With two rounds almost complete, many of the big names have already fallen by the wayside. There has been some shocking golf from the likes of McIlroy and Donald and the bookies are battening down the hatches for a Tiger Woods gamble this weekend.
Two steady rounds have left him only a couple of shots off the lead and his price has been slashed to 3-1. Lee Westwood put in a fine second round performance and is now a best priced 7-1. They will be the two names that the bookmakers will be hoping to get beaten this weekend.
Of the rum crew that I selected at the start of the tournament, only Ian Poulter and Jordan Spieth hold any lingering hopes of getting involved at the business end of the tournament. Neither are currently in pole position to claim top spot from England or the States in their respective markets but a good round on Saturday could give them a squeak.
The third round is the last chance for those on the edge of affairs to put themselves in with a chance of lifting the claret jug on Sunday evening and I expect there to be some strong forward moves. If you’ve got a decent bet on one of the early leaders you will probably be wanting to sit tight but I sometimes like to top up my bets at this stage of the tournament. At least it prolongs the interest in the tournament a little longer!
Adam Scott is on the periphery at the moment at +1 so I think he is good value to creep into contention tomorrow at 22-1. I did wonder if the shine might have gone off his game since his epic Masters victory but he seems to be back in the zone. He has played steadily so far and he only need shoot something like a 69 or a 68 tomorrow to be right in the thick of it.
My second selection is Charl Shwartzel who is on the same score after shooting 68 today. My first glimpse of him yesterday was seeing him smash his club but I take it things have picked up since then! He has a confident air about him and his confidence will be up after today’s exploits. He is currently 31-1 on Betfair.
My third new recruit is American Ryan Moore (not to be confused with the jockey of the same name!). I have been following his progress on the PGA Tour and almost included him in my bet on the top American this week. He is nicely placed at –1 and only needs to keep chipping away to be near the top on Sunday night. The bookies evidently don’t think he will last as he’s still available at 59-1.
It’s getting far too hot outside to do anything so a couple of hours watching the golf doesn’t sound so bad, particularly if we can finish up with a winner!
Adam Scott 22-1 Coral
Charl Shwartzel 31-1 Betfair
Ryan Moore 59-1 32Red
