The second round of the second major of the year takes place in New York on Friday when the 156 man field will all either be looking to make it through to the weekend or enhance their position on the leaderboard heading into the final 36 holes of the tournament.
It is fair to say that Bethpage Black showed its teeth on the opening round on Thursday and the course is only going to get tougher from here on in which will make for spectacular viewing but perhaps not quite such enjoyable playing for those involved!
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Round 1 Recap
Two men who managed to tame Bethpage were Brooks Koepka and Danny Lee. The defending champion has a one shot lead overnight after carding a near miraculous seven under par 63. Lee is a shot further back on six under and then comes Tommy Fleetwood on three under. Last week’s winner Sung Kang is in a group on two under while Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Phil Mickelson and Jordan Spieth all sit on one under. There were some big scores from established names with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Tiger Woods and Francesco Molinari all over par.
It was an up and down day of betting for us. We nailed the smallest of profits in the three balls with List and Piercy landing safely while a final hole bogey from Vegas cost us that one. Ben An was usurped by a club professional which was most annoying but we can build on that over the remainder of the week.
Friday Betting
We have an early second round leader market up and for once I’m actually going to get involved in it. I say that because the weather is set to worsen the longer the day goes on so Brooks Koepka could be the rough end of things. With that in mind it could be set up for someone out early to steal the limelight and put pressure on the defending champion.
That man can be Dustin Johnson, who at one under par is six adrift of his Ryder Cup teammate but having gone bogey free for his last 17 holes and by failing to birdie either par five left shots on the course, has the capability to go low on Friday. This is a driver’s paradise and he’s among the best in the game with that implement. There’s a chance Koepka comes back to the field here but even if he doesn’t, we are getting three places so Johnson could land the place dosh at 20/1 which will still pay nicely.
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Friday 3 Balls
The field are out in the same groups as they were on the opening day of the tournament except they are in the opposite wave. Therefore the Tiger Woods, Brooks Koepka and Francesco Molinari group will form the bulk of the TV coverage in the later wave while Dustin Johnson, Jon Rahm and Jordan Spieth will be out much earlier in the day, as will Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Phil Mickelson.
There are a number of great groups for the crowds in New York to enjoy and we’ll get to see the majority of the latter ones out onto the course in the TV coverage. I’ve found two groups that I like a bet in for this second round, one in each wave to keep the interest going throughout the day.
Chesson Hadley/Jorge Campillo/Stuart Deane
Match tees off at 13.46 BST
One of the earlier wave of groups out onto the golf course sees the American star Chesson Hadley out alongside the form Spaniard, Jorge Campillo and the Australian club professional Stuart Deane for the second time this week.
Hadley won this group with plenty to spare on Thursday and that is how I see it playing out here as well. He shot +2 for the first 18 holes so is very much still in the tournament whereas Campillo signed for a +7 round and Deane even worse than that at +12. He’s out of contention for anything and Campillo is going to have to take some risks on a brutally hard golf course for a shorter hitter. Both men gave yards off the tee to Hadley on Thursday and he can take advantage of that again on Friday.
Luke List/Abraham Ancer/Casey Russell
Match tees off at 19.11 BST
I took Luke List to see off his playing partners Abraham Ancer and Casey Russell in the opening round on Thursday and he duly obliged and I’m more than happy to be on the American once again in the second 18 holes.
The rain is expected to come in during the afternoon so this course is going to play even longer than it did on Friday, which should play into List’s hands. Both men gave List almost 20 yards on average off the tee and that is only likely to be highlighted further in soft conditions on Friday. List found 14 of the 18 greens on Thursday and that sort of long game should see him ease past a couple of men who aren’t long enough for this track.
Tips
Back D.Johnson Second Round Leader (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 21.00 with Coral (1/5 1-3)
Back him here:
Back C.Hadley to beat J.Campillo & S.Deane for a 4/10 stake at 2.20 with 888sport
WON – Back L.List to beat A.Ancer & C.Russell for a 4/10 stake at 2.00 with 888sport
Back them here:
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