Big-hitting Bubba made for PGA Championship course

Bubba Watson, the longest hitter among golf`s elite, is the best bet in the PGA Championship at odds of around 40-1 as the last major of the year takes place at Kiawah Island.

Its Ocean Course, dubbed by Golf Digest as the toughest in the United States of America, is 7,676 yards long and it will be the longest layout in major championship history.

Recent rain in South Carolina means that the Ocean Course will play every one of those yards and it means that anyone looking to have a PGA Championship punt must have a look at the PGA Tour and European Tour driving distance statistics.

Nicolas Colsaerts is the longest hitter on either side of the Atlantic Ocean this year, averaging 317.1 yards off the tee having driven the ball 83 times on the European Tour.

The Belgian will attract support at around 66-1 but it is Watson, whose 96 PGA Tour drives in 2012 have averaged 316.6 yards, who is the most appealing golfer in the field because of his form in both major and minor tournaments this year.

Watson won the first grand slam event of 2012, the Masters Tournament at Augusta National, coming from three shots off the pace after 54 holes to get into a play-off against Louis Oosthuizen and beating the South African on the second hole.

All up, Watson has played 14 times on the PGA Tour this year and his record is sensational, with one win, two seconds, three additional top-10 placings and a total of a dozen finishes in the top 25. And that is not all, either.

The Ocean Course has a lot in common with Whistling Straits, the monstrous 2010 PGA Championship venue also designed by Pete Dye. Watson went very close to winning that major.

The 33-year-old from Bagdad in Florida tied for first place on 11 under par after four rounds but lost the subsequent three-hole play-off by one stroke to Martin Kaymer.

Watson warmed up for the PGA Championship with a tie for 19th position in last week`s World Golf Championships - Bridgestone Invitational during which he flew Firestone Country Club`s 667-yard par-five 16th with a driver and an eight iron. No-one else, not even Tiger Woods, could have managed that and it just goes to show how much of an edge that he could have given the Ocean Course`s length.

If you are looking to build a PGA Championship portfolio, other golfers to consider include Dustin Johnson (around 28-1), Rory McIlroy (around 20-1) and Robert Garrigus (around 125-1), primarily for their driving distances.

Johnson is seventh on the 2012 PGA Tour driving distance ladder with an average hit of 308.1 yards, he is a South Carolina native and he tied for ninth in the recent Open Championship. The Ocean Course has a links feel to it.

McIlroy`s 2012 PGA Tour driving distance average of 309 yards ranks him sixth and he seems to have regained his confidence ahead of the final major championship of the year, finishing joint fifth at the Firestone Country Club.

Garrigus is third behind Watson and Jamie Lovemark on this year`s PGA Tour driving distance chart and said that he would have won the Canadian Open two weeks ago had his putter behaved. He is over the odds given not only his length off the tee but also his recent performances.

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08/08/2012     © Frixo 2024