US PGA Championship / Ralph Ellis / 10 August 2011 /

The last 12 majors have been won by all sorts but Ralph Ellis is convinced that the final big one of 2011 will go to one of the world's elite...

There was a time when backing the winner of major golf tournaments was pretty easy. Mostly you just put your money down on Tiger Woods, waited four days, and picked up the winnings.

No longer. Darren Clarke's triumph at Royal St George's might have given The Open a touching, heart rending story of a win by one of the game's good guys, but most of us were cheering through gritted teeth. If you hadn't backed Rory McIlroy you'd probably gone for Luke Donald or Lee Westwood, and none of them got anywhere close to collecting the Claret Jug.

Clarke's superb Sunday at Sandwich made him the 12th winner from the last dozen major tournaments. Not one of them has been a favourite in the betting beforehand. And as The Daily Express's golf writer Neil Squires so eloquently points out today: "They have varied in age from 22 to 42, in size from pipe cleaners to heavyweights, and in style from circus high-wire acts to mechanical grinders."

So where do you start your search for USPGA winners?

Well, Betfair has offered one suggestion with the "Chubby Slam". The only thing the three 2011 winners have in common so far is their careers are all controlled by ISM management's genial Chubby Chandler, and Betfair has responded with a special bet for whether one of his dozen players can help him complete a clean sweep of all the game's big prizes. It's currently between [4.2] and [5.5] to back.

Given the way McIlroy looked to be returning to form at the WCG last week, and Chandler's belief that Lee Westwood is about to make his big breakthrough, that's quite appealing. But I fancy another option, and that's to go with the Big Six against the field at around [3.0].

That gives you both of Chandler's favourites, world number one Donald, plus Tiger, Phil Mickelson and Adam Scott, who ran away so convincingly with the title at Bridgestone. And there are convincing arguments to support any of them.

I walked 12 holes in the wind and rain at Sandwich on Saturday with Mickelson, and was deeply impressed with his competitive edge. He blanked young Tom Lewis for four holes until he realised the young amateur wasn't going to be a threat, and then was full of kindness and help - while making sure he got his own game spot on. In the toughest conditions he managed the course superbly and looked hungry to win. He was in the mix again last week, and as the last American to win a major is the obvious man to stop the US rot.

Meanwhile Scott is clearly the man on form - and Donald was impressive in giving him arguably the most serious competition at Firestone country club. And Tiger? Well, he's Tiger. And just as you'd once always bet on him, you still wouldn't bet against him.

Five things you might not know about Chubby Chandler
1. Christened Andrew when he was born in Bolton in 1953, his dad was a travelling salesman. "I think some of his easy manner rubbed off on me," he says.

2. Although he appears to justify his Chubby nickname, he was nicknamed Chubby as a teenager ... because he was so skinny!

3. He spent 15 years playing golf on the European Tour, starting with the Italian Open in 1974 which was also the debut tournament for Seve Ballesteros. Chubby's best year was 1986 when he finished 44th on the Order of Merit.

4. He started his company with a £10,000 overdraft and four players - Derrick Cooper, Denis Durnian, Phil Harrison and Carl Mason

5. He and Lee Westwood jointly own Hoof It, the horse which won the Stewards' Cup at Goodwood last month with Kieron Fallon on board. It's now [4.5] favourite for the Nunthorpe Stakes at York on Friday

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