General / Editor / 13 June 2007 / Leave a Comment

While the top two players in the world, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, will attract the majority of the attention at this week's 107th US Open Championship, rarely has a field in a major teed off with so many people holding a realistic chance of winning.
Woods and Mickelson are the predictable leaders in the Betfair market but Zach Johnson has already proved that the favourites don't always win by claiming a memorable victory at the US Masters in April.

When questioned about how he had fared during one of his practice rounds this week, Woods jokingly replied "I managed to break 100."

But the world number one has gone on record as saying the Oakmont course is already one of the most difficult he has ever played and predicts that it will get even harder as the tournament progresses.

And with this in mind, it may be an idea to look for a player in the mould of Johnson who is not necessarily the most spectacular but, importantly, is patient and keeps the ball in play.

During a week where the field will be forced to hit a number of blind shots and from sloping lies, accuracy could be the key, and few players in the world fit the bill better than Jim Furyk.

The 37-year-old, who is trading at 18.5 to win his second major, may not have the most conventional swing in the world but he certainly knows how to get the job done and excels at the US Open - having won in 2003, finished joint-second last year and managed two other top five finishes.

After last year, when he amassed an amazing 13 top-ten finishes, it is understandable that Furyk has failed to attain those dizzy heights again, but narrowly losing a play-off to Rory Sabbatini at the Crowne Plaza Invitational last month shows that he's not far off his best.

Furyk, 5.7 to place in the first five, will also have the Pennsylvania crowd on his side, after spending a lot of time in the area, and is expected to be in the thick of the action this week, where he can be backed at 32 to be first-round leader and 5.8 to be the top American without Woods and Mickelson.

Johnson, trading at 44 to win, and David Toms, 60 to triumph, are two of the other shorter but straighter hitters to catch the eye in the market and both have been in form over the last month.

But an international player has claimed the US Open for the last three years. South African Ernie Els won the last time it was held at Oakmont in 1994 and it would be no surprise to see that record extended this week - with Padraig Harrington, Henrik Stenson and Rory Sabbatini making particular appeal.

Harrington could represent the European challenge's best chance of ending their dismal run in the majors that stretches back to Paul Lawrie's victory at Carnoustie in 1999 and looks best equipped to cope with the perils that lie ahead on this week's testing course.

The European number one has an impressive record in the US Open, managing four top-ten finishes in seven starts, and most people forget he could have won at Winged Foot last year had he not bogeyed his final three holes.

As his performances at the recent US Masters and Irish Open testify - he was joint-seventh at Augusta, then won at Adare Manor - the harder the test, the more he likes it and the tournament suits his style of play.

Harrington, 32 to win this week, is favourite at 7.2 to finish as the top European at Oakmont while his odds of 8.2 to place in the top five make great appeal.

Stenson has little experience of US Open courses but made an instant impression on his debut last year when he tied for 26th place and could easily follow in defending champion Geoff Ogilvy's footsteps by winning after triumphing at the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

The Swede is playing at the height of his game, has recorded top-ten finishes on both sides of the Atlantic in his last two appearances and, for such a big man, has a fantastic short game which can rescue him if he gets into trouble.

Despite his progress in 2007, Stenson looks attractively priced at 42 to win and 12 to place in the first five, while the odds available on him leading after the first round (50) and finishing as the top European (9.4) also look generous.

South Africans have an excellent record at the US Open with Els and Retief Goosen both having won the event twice, and there's every chance that Sabbatini could follow them after a fantastic first half of the season.

While the 31-year-old has sometimes let headlines off the course overshadow his performances on it in the past, that has not been the case this year.

Sabbatini, priced at 60 to win at Oakmont, has managed a first, second and two thirds in his last six starts and his joint-second place at the US Masters was his best ever finish in a major.

He arrives this week refreshed after a three-week break and could be a player to follow, especially at odds of 70 to be the leader after day one and 14 to be the top player in the Rest of the World field.

It may also pay to follow American Steve Stricker, one of the longer-priced players in the market but someone with an excellent record at the US Open.

Stricker's career looked to be on a downward spiral last year but he was voted the 2006 US PGA Tour Comeback Player of the Year and has continued the good work this season.

The 40-year-old has already recorded four top-ten finishes, including runner-up behind Woods at the Wachovia Championship, and has come in the top 20 at the US Open five times, including joint-sixth last year.

Trading at 120 to win, 8.4 to place in the top ten and 90 to be the first-round leader, he looks to represent excellent value.

Spaniard Sergio Garcia remains a difficult player to assess but has finished in the top five twice in the last four years and, at 38 to win, could be a player to follow if he can get his putter working.

It may also be worth keeping an eye on left-handers Mike Weir and Nick O'Hern, who finished alongside Stricker at Winged Foot last year.
Weir (170 to win and 12.6 to come in the top five), has placed in the top six three of the last four years, while O'Hern (180 to win and 23 to place in the first five) is one of the straightest hitters in the world and will be favoured by the course set up.