To help personalise content, tailor your experience and help us improve our services, Betfair uses cookies. By navigating our site, you agree to allow us to use cookies, in accordance with our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
The promotion picture is simple for Cardiff. They need two wins from three matches and should be trusted to seize a wonderful opportunity against an out-of-s...
Alex Keble highlights the tactical strategy Arsene Wenger can use to beat Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final, and predicts an A...
Bayern are gunning for revenge against Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, but our Bundesliga expert Kevin Hatchard believes the market has over...
Betfair Ambassador Gordon Elliott gives his exclusive views on day two of the Punchestown Festival as he continues his quest to claim the Champion Trainer cr...
Ryan Moore has a decent book of rides at Epsom on Wednesday afternoon, and here the Betfair Ambassador gives his exclusive views on his five chances of ridin...
After finishing the Cheltenham Festival as the leading trainer, and winning both the Irish and English Grand Nationals, Betfair Ambassador Gordon Elliott now...
Two legendary Indian captains face off in Wednesday's heavyweight clash from Bengaluru. MS Dhoni's CSK have bossed Virat Kohli's RCB in the past and Paul Kri...
The upcoming week sees the clay season on the ATP Tour continue apace, with two tournaments starting in Barcelona and Budapest this morning. Our tennis colum...
Sunday's tennis action focuses on the final at the Monte Carlo Masters this afternoon, with Rafa Nadal and Kei Nishikori fighting for the title, and £819,00...
It's semi-final day at the Monte Carlo Masters this afternoon, and with the Rafa Nadal procession to the title seemingly in full flow, our tennis columnist, ...
We're off to Louisiana this week on the PGA Tour event for a change from the norm at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Read Steve Rawlings' detailed take on...
With big-hitters expected to enjoy an advantage at this week's Volvo China Open, Paul Krishnamurty has identified three bombers who should love the challenge...
Wilder may have to wait for his crack at Anthony Joshua but Betfair's boxing writer Frankie Monkhouse tells us why he's a threat to the Londoner's titles...
It's all about big name British boxers trying to make their way back to the top this Saturday night with Amir Khan and Carl Frampton in action on opposite si...
The Jackal brings world championship boxing back to Belfast and he's expected to deliver the goods. Betfair's expert Frankie Monkhouse walks you through the ...
Major League Baseball heads overseas as the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins leave their snow covered homes and travel to the warmer weather of Puerto R...
The Western race for final playoff berths went down to the wire, while the East looked settled long before, reflecting the current competitive balance in the...
Computer glitches and qualifying errors wrecked the first race of the season for Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, but Ralph Ellis says they will come back...
F1 fans are licking their lips at a three-way title fight this season but Ralph Ellis explains why he will still have his money on Lewis Hamilton and team ma...
It's the second night of a Rotterdam double header on Thursday and Wayne Mardle is back with his best match odds bet as well as a juicy treble for your consi...
We have a double header of Premier League Darts this week starting on Wednesday night in Rotterdam, and our man Wayne Mardle has two wagers for you to consid...
We're off to Sheffield for the latest round of matches in this year's Premier League darts, and our man Wayne Mardle fancies MVG to deliver the goods, and Mi...
There's no bigger race in the sprint calendar than tonight's Northern Sprint Sheffield showdown and it's live on RPGTV. Darrell Williams previews the race an...
Early speed is a vital element in finding race winners and the information gleaned from analysing split times can be crucial as Darrell Williams explains in ...
Early pace wins races and occasionally that can result in what appears a guaranteed all-the-way leader. Darrell Williams investigates the 'easy leader' scena...
Wilder may have to wait for his crack at Anthony Joshua but Betfair's boxing writer Frankie Monkhouse tells us why he's a threat to the Londoner's titles...
Reigning champion Mark Selby's shock exit from Sheffield has opened up the field for snooker's blue riband title. Ralph Ellis thinks he may have found a valu...
John Higgins and Judd Trump kick off their Crucible campaigns on Wednesday and are extremely strong favourites to progress. Check out Paul Krishnamurty's ver...
