betED.com- The View from the Couch - by Gavin McDougald!
July 19th, 2006 - Open Up
The British Open, oh sorry, The Open Championship (if you don?t say it that way the stuffies at the Royal and Ancient go into a snit) has been, for more than a century now, the truest test in golf. So say the Europeans. Conversely, the folks from North American, where the grass is actually green, look at their across-the-pond flogging compadres and wonder, ?Ummm, why do you do that to themselves??
Watching the PGA tour over here week-in and week-out, our exposure is to perfect checkerboard fairways and too green greens. The rough is rarely too rough, and going low is commonplace. Contrast that with the courses where the Open is played, well, it?s hard to tell that they are courses at all. That?s even true when you are in the middle of playing on one.
St. Andrews, the birthplace of the game of golf, is the blueprint for what the Royal and Ancients believe all courses should be. There they insist first-timers hire a caddie. Not to carry clubs so much, and once you see how frail some of those fellers are, the last thing you would want to do would be to burden them with your Callaways. Rather, when playing you require someone experienced to point you in the right direction. And not only in the middle of the ?fairways,? but off the tees as well. The local motto being, "Caddying is not brain surgery, it's far more complicated."
Because of all that, traditionally this is the week where golf writers wax on poetically about how different the games are depending on which continent you are standing. Not so much this year however. The last major, played just a few weeks back at a place called Winged Foot took all the fun out of that.
It took the fun out of a lot of stuff.
Seve Ballesteros, the winner of five major championships, including three British Opens ripped the U.S. Golf Association for setting up the U.S. Open at Winged Foot so brutally. Said Seve, ''I watched 45 minutes of the third round and didn't see a single birdie, so I decided to switch off. ... It is very sad to see real champions finishing plus-20, and I don't think that is the spirit of the game.?
How tough a test was it? Just ask Tiger Woods, who for the first time in his career missed a cut in a Major. He described it as the ?toughest? set-up course ever. Or Phil Mickelson, who will be forever and ever plagued by his hilarious decision making on the 72nd hole. That course punished him like no others. One wee brain cramp and once again Lefty becomes a golfing punch line for all eternity.
Psycho-tough Carnoustie is scheduled for the 2007 Open Championship. I?d wager lots of players wouldn?t have even bothered to show up if the tournament had been there this year. Coming off a U.S. Open that was literally painful to watch, this Open Championship, because of where it?s being played, is already shaping up to be a beauty.
Everyone is excited about the Royal Liverpool Golf Club set up. Britain is in the middle of a scorching heat wave, with temperatures soaring into the 90s. A long dry-spell has even prompted officials at the course to post fire warnings. As a result, it?s playing fast and short, prompting a number of players to talk openly about breaking Tiger?s 2000 British Open record of 19-under par.
Including Tiger.
Playing a 2-iron stinger off many of the tees, he said, "We certainly don't ever play a golf course this fast. If the wind doesn't blow, you can make some birdies out there."
This role reversal will be a welcome respite from the earlier major punishment and powers that be over there seemed to have embraced the idea of making it as fun as possible.
Here at betED.com, the favorite looks to be Tiger again at +375 with Phil Mickelson at +425 and Ernie Els at +750 to round out the top three.
It seems the world #1 is harboring a grudge against the former #1 over some comments Faldo made during a broadcast more than 2 years ago. As fun would have it, they are pared together for the first two days.
Tiger admitted he was ?surprised? and didn?t expect there to be much chitchat going on.
Faldo on the other hand has something else in mind. "Maybe I will surprise him and babble to him all the way round the golf course."
As to the wagering we can do?
If you are going to take any player, of course you have to start with Woods. His odds, though insanely short by golf?s standards, they are still tantalizingly wager-able considering he?s won the thing twice since 2000.
Next up odds-wise is Mickelson, however his best finish in an Open Championship was a third. With a course set up for creativity and brainpower, Phil?s recent performance makes him semi-untouchable.
Then there is Vijay Singh (+775) who has won before. However, that was way back when, when he could putt. Ernie Els (+750) still isn?t right after blowing up his knee sailing, (golfers should always avoid the water.) Padraig Harrington (+1250) is way up there considering he has never won a major.
If you are going to take a flier on someone with long odds, yet with recent golfing chops, look to the likes of Colin Montgomerie (+2300), Adam Scott (+2350) or a suddenly resurgent Mike Weir (+2500).
Last time the Open was played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in 1967, eventual winner Roberto De Vicenzo put a ?100 bet on himself and collected ?7,000.
