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July 2011 - Player Profiles

Open Championship Player Profiles: The best of the rest...

Ben Curtis was the last man to win a Royal St George's Open...

There are plenty of top-quality professionals available at huge odds. Paul Krishnamurty identifies a handful to watch....

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Jim Furyk

Jim Furyk - a classy performer available at a big price

Odds: [230.0] Last five Opens: mc/34/5/12/4 With four previous top-five finishes to his name, very few Americans have consistently fared better than Furyk in recent Open Championships. His trademark tee to green accuracy should in...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Angel Cabrera

A major winner, yes, but probably not this time

Odds: [170.0] Last five Opens: mc/24/mc/34/7 With both a Masters and US Open title already under his belt, Cabrera has no shortage of majors pedigree, although less so in the Open Championship. Apart from top-tens...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Francesco Molinari

Molinari's record does not scream 'back me'!

Odds: [140.0] Last five Opens: mc/13/-/mc/- Apart from an excellent third place in the WGC event at Doral, Molinari has struggled to reproduce last year's tremendous consistency. His relentless tee to green accuracy should in...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Peter Hanson

Hanson enjoys the major championship challenge - will he make your book?

Odds: [130.0] Last five Opens: 37/24/58/69/- Hanson is quietly building a reputation as one of the most reliable Europeans in major championships. Seventh place at Congressional last month was his third straight top-20 in the...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Bubba Watson

Will Bubba shake the homesickness to make an Open challenge?

Odds: [130.0] Last five Opens: mc/mc/-/-/- A couple of swashbuckling victories have made Bubba a rising star across the Atlantic, but the monster-hitting left-hander will arrive at Royal St George's under something of a cloud....

1

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Ernie Els

Can Ernie Els 'do a Watson'?!

Odds: [130.0] Last five Opens: mc/8/7/4/3 Something must be seriously wrong with Ernie Els when layers are prepared to offer triple-figure prices for this major. Ernie's Open stats over the past two decades are unrivalled,...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Rickie Fowler

Could this young American follow in Ben Curtis' footsteps?

Odds: [120.0] Last five Opens: 14/-/-/-/- The last Open champion at Royal St George's was a young, American, ex-amateur starlet, still looking for his first professional win. Could Rickie Fowler be 2011's answer to Ben...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Robert Karlsson

Karlsson could be coming to the boil at the right time...

Odds: [110.0] Last five Opens: 14/-/7/mc/35 A couple of recent top-fives on the PGA Tour suggest Karlsson is getting his act together after a slow start to his season. Earlier in his career, Karlsson looked...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Fredrik Jacobson

Jacobson finished sixth last time the Open was played at Royal St George's

Odds: [110.0] Last five Opens: -/70/19/-/- With victory in the recent Travelers Championship ending an eight-year losing streak on the PGA Tour, Jacobson returns to Royal St George's with high hopes. This was the venue...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Alvaro Quiros

Does Big Al really have the finesse needed for an Open victory?

Odds: [100.0] Last five Opens: 11/mc/-/-/- The longest hitter in Europe, Quiros has quickly become a prolific winner of standard tour events, but is yet to make a serious impact in a major. That is...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Justin Rose

Rose has never improved on that Birkdale fourth

Odds: [90.0] Last five Opens: mc/13/70/12/- It is surprising that Rose has never matched the fourth place achieved on that incredible Open debut as a teenage amateur back in 1998. After all, he's gone on...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Ross Fisher

Fisher is a true links lover

Odds: [85.0] Last five Opens: 37/13/39/mc/- Another home player who has slipped down the Euro pecking order since a career-best run in 2009. Fisher is not entirely without recent form though, with a top-ten on...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Hunter Mahan

Hunter is always fancied for the majors but so often lets his backers down

Odds: [85.0] Last five Opens: 37/mc/mc/6/26 If the US are to maintain an excellent record at Royal St Georges, Mahan must rate one of their leading candidates. He certainly has the ball-striking skills to thrive...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Henrik Stenson

Can Stenson improve on two third places in The Open?

Odds: [75.0] Last five Opens: 3/13/3/mc/48 A month ago, few would have even contemplated Stenson as their Open pick, such was the total collapse in his form. However, two highly promising performances at the US...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Adam Scott

Scott has no real Open form but his recent play has been exceptional

Odds: [75.0] Last five Opens: 27/mc/16/27/8 With only one top-ten from 11 previous attempts, Scott doesn't stand out as an obvious Open winner, although his record at Augusta was no better before challenging strongly to...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Louis Oosthuizen

Lightning can't strike twice, can it?

Odds: [75.0] Last five Opens: 1/mc/-/-/mc Given odds of [650.0], plus the fact he'd missed all three previous Open cuts and never bettered 40th in six cracks at the Dunhill Links, Oosthuizen's victory at St...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Retief Goosen

Is Retief finished?

Odds: [75.0] Last five Opens: 6/5/32/23/14 With his career seemingly locked in a downward spiral, the chances are Goosen will never add this major to his pair of US Open titles. He still challenges fairly...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Paul Casey

Paul Casey's poor form has been a rare downer for British golf this year

Odds: [75.0] Last five Opens: 3/47/7/27/71 In an otherwise historic year for British golf, the decline of Paul Casey has been a rare downer. Since winning on the Desert Swing in January, Paul has rather...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Matteo Manassero

Can a teenager really lift the Claret Jug? Matteo Manassero has the game to do it...

