Find Me A 100 Winner - Corey Pavin

Find Me A 100 Winner / Paul Krishnamurty / 03 June 2008 / Leave a Comment

Veteran US golfer is the selection for a big winner in the St Jude Championship betting - why? Read on

I'm sure many people reading this will think I'm crazy, but this week's selection is a man coming towards the end of his PGA Tour career, Corey Pavin. I'll declare one potentially subconcious underlying reason - his dramatic win in the 1995 US Open remains one of my all-time favourite sporting moments (for gambling reasons). However I'm not attracted just out of sentiment, nor his huge odds around [200.0]. I genuinely feel there is a strong case to be made for the old guy.

At 48, he will presumably graduate to the Seniors in a couple of years, but he has served notice in recent times that he can still be a threat on the PGA Tour when conditions are favourable. It's less than two years since he comfortably won the US Bank Championship, and he registered his fourth top-15 finish of the season in his latest event. And if age is a concern then remember last week's winner Kenny Perry is 47.

Pavin's profile certainly seems to fulfil the usual credentials of the St Jude Classic winner. Southwind is a par-70 with only two par-5s and so many doglegs that driving distance is of little relevance, thereby negating Pavin's crippling weakness compared to most pros in that department. Rather driving accuracy, in which Pavin excels, is essential. Experience is also a big advantage, and the last ten winners have been American. In fact, Pavin has much in common with the 2006 winner Jeff Maggert, a man with a superb record in the US Open if never quite managing to emulate Pavin's career-defining achievement.