US PGA Championship / Paul Krishnamurty / 08 August 2009 /

Big names, big reputations but this trio may not be able to justify their short prices. You have been warned!

Sergio Garcia

It was in this major ten years ago that Garcia truly arrived on the golfing scene as a precocious teenager, memorably giving the seemingly runaway winner Tiger Woods the fright of his life. Who would have thought that a decade later, the brilliant Spaniard would still be without a major title? He's certainly had plenty of chances to correct that statistic, but each time the army of punters determined to lay this notoriously dodgy finisher were proven correct.

Most famously, Garcia blew a big lead in the 2007 Open at Carnoustie before losing the play-off to Padraig Harrington. It was the Irishman who again benefited from Sergio's late wobble in last year's PGA at Oakland Hills. This time, Garcia was heavily odds-on for the title with just a few holes remaining before finding water on the 16th hole to let the chasers back in. The lesson is clear; if Sergio goes odds-on, hit the lay button.

Retief Goosen

Back in his heyday, only the criminally insane would have labelled Goosen a choker. Particularly when the placid South African displayed the perfect, nerveless temperament to land two US Open titles.

That would appear to no longer be the case. This season alone, Goosen had fluffed four golden opportunities in as many tournaments. First, it was a disjointed final round at the BMW International Open to throw away a big lead after trading at heavily odds-on. Next, he let another lead slip at Loch Lomond, hitting some inexplicably bad shots when it mattered on Sunday.

It wouldn't be fair to say he 'bottled' the Open, but again Goosen was hovering around favouritism all weekend but lacked the inspiration at key moments. Finally, on his penultimate start, Goosen surrendered the lead and then played poorly in losing the Canadian Open play-off to rank outsider Nathan Green.

Lee Westwood

Even if his golf hasn't generally deteriorated, Westwood's reputation as a reliable finisher has slipped quite dramatically in the two years since he last won a tournament. Around the turn of the last century, Westwood was more prolific than anyone else in the world besides Tiger Woods. 24 of his 29 worldwide titles came before 2001.

He seems to have forgotten how to close the deal. 2008 was a very frustrating year, packed with top-class efforts but best remembered for just missing out in the US Open and numerous Euro Tour events. Recent efforts tell an increasingly familiar story, with Westwood finding the water during a play-off for the French Open. Most painfully I suspect, Lee held the lead down the back nine in the Open at Turnberry before letting things slip, especially when three-putting the final green to miss out on a play-off.

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