US Open / Tareq Quiroz / 15 June 2009 / Leave a comment

Tareq Quiroz is the first to praise young Rory's long game and precocious talent but warns his would-be backers that the US Open represents a whole new kettle of fish...

There is no doubt that there has been a most definite improvement in the form of the European contingent in the US this season. Paul Casey has really stepped up to the mark with his win in the Shell Houston Open. Henrik Stenson then cemented that with a very impressive victory in the prestigious Players Championship. Besides them there have been plenty of other good European performances in the US this year and understandably expectations are high for the upcoming US Open.

Despite the wins from the guys mentioned there is no doubt who the European everyone is talking about is. Young Rory McIlroy has captured the imagination of the golfing world with his meteoric rise to the world's top echelons. It has been interesting to see how this young lad from Northern Ireland has progressed throughout the season. Sure, he has been impressive but let's not get carried away.

McIlroy is currently just inside the top ten in the market and trading at [55.0] to win the 2009 US Open. I cannot get my head around that. The lad has just turned twenty years of age with one European Tour win to his name. Jack Nicklaus won the US Open when he was 22 and Tiger won it when he was 24. These are probably the two greatest golfers that have ever lived and as yet we have seen no real proof that McIlroy is about to join them.

There is no doubt that McIlroy has a swing that almost every player would love to have. He looks so natural and the ball goes an absolute mile. But there is more to winning than that. We have already seen him blow a couple of gilt edged opportunities to win tournaments.

The thought that anyone would consider backing him to win the US Open is beyond my comprehension. He is a good player but has proved nothing yet. Bethpage is a truly brutal, unforgiving course and even if his long game holds up he isn't sure to make the cut. McIlroy's putting leaves an awful lot to be desired. He has already started to miss really short putts, which has to be a worrying sign. He gives himself plenty of chances with his long game but we have seen plenty of long game experts come and go over the years.

If laying him in the Outright Winner market isn't your thing due to the liabilities in question then head straight over to the Top European market. He is currently third favourite in that market at around [10.0] and is up against some real seasoned pros that will surely put him in his place. His place may well be a flight home on Friday evening. With that in mind, take the lad on in the To Make The Cut market too as he will be a very short price to make the weekend.

McIlroy may well prove to be a great player in time but he isn't one yet and believe me when I say he won't be coming one this weekend.