U.S. Senior Open

[Stanley]

Outright plays (total stake per play: 2pts)

Brad Bryant to win 20/1 e.w. @ BetInternet and BetFred
Just one previous appearance in this event (2005) and that was a missed cut, but that was his seventh event in a row without a top-10 finish, so he was clearly out-of-form at the time. And that is certainly not the case this year. Since winning the Toshiba Senior Classic in March, he has never finished worse than 11th, winning one more time and being defeated in a playoff to Jay Haas in the last Senior Major. In this form a repeat missed cut is unthinkable and he will surely contend yet again.

D.A. Weibring to win 50/1 e.w. @ Sportingbet and Sporting Odds
There was evidence that he was finally recovered from his injury concerns at the Senior PGA Championship five weeks ago and while he has only played twice since (and on one occasion he didn't arrive until the Friday morning because he was back in his hometown to watch his daughter in a dancing competition), his closing rounds of 69-65 last weekend to elevate him to 13th do point to a return to form and fuller fitness. If that is truly the case, then these odds are much large on a player who has finished 6th and 2nd in the last two years.

Joe Ozaki to win 66/1 e.w. @ Victor Chandler, William Hill and BlueSq
No previous history in this event for Ozaki (though he finished 25th in his sole appearance in the U.S. Open) as only reached the age of fifty a couple of months ago. But he was in contention for the first three rounds in his debut event, the Senior PGA Championship, and has improved in each of his regular Tour events, finishing 11th and 3rd in the last two weeks. He has always been a player that hits a lot of greens in regulation and that is always important in an event like this.

 

[ridle]

Tournament Matchups
McCord +105 over Floyd @WWeb

Outrights 1/4 1-5:
O'Grady 750/1 Skybet
A Small 600/1 Sportingbet
Crenshaw 150/1 Paddy Power
Levi 100/1 Skybet
Starkjohann 400/1 Victor Chandler
Mark James 100/1 Sportingbet
Hanefeld 100/1 Sportingbet
Zahringer 500/1 Paddy Power
Gockenbach 600/1 Sportingbet
Fiedler 750/1 Skybet

Bit of interesting info:
"Once you play these greens, you never forget them."

That's coming from a player who often is considered one of the best putters of all time. When he won the 1995 Masters at the age of 43, Crenshaw didn't have a three-putt during the four-day event.

With the help and guidance of Coore and Crenshaw, Prairie Dunes added new tee boxes on holes nine and 13 - giving both holes an extra 20 yards of length. The tee box on No. 18 was extended to give the finishing hole some added yardage, as well.

Five new bunkers - including two on the par-5 seventh - also were constructed under the supervision of Coore and Crenshaw, who also helped with green renovations at Prairie Dunes in 1986.


"He has been on the facility several times," Prairie Dunes Golf Course Superintendent Stan George said of Crenshaw. "You can't find anyone better to work with. Ben is as nice of a man as you will find.

"We have worked with Coore and Crenshaw quite and bit and will continue to do so because they have done such a nice job. They've worked with us for almost 20 years."


Crenshaw is confident that Prairie Dunes will prove to be a test for the 156 players, himself included, in this year's Senior Open field.

Whether Crenshaw will be a factor come Sunday remains to be seen.

With an extensive knowledge of the Dunes, it's hard to count him out.

"I've been here enough to know how things play," Crenshaw said. "It depends on that breeze. It was calm (Monday), but you know it's coming.

 

[Stanley]

Matchup plays (2pts):

Jim Dent to beat Scott Masingill -124 @ Five Dimes
He may be twelve years older than Masingill, but Dent is still the better player. They have played in seven common events in the last ten weeks with Dent finishing ahead six times and the other occasion was a tie. With Masingill yet to play in this event and Dent being a regular, finishing as high as 12th three years ago, there is little to suggest that Dent's domination of this match will end this week.

Bob Gilder to beat Tom Kite +100 @ Stan James
Kite may be the bigger name, but it is Gilder who is playing the better golf at the moment. He has finished in the top-20 in each of his six events over the last two months, whereas Kite has yet to managed that over the same period. And while Kite has three 3rd place finishes in six attempts at this title, Gilder's record of finishing no worse than 12th in four of five attempts is just as impressive. There is certainly value at these odds.

Lonnie Nielsen to beat Curtis Strange -130 @ Five Dimes
Quite a mismatch between these two. Whereas hasn't recorded a top-20 finish since the opening event of the year (a 35-player event), Nielsen was finishing 5th in last week's Greater Kansas City Golf Classic. And in terms of how they match up, Nielsen has a 16-4-0 h2h record over their last 20 common events and that includes last year's U.S. Senior Open when Strange missed the cut and Nielsen finished 29th.

 

[lostinamerica]

Outrights:

Dana Quigley(25/1) e.w. @ Sportingbet
Brad Bryant(16/1) e.w. @ Sportingbet
Ben Crenshaw(150/1) e.w. @ GolfingGods

GL