Player Profiles / Steven Rawlings / 09 June 2011 / Leave a Comment

Steven Rawlings rounds up the various contenders who could put up a decent run at Congressional

David Toms
Odds: [55.0]
Last five US Opens: 33/mc/60/5/w
It's now nearly ten years since Toms' sole major success at the 2001 PGA Championship and the best he's ever finished at the US Open is 5th but the 44-year-old veteran is enjoying a spectacular Indian summer right now and he has just the right game for Congressional. He currently ranks 3rd for Driving Accuracy, 2nd for Greens in Regulation and he tops the All-Around Ranking stats. Having lost a play-off to KJ Choi at the recent Players Championship he shrugged off the disappointment to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational the next week and he's very much a contender.

Brandt Snedeker
Odds: [95.0]
Last five US Opens: 8/mc/9/23/-
As another player to have won recently on the US PGA Tour, at The Heritage in April, Brandt will carry plenty of confidence to Maryland and with two top-10s in his last three US Open starts that confidence won't be misguided. Many will remember his emotional press conference after the 2008 Masters when a final round 77 saw him pass up a great chance of glory. He eventually finished 3rd but he would have learnt a lot from the experience and, as one of the best putters on the planet, Snedeker is no forlorn hope.

Alvaro Quiros
Odds: [100.0]
Last five US Opens: mc/mc/-/-/-
The swashbuckling Spaniard is undoubtedly in good form and arguable improving, but whether he has anywhere near the right game for a US Open is highly debatable. Alvaro surprised many with his opening round at Augusta, when he tied the first round lead, but it's not hard to envisage him getting into all sorts of trouble off the tee at Congressional and he showed at Wentworth just a fortnight ago that patience is not one of his best assets yet. As likeable a character as he is, he's very hard to fancy here.

Aaron Baddeley
Odds: [100.0]
Last five US Opens: mc/-/29/13/-
Ever since he won the 1999 Australian Open as an amateur, Aaron has been a player worthy of the utmost respect and it's great to see his game back in order - now that he's despatched with the stack-and-tilt swing method. Already successful in 2011, having won the Northern Trust Open in February, Baddeley will be hoping he can improve on his efforts of four years ago. On that occasion he led after three rounds but started day four with a horrific triple-bogey and went on to shoot 80. He's a bold putter but a poor driver and, like Alvaro, he might make too many visits to the rough off the tee.

Francesco Molinari
Odds: [130.0]
Last five US Opens: mc/27/-/-/-
Francesco is a relentlessly accurate player who pounds fairway after fairway and green after green - just the ticket for a US Open. He hasn't been in sparkling form of late but a decent week in his hometown of Turin with plenty of Mama's home cooking might just be the ideal preparation. Successful at the WGC HSBC Champions event in November, where he held current world number two Lee Westwood at bay, he now has the wherewithal to compete with the very best and an improvement on his event record is far from beyond the realms of possibility.

Others to consider are recent major winners, Stewart Cink, Angel Cabrera, Y E Yang and Zach Johnson. Should any one of those four prevail at congressional it wouldn't be a shock.

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