The Punter / Steven Rawlings / 29 June 2009 / Leave a Comment

Steve was quite hopeful of a decent week at the halfway stage, and with a few picks in contention a winning week was a distinct possibility but how did he fare?

I'd gone into Saturday full of hope and expectation but unfortunately it ended in disappointment and frustration. It started well enough, in fact it started very well, Soren Kjeldsen birdied the first two holes of his third round in Germany, drawing alongside overnight leader Retief Goosen and he looked as though he was going to pick up where he'd left off and kick on, but he didn't.

After that brief flurry he bogeyed the third hole and went on to struggle all day, losing ground to the Goose and seeing other players pass him.

Thomas Levet was even worse and I layed him off early on at [19.0]. That was the good news. The bad news was that I used the returned stake to back Miguel Angel Jimenez at [25.0]. He started well enough and got to three under par for the day after eight holes but struggled after that - another stray bullet.

While all of my guys were floundering the Goose was pressing on relentlessly, and by the time he reached the 12th hole he'd amassed a score of 17 under par and was trading at just above [1.5]. But after being all calmness and serenity he started to flap, a bogey at the 13th could well have been followed by another at 14, but for a chip in from the rough, and then he needed a lengthy par save on 15. It was far from convincing but by the end of round three he still led by two from Bernard Langer, with my picks strung out like washing behind him. Kjeldsen wasn't completely out of it and traded at [16.5], four back of Goosen but Levet and Jimenez were done for.

Things weren't any better in the States. Anthony Kim reverted back to being all over the shop, dropping shots like confetti, while best of my pre-event picks was Zach Johnson, who did shoot four under but it didn't look enough and he again missed a plethora of shot putts.

I added to my portfolio by backing the man I'd dismissed before the off, Hunter Mahan. I jumped on after he'd played seven holes at an average of [25.0] and for a while it looked a great bet. The birdies kept coming and he was matched at as low as [6.0] before he ran out of steam. The birdies dried up and he bogeyed his last hole, the 9th.

Kenny Perry had been passed by Paul Goydos and David Toms was in third, two back of Goydos and one behind Perry.

After showing signs of vulnerability in round three I layed Goosen, modestly at [1.64], before play started yesterday and was prepared to just leave it at that, but when Nick Dougherty hit the front and went odds on I layed him too, firstly at [1.81] after ten holes, and then again at [1.6] a hole later.

The last time he'd been in contention in Wales, just three weeks ago, he'd shot 79 and I fully expected him to wobble with so many to play but I couldn't have been any more wrong.

He was most impressive and would have won in a canter but for an astonishing albatross at the last hole by Rafa Echenique, which suddenly put him to within one of Dougherty. Having driven off on the 16th with a lead of four, I've no idea what he must have been thinking playing his second shot having had his lead cut to just one.

But he deserves an awful lot of credit as he pared in very professionally for a deserved victory.

After losing a few bob in Germany, I decided to leave the last round of the Travelers Championship play out without any further involvement. I had quite fancied Perry, as I definitely wanted to oppose Goydos and Toms but at just a shade over [3.0] I was happy enough to let him go un-backed but I couldn't help but feel frustrated when, after shooting 63, he won by three from Goydos and Toms.

That's two wins this season and looking at my records I see I've backed him seven times but missed both his wins. It feels a bit like one that got away and if I hadn't taken on Dougherty I would probably have backed him.

So a disappointing, losing week but that can all be rectified next week at either the Open de France or the AT & T National, or even both. Why not? I may as well try and get a bit of confidence going... Anyway I'll preview both events on Wednesday.

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