Angels And Fairways: Cabrera Hot For US Open
With dense six inch long rough framing the fairways and the fastest greens the players face all year it´s never a surprise to see level par win the season´s second Major – the US Open. Angel Cabrera´s 5 over was enough to see the Argentinian win at Oakmont in 2007.
Torrey Pines, outside San Diego, hosts this year´s renewal and there is no reason to believe that the scoring will be much lower. The venue, which plays host to early spring´s Buick Invitational, has been extended to a mammoth 7,643 yards - the longest in US Open history - which should help us narrow down our punting portfolio.
Purists will argue that straight hitters, who keep things nice and tidy like Jim Furyk, are the identikit winner for a US Open but how does that explain wild big hitting Argie Cabrera winning last year? The gut feeling is that sheer length, even if the ball ends up in the rough, will be more of an advantage than being short and accurate this week.
With that in mind it is a pleasant surprise to see the defending champion quoted at such long odds. The big man from Cordoba feasts on rare steaks in the close season and hardly gets out of bed until the spring which means his form can often be misleading. But his Major record is excellent and those who were taken by surprise at Oakmont last year clearly overlooked his pedigree when courses are set up at their toughest.
Our other pick is San Diego resident Phil Mickelson who played the course hundreds of times as a youth. Lefty has won the Buick Invitational event three times so clearly loves the course and the Bodog spies tell us he´s been seen practising like a dervish at the course in preparation for the event.
With question marks over Tiger Woods´ fitness Mickelson´s current odds could be the bargain of the decade.
To place some wagers on Mickelson or Cabrera then check out Bodog's PGA Golf odds.
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