Our golf pundit has a top Korean and top Swede bet as well as a three-ball punt for Thursday.
As ever with a Major we have tonnes of markets priced by the bookmakers to delve into and it is always worth investing a few quid elsewhere in an attempt to get out of the week with your head above water should the outright bets not do the business.
Mainly we look at Top Nationality bets in these markets as often prices between the bookmakers and the 'true' price on Betfair differ substantially hence rendering some prices value in the derivative markets. We'll start with SI WOO KIM in the Top Korean market. Kim became a household name whenever he won at Sawgrass a few weeks ago and it was clear watching him that if he develops from here he will become a top player in this game.
Since then he missed the cut then withdrew the following week due to an ankle injury. This makes this bet somewhat of a risk, but a risk I am prepared to take. Whee Kim finished 2nd last week and could ride that wave to a good performance this week. Byeong-Hun An is the biggest threat and lines up at a top price of 6/4.
This was priced up on Monday and there wasn't any difference between An's and Si Woo's price. Si Woo has now drifted to a bigger number which makes this bet not as tasty as it looked a few days ago. However, I can't make him anywhere near a 3/1 shot and anything from 5/2 and upwards is worthy of some investment.
A fair bit of the value has dissipated in DAVID LINGMERTH's Top Swedish player price over the past 24hrs but nevertheless I still think he is worthy of a bet. In a field of four which includes a rag Daniel Chopra, Lingmerth has every chance. Noren is playing the golf of his career and despite a poor major record this must be his best chance to date.
Stenson is strong fav in this market and he is very uneasy. He is liable to do anything of course but he is on nobody's list to play well here this week. He has been very inconsistent of late and even when he has gotten into good positions he has failed to deliver the goods. Lingmerth played well here in Wisconsin in the 2015 PGA finishing 12th and Whistling Straits is one of the courses I'm looking to as a comparison. In a 3 way market and the uneasiness of Stenson I have to part with a few pounds here.
CHAN KIM should not be rank outsider in his three ball against Pepperell and Bourdy. Although we don't know an awful lot about the American he is at an all time career high ranked 262 in the world. He qualified for this US Open in the same week he won the Mizuno Open in Japan which gives him entry into the Open Championship at Birkdale next month. Two major qualifications back to back clearly show he is producing some solid golf. Pepperell, although playing some better stuff lately still cuts a forlorn figure on the fairways. Mentally I don't think he is equipped for a test like this at Erin Hills. Gregory Bourdy is a solid favourite for this 3 ball and understandably so given his experience. He too though hasn't done an awful lot all year and can not be relied upon on testing conditions like these. Kim is worth chancing on day one.
