Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 03 June 2009 /

Tiger's current price of [4.0] is way too big for Tareq Quiroz to resist...

June is a great month for golf as the big name events keep coming thick and fast. The question I am left asking is, are we going to see some big name winners of these events? It's been a slightly strange year so far with so many of the world's top players having their struggles. Many of that elite group are in Ohio this week for the fantastic Memorial Tournament.

The Course
Muirfield Village Golf Club is synonymous with the Memorial tournament and has been the host of this fine event since its inception in 1976. It is affectionately known as Jack's Place in reference to the time and effort that Jack Nicklaus put in to designing the course. The lure of Nicklaus and this super layout means that you are always guaranteed a great field for this tournament. There haven't been too many changes to the course that Jack built other than the inevitable lengthening that so many places require. Measuring just over 7,200 yards it is far from brutally long, but it sure does play tough. Last year it ranked as the fifth hardest course on the PGA Tour and the winning score was a hard fought eight under par. If you are playing in running then bear in mind that the four par fives may not look monstrous but they are by no means the gimme birdies that you get on most tracks.

The Favourite
Tiger is back and, needless to say, the great man heads the market. A few years ago he wouldn't just be the favourite but also a ridiculously short price. Tiger won the event three years on the bounce, was in his pomp and looked pretty much untouchable around Muirfield Village. His relatively scratchy form since returning from injury has forced him out to [4.0] to win this week. I hate to be boring but for me that is just too big. Tiger is one of the few players I can ever recall who actually plays better after not being seen out for a few weeks. Many players return from a break rusty, but he comes back fresh and ready for the challenge. I am not at all concerned about his recovery from injury and firmly recommend backing him to land his fourth Memorial title this week.

The Next Best Bets
If you can't bring yourself to back Tiger then there are a few options available a little further down the market. I wouldn't put anyone off Vijay Singh at [25.0] as he played fantastic stuff last week and will definitely be winning again sooner rather than later. This course is all about a player who strikes his mid irons well and a man in that category is last week's winner Steve Stricker. It was a hard fought and somewhat fortunate win last week, but one that will give him huge amounts of confidence. I expect him to go on a hot streak now and he could easily follow up straight away at decent odds of [38.0].

The Massive Outsider
We don't often see a huge priced winner of this event but it is not totally unheard of and there are a few players down the market who will fancy themselves this week. This is a first but I have to put the great Ernie Els in this category this week. Ernie has not become a bad player overnight and there a few signs that he isn't far off. He loves it around Muirfield Village and was a comfortable winner here in 2004. He is partnered with Tiger in the first couple of rounds and I really think that might spark him into action. At current odds of [80.0] he is a must in my staking plan this week.

Interesting Info
Paul Casey has fired some life into English golf and he led six English players to make the cut in Texas last week. Those same six line up again this week and will all have their support in the Make The Cut Market. The face of the tour is most definitely changing and that is highlighted by the fact that a third of the field this week are under 30 years of age. That is just what the game needs to keep the comfortable, established players on their toes.

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