Furyk`s Ugly Swing Equals Beautiful Bet

Tiger Woods has the game to win the US Open at The Olympic Club in San Francisco but 2003 champion Jim Furyk is a better bet given the odds of the respective contenders.

Seldom won by anyone other than a genuine top-class golfer, the US Open is the second major tournament of the year and famous for reducing the world`s best players to tears with its tight fairways, deep rough and difficult pin positions.

The Olympic Club does not host many professional events so there is very limited course form on which to go but the word out of San Francisco is that the usual statistics - driving accuracy, greens in regulation, strokes gained - putting, scrambling and sand saves - are the ones on which to focus when trying to identify the 2012 US Open winner.

Furyk, who shot an eight-under-par 272 to take out the 2003 US Open at the Olympia Fields Country Club by three strokes, ticks all the boxes and is worth a bet at 33-1 and bigger.

The owner of the most unconventional swing in professional golf may not have won a tournament since 2010 but he has been knocking on the door recently, finishing seven of his last eight outings in the top 25, including a play-off loss to Luke Donald at the Transitions Championship in March.

On the PGA Tour this season, Furyk is in the top 25 for both greens in regulation and strokes gained - putting, while he ranks very highly in the equally important driving accuracy (second), scrambling (11th) and sand saves (14th) charts.

The Olympic Club is not a long course so Furyk`s medium length will not put him at a disadvantage, which was the case at a few US Opens in recent years, and he has won sufficient titles to demonstrate his mental toughness.

Furyk is a classic US Open-style grinder and, in addition to his 2003 victory, he has four more top-five finishes, including back-to-back seconds in 2006 and 2007.

And Furyk has respectable course form having finished the 1998 US Open at The Olympic Club in a tie for 14th spot.

Woods is the name on everyone`s lips when the majors roll around and, while he is short in the betting at about 8-1, there is no doubt that he could win his 15th big one because he ranks highly in the key statistical charts listed above.

But someone at much longer odds worth more than a second look is Colt Knost, who is widely available at 500-1.

Knost has two top-three finishes on the PGA Tour this year but what makes him stand out from the remainder of the US Open roughies is his course form; the 26-year-old won the 2007 US Amateur Championship at The Olympic Club.

The Ohio native has missed the cut on each of his last five PGA Tour starts but he has probably won sufficient money to retain his card for another year and the return to the scene of his greatest triumph could spark a return to form.

While expecting Knost to win the US Open is, obviously, a touch optimistic, he could be well worth following in exotic betting markets such as three-balls against golfers with no prior experience of The Olympic Club and its tough layout.

The US Open begins on the morning of Thursday 14 June 2012 and ends on the afternoon of Sunday 17 June 2012.

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13/06/2012     © Frixo 2026