US PGA Championship a Bridge Too Far for Tiger Woods

Frank Doyle makes his picks for the 93^rd PGA Championship at Highlands, and Tiger isn’t among them.

Tiger Woods’ return is the story of the week as the players gather for the fourth and final major. That’s how big an impact Tiger has made on the sport of golf – a tournament with Tiger is a fundamentally different thing to a tournament without him.

But from a gambling perspective, Tiger just isn’t a good bet. He can turn it on for a round but four rounds is beyond him. His putting isn’t what it was either. It may return, but it won’t come back in time to win the PGA this week.

US Open Champion Rory McIlroy is the morning line favorite at +1000, with the top two in the world, Englishmen Luke Donald and Lee Westwood, joint second favorites at +1400. McIlroy’s life has changed utterly since he won at Congressional, and newly found stardom is a big burden to adjust to. McIlroy will win another major, but he’s not a good bet at +1000 for this year’s PGA.

I’ve never had faith in Westwood to win a major and so far he hasn’t let me down. Donald is due though, and he was second at Bridgestone last week. There have been a lot of longshot winners in golf this year, but the clever money will be going with the top players for this year’s PGA. With one exception, for spice.

So with all that said, here are Sports Interaction’s

Fore! to Follow

Luke Donald (+1400). Donald is legitimately the best player in the world right now. He drives long and true, he won the Accenture, he was second last week and is clearly in form. He’s well worth a bet.

Jason Day (+2200). The Australian hasn’t won on tour but he’s been second in the Masters and the US Open. He’s made 14 of 16 cuts and he’s second in top ten finishes this year. He’s knocking on the door.

Rickie Fowler (+3000). The guy might dress like a gas pump attendant at Disneyworld, but Rickie Fowlers’s got a pretty good golf game. He’s in form, and his performance in the storms of the British Open suggests that Fowler’s got guts, despite the dress sense. Worth a look.

David Toms (+5000). 2011 is the Indian Summer of David Toms. He’s rolled back the years for five top ten finishes this year, a win a Colonial and he won the PGA when it was last held at Highlands ten years ago. What a story it would be – well worth an each way dollar.

World Golf Rankings, August 8th, 2011