The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 23 June 2008 /

A small profit for our golf bettor this week - read all about his moves at the BMW International and Travelers Championship

Saturday saw Martin Kaymer, backed @ [3.5], push on relentlessly to a safe looking six shot lead at the BMW International.

So Sunday was therefore Kaymer versus Kaymer, would the young starlet keep his nerve and coast home or would the pressure get the better of him? It was certainly his to lose.

A bogey at the first triggered a lay for me @ [1.19] and at that point I'd levelled off for a modest profit regardless of the result.

The German's play was reminiscent of Jeev Milkha Singh's a fortnight ago in Austria. It was reserved and seemed geared towards steady pars rather than making birdies.
When he bogeyed the 7th hole he was starting to look vulnerable and at about the same time I spotted a little gem and backed one of my original picks again, John Bickerton, at the maximum [1000.0] as he birdied the 9th hole to get within five. Still a big gap but the price was huge.

When Bickerton birdied the 11th and 13th and Kaymer made a complete mess of the 11th, finding water twice on his way to a disastrous triple bogey, they were suddenly and very dramatically level.

But Kaymer managed to get back on track while Bickerton played the last five holes in level par to finish a couple of shots shy but not before I'd managed a few substantial lays @ [42.0], [40.0] and best of all as he played the last @ [10.0].

It was Dane Anders Hansen who was left to put up the sternest challenge and Kaymer had to be very brave coming home. A massive par save on the 17th from about six feet was followed by a birdie up the last and we had a play-off.

I traded both players as they each played the last and again in the play-off, which was won, mercifully for his sanity, by the promising Kaymer.

Thanks largely to Bickerton's charge and some decent trading it was a pretty good result, and I was pleased Kaymer held on as he deserved it. I wouldn't read too much into the wobble and would trust him again. He was brainless on the par-five 11th hole, trying to reach the green from the rough with his second shot, but he fought back tenaciously and deserves much credit.

As for Bickerton, oh so nearly, that would have been really sweet!

While the European drama was unfolding the final round of the Travelers Championship got under way. They had started early due to the threat of poor weather.

At the outset Stewart Cink still led, but my three Kenny Perry, Heath Slocum and Hunter Mahan were all in close attention.

In contrast to the BMW I was idle on the trading front, as I stated on Saturday I don't rate Cink as a betting proposition and my guys didn't really get close enough to lay any off. I did get very tempted to lay some Mahan off when a shot adrift with seven to play and trading @ around [3.5] but I didn't as I still felt Cink would do something daft.

This was the tenth time Cink had led going into the final round, on the previous nine occasions he'd converted just once. Credit where its due though, he kept his nose in front all day and a shaky par at the last, after he'd driven into the crowd, was enough to secure his first win since 2004 by a stroke from Mahan and Tommy Armour III.

It was a disappointing result in the States as I'd been in with a shout all four days but it was another decent winning week so I was happy enough to take the Cink win on the chin.

Next week's event are the Open de France and the Buick Open. I'll post my pre event selections on Wednesday.

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