 U.S. Senior Open and is playing well enough to do so again.

Jose Maria Canizares to win 100/1 e.w. @ SkyBet
Did consider Mark James (22/1 Stan James) and Dana Quigley (66/1 Ladbrokes) for the final berth, but opted for a more speculative shot with Canizares. A regular outright selection up to two years ago, Canizares has signalled a return to form with a couple of top-10 finishes in the last two months, plus a runners-up finish in the last major, the Ford Senior Players Championship. Throw in a U.S. Senior Open record of five top-12 finishes in seven attempts and this price looks rather large. Would rather have place-only odds, but a place finish would still return a very healthy profit.