Odds: [70.0] Last five Opens: -/13/-/-/- Twice a European Tour winner before his 18th birthday, Manassero is likely to be contending for this and other majors for decades to come. He first truly served notice...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Padraig Harrington

Are the layers right to offer Padraig Harrington at odds of 65?

Odds: [65.0] Last five Opens: mc/65/1/1/mc It seems strange to see Harrington trading amongst the outsiders, given his two relatively recent Open titles and longstanding prowess on links courses, but the formbook is hard to...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Matt Kuchar

Can Kuchar bring his US form to Britain?

Odds: [65.0] Last five Opens: 27/mc/mc/mc/- Kuchar has a solid claim to being most improved player around. Prior to 2009, he'd never bettered 70th place on the PGA Tour money list in a decade of...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Steve Stricker

Improvement is needed but Steve Stricker is once again having a fine season

Odds: [60.0] Last five Opens: 55/52/7/8/- The admirable Stricker has been typically consistent this season, making every cut, winning the Memorial Tournament and only twice finishing outside the top-20. Like so many leading Americans, he's...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

KJ Choi

Kj Choi has had some strong Open performances

Odds: [55.0] Last five Opens: mc/mc/16/8/mc KJ is one of this year's form players with a career highlight victory at Sawgrass, and another excellent showing when runner-up at Aronimink last time out. Choi also challenged...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Ian Poulter

Can Poulter go one better than Birkdale in 2008?

Odds: [55.0] Last five Opens: 60/mc/2/27/mc With the possible exception of Luke Donald, Poulter can lay plausible claim to being the best Matchplay exponent in the world, having won both Volvo and Accenture world titles...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Dustin Johnson

DJ's power game may not be ideal for Royal St George's...

Odds: [50.0] Last five Opens: 14/mc/-/-/- Whilst remaining one of the best up and coming Americans, Johnson hasn't quite recaptured his 2010 form this time around. The fact his career highlights came at Pebble Beach...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Graeme McDowell

He was the planet's hottest - can Graeme regain his world-beating form?

Odds: [46.0] Last five Opens: 23/34/19/mc/61 Given the extensive experience of links golf that McDowell will have gained in his youth, learning the game at courses like Royal Portrush, his record in links tournaments is...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Charl Schwartzel

Masters champion Charl Schwartzel does not boast a links record to write home about

Odds: [44.0] Last five Opens: 14/mc/-/mc/22 Schwartzel emphasised that his Masters victory was no flash in the pan with another top-ten at the US Open, making it five straight top-20 finishes in majors. While Charl...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Jason Day

Fantastic talent but lacking significant links experience - will you be backing Day?

Odds: [38.0] Last five Opens: 60/-/-/-/- This 23-year-old Australian looks every inch a future world number one, and is already building a stellar portfolio in the majors. Day challenged strongly at last year's PGA, and...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Nick Watney

Watney is likely to go off the shortest priced American at the 2011 Open

Odds: [36.0] Last five Opens: 7/27/-/35/- Following his second victory of the season at Aronimink, his odds are in freefall and in all likelihood, Watney will start this year's Open as the shortest priced American....

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Phil Mickelson

Opposing Phil at The Open is a solid strategy

Odds: [36.0] Last five Opens: 48/-/19/mc/22 Having been repeatedly underpriced for previous Opens, the market is at last beginning to reflect Mickelson's glaring lack of links prowess, or form in the British Isles. Despite a...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Sergio Garcia

He should have won at least one by now - can Sergio atone at Royal St George's?

Odds: [32.0] Last five Opens: 14/38/51/2/5 With six Open top-tens this century, Garcia is clearly one of the world's great links players. He really should have won this title at Carnoustie in 2007 and also...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Martin Kaymer

Kaymer has shown a liking for links golf in the past - can he win major no.2?

Odds: [26.0] Last five Opens: 7/34/80/-/- Kaymer's performances on links courses during last year's successful Race to Dubai campaign carried all the hallmarks of a future Open champion. He openly relished the challenge of seriously...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Luke Donald

Is Luke Donald really your idea of an Open champion?

Odds: [19.5] Last five Opens: 11/5/-/-63/35 From a statistical perspective, it is impossible to puncture Donald's claim. He is world number one, has won the World Matchplay and flagship BMW PGA Championship this season, and...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Lee Westwood

Is Lee Westwood getting tired of not quite winning all these majors?

Odds: [13.0] Last five Opens: 2/3/63/35/41 Westwood's name is becoming a permanent fixture on major leaderboards, but the Worksop Wonder has still yet to win one. Third place at Congressional was Lee's fifth top-three finish...

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011

Rory McIlroy

Can Rory make it major win no.2?

Odds: [7.0] Last five Opens (most recent first): 3/47/-/42/- Britain's new sporting hero will arrive at Royal St Georges fresh, having sensibly opted for a break after that remarkable eight-shot victory at the US Open....

0

Paul Krishnamurty

4 Jul 2011