Golf fans know Congressional well as several PGA Tour events have been staged there but the course will be so much tougher than any yet played on the Maryland track. Paul Krishnamurty has five tips for punters hoping to turn a profit on the 111th US Open
Beware reading too much into recent form at Congressional This year's US Open venue is one that PGA Tour followers should know pretty well. Congressional Country Club has hosted four events this century - the Booz Allen Classic in 2005, plus three AT&T Nationals between 2007 and 2009. Form students, however, should be wary of making assumptions based on those results. On each occasion, the course was set up much easier than it will be for this major championship, and we certainly won't see anything like the -13 recorded by Tiger Woods in 2009. The fairways will be narrower, and the rough much more penal. Defending champion Graeme McDowell predicts nobody will finish under par.
Congressional will retain its basic character from the last time it hosted this major, but golf has changed markedly since 1997 and so has this layout. It was substantially redesigned by Rees Jones in 2006, and the greens were renovated following that latest PGA Tour event. The par-3 18th is now the 10th, and plays in the reverse direction, with the brutal par-4 17th now becoming the final hole. Consequently, while some players will doubtless draw confidence from positive past memories, everybody is in effect playing a new course.
Accuracy and good scrambling are the keys to success Despite those changes, we can make certain basic assumptions about any US Open layout, as the USGA always demands they are set up to be a battle for survival, with level par always a good score. US Open fairways are never generous, and the rough is always penal. Temperatures are usually high so without rain, the greens tend to dry out, often becoming virtually impossible to hold. This combination demands accuracy off the tee in order to retain control from the fairway, a pinpoint second shot to hold the green, plus world-class scrambling skills. Indeed, Ernie Els' victory at Congressional in 1997 owed plenty to his scrambling prowess, repeatedly saving par from tricky greenside positions.
The weather will, as always, be pivotal. If rain softens the course, Congressional could favour the big-hitters as there are some very long par-fours. Given that we're in June, though, the likelihood is that we'll see firm, fast running fairways, in which case power off the tee will be virtually irrelevant.
Continued: Golf Betting
Beware reading too much into recent form at Congressional This year's US Open venue is one that PGA Tour followers should know pretty well. Congressional Country Club has hosted four events this century - the Booz Allen Classic in 2005, plus three AT&T Nationals between 2007 and 2009. Form students, however, should be wary of making assumptions based on those results. On each occasion, the course was set up much easier than it will be for this major championship, and we certainly won't see anything like the -13 recorded by Tiger Woods in 2009. The fairways will be narrower, and the rough much more penal. Defending champion Graeme McDowell predicts nobody will finish under par.
Congressional will retain its basic character from the last time it hosted this major, but golf has changed markedly since 1997 and so has this layout. It was substantially redesigned by Rees Jones in 2006, and the greens were renovated following that latest PGA Tour event. The par-3 18th is now the 10th, and plays in the reverse direction, with the brutal par-4 17th now becoming the final hole. Consequently, while some players will doubtless draw confidence from positive past memories, everybody is in effect playing a new course.
Accuracy and good scrambling are the keys to success Despite those changes, we can make certain basic assumptions about any US Open layout, as the USGA always demands they are set up to be a battle for survival, with level par always a good score. US Open fairways are never generous, and the rough is always penal. Temperatures are usually high so without rain, the greens tend to dry out, often becoming virtually impossible to hold. This combination demands accuracy off the tee in order to retain control from the fairway, a pinpoint second shot to hold the green, plus world-class scrambling skills. Indeed, Ernie Els' victory at Congressional in 1997 owed plenty to his scrambling prowess, repeatedly saving par from tricky greenside positions.
The weather will, as always, be pivotal. If rain softens the course, Congressional could favour the big-hitters as there are some very long par-fours. Given that we're in June, though, the likelihood is that we'll see firm, fast running fairways, in which case power off the tee will be virtually irrelevant.
Continued: Golf Betting