Long shots are sometimes worth the gamble
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
July 19th, 2006 - Open Up
The British Open, oh sorry, The Open Championship (if you don?t say it that way the stuffies at the Royal and Ancient go into a snit) has been, for more than a century now, the truest test in golf. So say the Europeans. Conversely, the folks from North American, where the grass is actually green, look at their across-the-pond flogging compadres and wonder, ?Ummm, why do you do that to themselves??
Watching the PGA tour over here week-in and week-out, our exposure is to perfect checkerboard fairways and too green greens. The rough is rarely too rough, and going low is commonplace. Contrast that with the courses where the Open is played, well, it?s hard to tell that they are courses at all. That?s even true when you are in the middle of playing on one.
St. Andrews, the birthplace of the game of golf, is the blueprint for what the Royal and Ancients believe all courses should be. There they insist first-timers hire a caddie. Not to carry clubs so much, and once you see how frail some of those fellers are, the last thing you would want to do would be to burden them with your Callaways. Rather, when playing you require someone experienced to point you in the right direction. And not only in the middle of the ?fairways,? but off the tees as well. The local motto being, "Caddying is not brain surgery, it's far more complicated."
Because of all that, traditionally this is the week where golf writers wax on poetically about how different the games are depending on which continent you are standing. Not so much this year however. The last major, played just a few weeks back at a place called Winged Foot took all the fun out of that.
It took the fun out of a lot of stuff.
Seve Ballesteros, the winner of five major championships, including three British Opens ripped the U.S. Golf Association for setting up the U.S. Open at Winged Foot so brutally. Said Seve, ''I watched 45 minutes of the third round and didn't see a single birdie, so I decided to switch off. ... It is very sad to see real champions finishing plus-20, and I don't think that is the spirit of the game.?
How tough a test was it? Just ask Tiger Woods, who for the first time in his career missed a cut in a Major. He described it as the ?toughest? set-up course ever. Or Phil Mickelson, who will be forever and ever plagued by his hilarious decision making on the 72nd hole. That course punished him like no others. One wee brain cramp and once again Lefty becomes a golfing punch line for all eternity.
Psycho-tough Carnoustie is scheduled for the 2007 Open Championship. I?d wager lots of players wouldn?t have even bothered to show up if the tournament had been there this year. Coming off a U.S. Open that was literally painful to watch, this Open Championship, because of where it?s being played, is already shaping up to be a beauty.
Everyone is excited about the Royal Liverpool Golf Club set up. Britain is in the middle of a scorching heat wave, with temperatures soaring into the 90s. A long dry-spell has even prompted officials at the course to post fire warnings. As a result, it?s playing fast and short, prompting a number of players to talk openly about breaking Tiger?s 2000 British Open record of 19-under par.
Including Tiger.
Playing a 2-iron stinger off many of the tees, he said, "We certainly don't ever play a golf course this fast. If the wind doesn't blow, you can make some birdies out there."
This role reversal will be a welcome respite from the earlier major punishment and powers that be over there seemed to have embraced the idea of making it as fun as possible.
Here at betED.com, the favorite looks to be Tiger again at +375 with Phil Mickelson at +425 and Ernie Els at +750 to round out the top three.
It seems the world #1 is harboring a grudge against the former #1 over some comments Faldo made during a broadcast more than 2 years ago. As fun would have it, they are pared together for the first two days.
Tiger admitted he was ?surprised? and didn?t expect there to be much chitchat going on.
Faldo on the other hand has something else in mind. "Maybe I will surprise him and babble to him all the way round the golf course."
As to the wagering we can do?
If you are going to take any player, of course you have to start with Woods. His odds, though insanely short by golf?s standards, they are still tantalizingly wager-able considering he?s won the thing twice since 2000.
Next up odds-wise is Mickelson, however his best finish in an Open Championship was a third. With a course set up for creativity and brainpower, Phil?s recent performance makes him semi-untouchable.
Then there is Vijay Singh (+775) who has won before. However, that was way back when, when he could putt. Ernie Els (+750) still isn?t right after blowing up his knee sailing, (golfers should always avoid the water.) Padraig Harrington (+1250) is way up there considering he has never won a major.
If you are going to take a flier on someone with long odds, yet with recent golfing chops, look to the likes of Colin Montgomerie (+2300), Adam Scott (+2350) or a suddenly resurgent Mike Weir (+2500).
Last time the Open was played at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in 1967, eventual winner Roberto De Vicenzo put a ?100 bet on himself and collected ?7,000.
Long shots are sometimes worth the gamble
Cheers - Gavin McDougald - AKA Couch
