US Masters '08

Curran

Lads,

Was wondering who ya's fancy for the green jacket this year!!......other than Tiger
Thinking I might stick a few quid on Stenson @ 45/1 or Cink @ 80/1 (e/w)

ant043

i dunno why but i have a funny feeling about kj choi.

WHIP IT!

ant043 wrote: »

i dunno why but i have a funny feeling about kj choi.

Ha - that is a funny feeling...

I'm gonna vote for Harrington to put up a good showing... He was excellent last year at the Master's and would have won it where it not for a rare mistake in course management when he insisted on taking on the par-fives and ended up playing them five-over par... the eventually winner, Zach Johnson, layed up at every single long hole that week and won the tournament...

pd101

Stuart Appleby has had top 10 finishes in 6 of his last 7 starts. So if there is going to be an outsider going to win it, he'd be my bet. He missed the cut in his last tournament though.

madds

ant043 wrote: »

i dunno why but i have a funny feeling about kj choi.

That's a good call. Since changing coach, Choi finished 5th on the US Tour in 2007 with 2 wins coming at the Memorial and the AT&T with a certain Tiger in the field. His putting was also vastly improved in 2007. He switched to a new thick-gripped putter and jumped up to 66th in the Putting Average stats from 132nd the year before.

He also led last year's Open at halfway, and finished 12th in the USPGA.

I've place bets on Rory Sabbatini and Sean O'Hair.

ant043

o'hair definitely looks a good bet. Dunno about sabbatini, maybe each way. He has to be one of the biggest bottlers on the us tour.

Curran

ant043 wrote: »

....feeling about kj choi.

He's actually the man I'm going to back - just wondering what you thought about other outside bets - thinking about putting money on Stenson and Cink as E/W bets

PhilipMarlowe

Previous history in the competition seems to count for a lot in the majors, particularly the masters. It's often the case with a winner there that they have had a couple of top 10's if not top 5's (or better) there before, like mickleson...
Harrington fits in here nicely with a 5th and 7th I think to his name. Now also already a major champion so perhaps could be 'easier' for him. I still wouldn't ever be comfortable putting cash on him to win

Of course, you also have great recent golfers who often came close but got no cigar:
Norman and Els probably most obvious, Nick Price, Davis Love, David Duval..... come to mind.

I hope it's a european player, love to see garcia win but he has a very up and down (more down) history there.
Baddeley for a top 10 finish perhaps too.

PhilipMarlowe

Choi has been 3rd once but otherwise unspectacular. Cink 10th but otherwise lots of 20th ish finishes.... couldn't close out a couple of times already this year (i'd call them collapses though one was against tiger, o'hair since then). I wouldn't dream of backing him, though he can be a very impressive player sometimes.

f22

Justin Rose is without doubt my best rated for a European victory at a major in 08, the one major downside to my bet is is a Mr. T Woods, whoever he is.