The first round gets underway in about an hour, and you would have had this sooner, but I fell into bad company yesterday at that very splendid pub The Queen’s Arms in East Garston run by the inestimable Freddie Tulloch. Whilst I started lunch with a head nod to the current calorie-conscious diet, it transpired that drinking large pink gins instead of wine, simply hindered the memory of one’s aim and purpose. The trainer suggested moving to wine and recommended a Romanian Vegan wine. The Gin blinded me to how dreadful that might be, so having finished being vegan, we moved on to Chilean something. The Racehorse Owner suggested beer might be better for one if one were on a diet, so three pints of Peroni followed before, after a seven-hour lunch, the Syndicate bosses pulled out because they were playing cricket. The Owner and The Trainer left and I went home to discover that I had caught a cold.
Frankly watching Golf, is about as active as I’m going to be able to manage today, so here is how you might avoid catching a cold on the Golf.
PATRICK REED 35/1 plays well in the wind – and this course will give him plenty of that. Having got the ball through the wind, he is also top five on many putting stats.
WILL ZALATORIS was runner-up in The Masters last month and that will have added a huge level of confidence to a skilful, young player. He tied 6th in The US Open and his top 20 on a range of stats that suggest consistency and the ability to handle this course. 55/1 with Bet365 for 8 places 1/5 odds
PAUL CASEY has yet to win a Major I know, but I’m really looking to Paul to be in contention after the third round, within say 5 of the leaders. He loves a Links course and 66/1 makes for an attractive opportunity to trade out later. He’s had four top 10 finishes this season including a Tied 5th in The Players Championship and a T5th at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
VICTOR PEREZ has a proven track record on Links courses having won The Dunhill at St Andrew’s on the old course in 2019. This year he also benefits from having JP Fitzgerald as his bagman – who was McIlroy’s caddy here in 2012 when Rory won. 225/1
TYRRELL HATTON is my wild-card hangover selection. I keep thinking he can win a major and 80% of his top 10 finishes (4/5) have been in the Open Championship and the US PGA. The other was at Shinnecock a links course, in the US Open. 45/1