Hi Everyone,
A mere 10 days after The Open finishing, the final Major of the year the USPGA Championship begins. The proximity of these dates has been brought about by the Olympics and of course golfs' inclusion. Clearly many of the players feel fairly cool about competing in Brazil and we only have to see how many have withdrawn to back this up. Personally I think it is great that as many sports as possible are showcased in the Olympics and the most important part of it will always be the track and field events. However, from a competitors point of view, competing in the Olympics should be the pinnacle of their sport and for the highly paid golf and tennis stars with their own Majors to compete for, this is not the case. I feel as a sport we should include amateur golfers instead, where winning a gold medal would be a unique accomplishment. Sadly the participation feels decidedly flat and with Rory airing his views at The Open Championship, we got a very good idea as to what many of the professionals think. Still when we watch Usain Bolt hurtling towards history, we will have forgotten about all
that!
Baltusrol will host the USPGA having last hosted in 2005 (won by Phil Mickleson) and will favour a strong player as it is long. So whilst contemplating possible winners (oh yes! I can do that now!!) a few contenders spring to mind. Adam Scott is a great driver of the ball and with two wins this season is in excellent form. Of course, arguably the best driver of a ball in golf is Rory and his form of late is saying that his time must be coming again. As an each way bet, long hitting American, Brooks Koepka offers good value.
However after an excellent Open (although not quite as excellent as Henrik and Phil!) I have decided to go for JB Holmes. His recent form is excellent and he drives the ball the requisite distance, averaging over 300 yards by the way and from what I saw in The Open his putting looked good. I thought as we have had all first time winners of Majors this year we would continue the trend.
Speaking of Majors, the Women's Open Championship is being played this week just up the road at Woburn. All the great and the good of the women's game will be there. If you get a chance to go and watch top players like Lydia Ko, Paula Creamer and Michelle Wie you should as this opportunity so close to home is an amazing one. We can learn so much from their terrific rhythm and unflappable persona's on the golf course.
As I am in tipping mode, I thought I would tip home girl Charlie Hull to win. She has played the course hundreds of times and is shaping up to break through to the top echelons. With that in mind I thought you might find this swing sequence I did of her in Golf Monthly interesting.
Click on the image to read the article and click here to see a YouTube video of her swing.
Hopefully there may be a few pointers for your own game to take with you next time you play.
Enjoy your golf and the lovely weather
All the best
Barney