With no PGA or European Tour action over the Christmas holidays, our man has spent some of his free time looking ahead to the four major championships in 2018. Here's his look at the US Open...
“Looking at the 2015 US open result, together with the last result here in 2004, and one man sticks out like a sore thumb - Branden Grace.”
The 2018 US Open
June 14-17
Shinnecock Hills, Southampton, New York
All four days live on Sky Sports
I always look forward to the US Masters (which I've looked at here) for a number of reasons. Its permanent host course, Augusta National, feels like an old friend you're always keen to meet again and it's timing in the calendar is perfect, signifying the start of spring, but I'm really looking forward to this year's US Open at Shinnecock Hills.
Shinnecock Hills was the host venue way back in 1896 and it's been the host course four times in total. The US Open was last staged at Shinnecock in 2004 when only two players finished the week under-par - the winner, Retief Goosen, and the runner-up, Phil Mickelson.
Despite Goosen putting like a magician, Lefty still led by a stroke with just two holes to play but a double-bogey at the par three 17th, just as the 2002 champ, Goosen, birdied 16, changed everything and Mickelson finished second for the third time. He would go on to finish runner-up on three further occasions.
If you want to relive the final round and/or familiarise yourself with the venue, this clip is worth a look.
Prior to Goosen's victory, Shinnecock Hills was previously used for the event in 1896, 1986 and in 1995 when the winner, Corry Pavin, hit this dream shot on the 72nd hole.
That was Pavin's only major win and he was the only player not to finish the week over-par. Greg Norman finished runner-up, two strokes back on +2. It was a similar story in 1986 when Ray Floyd was the only player to finish the week under-par. He finished on one-under-par to beat Chip Beck and Lanny Wadkins by two.
Shinnecock Hills is far from long by modern standards but as previous scores suggest, it's a proper examination. The rough is usually up and the bentgrass greens (especially last time) are very fast indeed so once the wind starts to blow, on what is a very exposed sand-based, links, coastal course, players are tested to their limits and it's absolutely no surprise to see excellent links and Open Championship specialists have prospered here.
St.Andrews-born Scotsman, James Foulis, won the 1896 edition here and the three modern day winners, Floyd, Pavin and Goosen, have all got multiple top-tens and placed efforts in the Open Championship.
Greg Norman, who finished runner-up to Pavin, and who led the '86 edition by three strokes after round one, was a links specialist extraordinaire and of course, a two-time Open Champion and although it took time for the penny to drop, following his victory in 2013 and his spectacular second to Henrik Stenson in 2016, the 2004 runner-up here, Phil Mickelson, has to be regarded as a truly great links player, so links form is most definitely the angle in here.
As much as I'd love to see it, I fear six-time US Open runner-up, Mickelson, has had all his chances in this event and he's probably just too long in the tooth now to complete the Grand Slam.
Last year's Open Champ, Jordan Spieth, looks a fair price at 11/1 given he also won this event at Chambers Bay in 2015. Chambers Bay wasn't particularly well received and its greens in particular were criticized but one thing most will agree on was that it was a links type course and the leaderboard supported that.
Looking at the 2015 US open result, together with the last result here in 2004, and one man sticks out like a sore thumb - Branden Grace.
Grace traded at odds-on at Chambers Bay before a wild tee-shot on the 16th hole cost him his chance in 2015 but he returned to the event in 2016 and contended when Dustin Johnson won at Oakmont, so he has plenty of US Open form to boast.
He became the first man in history to post a 62 in a major championship at last year's Open Championship so his links credentials are rock solid and just like fellow South African, Goosen, he's a winner at the Fancourt Links in his homeland.
Whether he'll be in form in June is, of course, a risk but he's ended this year nicely with a terrific victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, he'll have just turned 30 before the event (May 20th), and I fancy he could go really well at a venue made for his game. The 45/1 with the Betfair Sportsbook looks a very fair and juicy price.