The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 07 July 2008 /

"I was due a bad week and I got one. The only consolation was that I got to watch most of the tennis without too much distraction." It's the story of the punter's weekend.

At the European Open my in-running punt on Graeme McDowell @ [4.8] had looked ok for most of Saturday's third round; indeed, when he eagled the 15th hole, he momentarily took a two shot lead and touched [2.0]. But seconds later Fisher equalled the feat and when McDowell bogeyed the 16th and 18th and Fisher birdied the last he went into Sunday trailing by three.

I was still hopeful as it really did look like a two horse race and I always felt Fisher could wobble. It wasn't Fisher that wobbled though, it was McDowell. He started abysmally and by the time they reached the third green, or at least Fisher did (McDowell had found water off the tee), I was looking forward to the tennis. Fisher never looked in any semblance of danger after that and went on to win by a comfortable seven shots.

The US event was brought forward because of impending bad weather so I was keeping track of developments there all afternoon too. In fact, for most of the afternoon I was; watching the tennis, listening to the US event on satellite radio, and catching up on the Euro event in the breaks of play at Wimbledon, just in case. And they say it's only women that can multi task!

Anyway; at the A T & T my pick after round two, Tom Pernice jnr @ [6.2], had hit the front after round three without doing anything spectacular. He went further clear after he birdied the 1st but that was as good as it got. He had a very nervy final round and was soon out of contention.
I'd had a further bet on Saturday night, taking [50.0] on Hunter Mahan who'd finished the third round five shots off the lead. He bogeyed the 2nd yesterday and then went on a great run. When his 5th birdie of the day went in on the 9th hole he tied the lead and my interest in the tennis waned somewhat.

But Mahan proved to be a bitter disappointment, after he'd hit the front he got stuck. A string of pars was followed by a bogey, double bogey combination on the 14th and 15th which saw him slide rapidly down the leaderboard.

With the overnight leaders all falling away, it was Anthony Kim who came through and took control. I had dismissed him on Saturday as too short at under [4.0] and I thought that decision had been vindicated after his error-strewn third round of 69 saw his price drift to [10.0] before the final round. He was superb yesterday, though, turning in a very solid display and ending a very impressive winner. My last lingering doubts about his temperament when in contention are now quashed. He appears to have learnt the art of winning and, given his liking for tough demanding courses, now looks every bit a future major winner.

So a poor week but no time to sulk, the golf was a fast fading memory as I became totally enthralled in what was surely the greatest tennis match ever televised. And anyway, there's still plenty of form to get stuck into in preparation for next weeks events, the Scottish Open and the John Deere Classic. As usual I'll post my picks on Wednesday.

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