US Open / Paul Krishnamurty / 08 June 2010 /

Tiger and Lefty are set to go head to head at next week's US Open but Paul Krishnamurty believes that the smart money should be invested elsewhere.

With both men predictably taking a week off to prepare for next Thursday's US Open, the season's second major is guaranteed to be the next stage of the battle between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson for the World No.1 spot. Currently available at [7.2] and [9.0] respectively, and momentum with the latter, it is perfectly feasible that they start as joint-favourites at Pebble Beach.

However, while it would be churlish to dispute that they are the world's best pair, we should be wary of falling into the trap of seeing this as a two-horse race. Indeed, I'm inclined to think a lay of both players represents a good way to start a US Open book.

Before I'm accused of aftertiming, I should clarify that this has not always been my view. Back in April, I predicted that Tiger would bounce back quickly from his troubles and make his mark in the majors, recommending bets on him to win two and three majors respectively. Besides obviously hoping that he would swiftly find his best form again, my reasoning was based around the venues for the US and British Opens, both of which have been the scenes of Tiger's finest hours.

To some extent, that still applies. If Woods was at his best, I wouldn't hesitate to back him at Pebble Beach, and if his form improves over the next month, I will support him at St Andrews. After all, his record in majors around these two tracks reads; three starts, three wins, by an incredible aggregate of 28 strokes. His performance in the 2000 US Open, when winning by 15, remains the greatest ever golfing performance in my view.

An abiding memory from that US Open was the comments of Butch Harmon during Sky's opening day coverage. Then Woods' coach, Harman said his charge had confided that such was his confidence with the driver, he felt he could land the ball on a specific blade of grass. That comment was enough to convince me to have what was then my biggest ever golf bet.

The idea that Tiger could be so confident nowadays with the driver is ridiculous. One might expect him to be rusty with his short-irons, or around the greens, after various enforced absences. But it's worse than that - Tiger can barely hit a fairway at the moment, ranking last amongst all cut-makers for driving accuracy at Memorial last week. Such inaccuracy can't be resolved in a few days and in truth, this was Tiger's sole weakness even before his problems. Around a penal US Open layout, it should prove fatal.

As for Mickelson, there is an obvious school of thought that he should instead be favourite. He's certainly been in much the better form, with Sunday's fifth a perfectly good result, adding to his win at the Masters and second place at Quail Hollow. Moreover, his US Open record is as good as anyone yet to win that major, having finished runner-up five times including last year. He also knows the venue well, as a three-time winner of the Pebble Beach Pro-am.

All of that amounts to a decent argument for backing Phil to land the second leg of the Grand Slam, but I'm still not wholly convinced. In order to capitalise on his great rival's problems, Mickelson will need to resolve the same weaknesses off the tee. Whereas Tiger ranked 70th for driving accuracy at Memorial, Phil fared only slightly better in 68th.

Unlike that pro-am where both players have thrived, the US Open set up at Pebble Beach will place a heavy premium on accuracy. If, or should I say when, the wind gets up, this course becomes a brutal test, punishing any weakness off the tee. It is much more sensible, therefore, to look towards bigger-priced players who are more reliable in that department.

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: