US PGA Championship / Steven Rawlings / 09 August 2011 /

The Punter takes a look at the Asian challenge at the year's final major. Is it time for the Koreans to step aside?

Phil Mickelson, successful in last year's US Maters, is the only American to win a major sine Y E Yang defeated Tiger Woods in a dogfight at Hazeltine two years ago, so it's perhaps a little surprising, given the perceived weakness in American golf and the assumed emergence of Asian golf, that none of those representing the Far East this week are trading at less than triple-figures.

For many a year K J Choi forged the way for Korean golf and indeed, Asian golf, and it was a shock to many that when the major breakthrough came for the continent it wasn't by him. Yang's win hasn't quite opened the floodgates and although a tide of Korean talent will have its say on the global game in time I fancy it could be a Japanese superstar in the making that could fair best this week.

It would be no surprise whatsoever if Choi or Yang contended here and both are very attractively priced in the outright market (especially Yang, who has finished in the top-20 in each of the first three majors this year) but the value in this market could just be with Ryo Ishikawa at anything above [6.6].

There has been plenty of hype about young Ryo for a few years now and he very nearly showed why last Sunday when he went toe-to-toe with Adam Scott at the Bridgestone Invitational for much of the final round. Bidding to be the youngest PGA Tour winner in 100 years, he eventually wilted as Scott putted his way to victory but it was a very impressive performance and given he's not much bigger than his main rivals in the win market, he could be the value here.

Selection:

Ryo Ishikawa @ [6.6] or above

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: