The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 02 June 2008 /

Kenny Perry obliges at The Memorial as The Punter hits the comeback trail

Play at the Wales Open on Saturday saw little change to the leaderboard and going into Sunday's final round my selections traded at much the same prices as they had prior to the third round. Scott Strange had held the lead relatively comfortably, despite a dizzy spell on the 15th tee which was sited as the reason for a shocking topped drive that travelled barely 50 yards.

I mentioned on Saturday that I'd be keeping an eye on Nick Dougherty and I ended up backing him during the third round @ [24.0].

It looked likely that it would be a tense finish before play started yesterday but by the time Strange reached the fourth tee he was five shots clear and trading as low as [1.3]. Birdies at holes two and three and no significant moves from anyone else gave him a healthy cushion but I felt, with so far to go, that the price was simply too short and layed him accordingly.

In hindsight it was a bit greedy given that I'd already backed the majority of his likely contenders but I've witnessed nervous displays by Strange in the past. In fact, you only have to go back to March and the Johnnie Walker Classic where he traded as low as [1.88] before a very poor finish.

You could feel sorry for Robert Karlsson. Third place for three weeks running and clearly in fantastic form, he hit six birdies in a row on his way to a great 64, only to see Strange match his score to take the title and push him back into second place.

I will be slightly critical of the Swede though, not because he played his last six holes in one over par but because he stated before play that he'd ignore the leaderboards all the way round. I don't understand nor like this mentality, can you imagine Tiger Woods deciding to plod along and see how he'd fared at the end of the round? He's not alone though, many of the players opt for this limp plan of attack.

Credit to Strange, it was a magnificent display without a hint of nerves, though I couldn't help feeling disappointed. I'd gone into the final round with a chance of a really good win. Of my original 15 long shots three ended up in the top ten, the best being Raphael Jacquelin backed, @ [400.0], who finished third.

Saturday's third round at the Memorial was disrupted by the weather and ran far too late for me. When I turned in Kenny Perry was dropping shots and his run of 18 consecutive under par rounds at Muirfield Village was coming to an abrupt end.

When I got up yesterday I was happy to see him still within three shots of the lead but confess I wasn't very confident. Given that 12 of the last 16 leaders, or co-leaders, had gone on to win the Memorial I thought Tasmanian Mathew Goggin, with a three shot lead, represented decent value @ [3.3] and backed him to cover my week's stakes. But it wasn't long before I realised that I'd erred with that pick, a bogey at the first set the tone and he didn't get close to that price again.

It mattered not. Perry, backed at the outset @ [36.0], played magnificently, making some brilliant up and downs whenever he got in any sort of trouble. The up and down par from a bunker on the tricky 12th was one of the best I've seen and by the 13th I was laying some off @ [1.7] for a stress free finish.

Obviously I was delighted to bag a decent win but the bet apart it was great news for Perry. This victory means that the 48-year-old veteran should now realise his goal and represent the USA in his home state of Kentucky at the Ryder Cup in September.

Paul Azinger, the USA Ryder Cup Captain, has said that he wants his team members to have won this year, so this victory will be a huge relief for Perry, who explained afterwards that he's planned his entire schedule so that he only plays in events he likes in an attempt to secure enough Ryder Cup points.

Now that he's bagged this all important win I wouldn't be at all surprised to see him go in again. He's one of the few players who when he gets hot stays hot and I won't be dismissing him.
Next week's events are the Austrian Open and the St Jude Championship; I'll post my picks on Wednesday.

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: