Originally Posted by ijuandaQLD

Hey Sands,
more on this weeks open in a sec.

as for last week a massive effort from Steve Stricker to take out the John Deere. After a very ordinary even par first round a blazing 10under 61 in round 2 leap frogged all but Darron Stiles to see him second through the halfway stage. Solid golf from there in along with an awesome eagle on early in round four saw him hold off a host of players including my pick from the start of the week Zach Johnson.

Johnson was good all week without being great while was good to see Matt Jones return to form and a tie for fourth, he also took out the top aussie and it was great to see all the aussies have a great weekend.

Now onto this weeks open and sands to answer your first question no i dont think tiger just wins.......but it is close. Tiger has a habit of starting poorly in majors. rarely does he shoot better than par. another little habit he has is bogeying or worse on the last hole of his round early in tournaments.

The weather will play a big part this week with miserable 'normal' english weather expected all week long. We havent had a british open for a few years where a +6 or +7 score won and this week could be it. with the bad weather and the fact they've made the rough into a monster. The course is long without being unreachable. but i keep coming back to who can play in the wind???? Tiger is proven as are a few others

Aussie Contingent

Of the aussies Ogilvy has to be the one to get on. sits top on putts per GIR and that stat at a British Open is vital. Is a great striker of the ball and last week's finish at the Scottish Open is a great warm up.

Adam Scott is a tough golfer to get on. Is an outstanding talent who showed last week he can play the european style of golf with a tie fourth. but he also showed that when something goes wrong in a round he cant put it behind him straight away and it affects the rest of his round. last weeks 3rd round 2 over was bad in every way. i watched the round and Scottie had every opportunity to walk off the course with a 4 or 5 under but he lost his head. While he is a good player and belongs in the top 10 in the world he'l never be great.

Rod Pampling is probably my tip. Here's a bloke who just goes out there and gets the job done no matter what the conditions or the course. has an all round game and has performed well in the past in this tournament. Like oogilvy and scott had a good week last week at the Scottish.

Of the A's, Appleby and Allenby im not fans. Appleby is out of form and doesnt really perform in major tournaments. Allenby on the other hand is quite a golfer and rarely puts in a bad performance however he's also proved the only place he wins is on home soil.

Of the rest give a plug to Terry Pilkadaris. has been playing the euro tour for many years now and has been doing it well. while i give him no chance of winning the tournament i think he's juicy odds at $67.00 to finish top aussie (at least for 10 bucks)

Tournament Winner

Not game to pick against Tiger. i found it funny the other day when i overheard someone at my golf club say tiger hadnt really found form since coming back from surgery. i walked over to the bloke and laughed in his face. 9 2009 starts, 3 wins and 8 top 10's and the other was in the WGC matchplay which he never plays his best. Bulls-h-i-t he's not in form. The bloke is a magician.

Anthony Kim. I dont think he has the game to win a British Open. I put him and Rory Mcilroy in very similar categories (Hunter Mahan too) They are all great players who on their day play better one round golf than anyone (including tiger) The difference between these three is Mcilroy is on his home turf. his type of course and his type of weather.


Biggest Danger : Henrik Stenson, another solid young golfer who can fire when needed. Loves the big tournament environment and can win on this type of course.

Defending Champion : Padraig Harrington has won the last two, a third is highly unlikely especially given his latest form. Dont like him at all

ONes To Watch: Ian Poulter finsihed second last year and has an amazing short game. Martin Kaymer absolutely love this kid. remember two years ago i had him going for 8000 in a tournament and he was one in front with two to play, he finished bogey, double bogey and lost by two. that is the only time ive seen him take a backward step. since then he's gotten better and better. will win a major its just a matter of when. Soren Kjeldsen and Soren Hansen. The two Sorens are great euro tour players and while probably dont have the class to win an Open they do have the ability to finish top 5. watch out for them over next few weeks to win one.

Thing to note::::: Three Opens have previously been held at Turnberry, the classic finish which saw Tom Watson down Jack Nicklaus, Greg Normans win and Nick Price in 1994.

That sort of gives you an idea the type of player that wins an Open at Turnberry. That said the Jug will go to Tiger. Poulter Ogilvy Stenson Pampling top 10