It is moving day in the USPGA Championship on Saturday and as we so often have with the way the PGA of America set the courses up for their major we have some really big names circling around the top of the leaderboard.
Most of the star names and players we expected to feature going into the week are towards the top of the leaderboard so we are all set for a wonderful day of golf with plenty of twists and turns as players look to get into position to pounce on Sunday.
Friday Recap
It was a better day for us betting wise on Friday with two of the three bets we had safely landing. Steve Stricker and Billy Horschel saw off their playing partners without too much fuss to deliver a profit on the day despite David Lingmerth losing by a shot in his group.
Away from our bets the likes of Jordan Spieth, Henrik Stenson, Patrick Reed and Martin Kaymer all shot excellent rounds as they continue their quest for the final major of the season but it is Jimmy Walker who leads the field alongside the surprise package Robert Streb.
They are both nine under par with Jason Day and Emiliano Grillo two shots back as their nearest challengers at seven under. Henrik Stenson is alone on six under with a strong group on five under which includes Reed, Kaymer and Brooks Koepka. Hideki Matsuyama and Rickie Fowler are in the group on four under par with Jordan Spieth a shot further back.
There was late drama on Friday when Phil Mickelson birdied the last to make the cut by one but needing a par on the 18th to survive into the weekend Rory McIlroy made bogey and he joined Dustin Johnson and others in the group that won’t be here for the final 36 holes.
Saturday 2 balls
Those who made the cut go out in two balls on Saturday with the leaders off at 7.55pm UK time. The pairings go out in 10 minute intervals with the first one off shortly after 12.30pm. As ever in major championships all of the groups have been priced up and they form the focus of our betting attention on Saturday.
There are some excellent groups out early on Saturday but with those players having to go on the attack to get themselves back into this tournament I’m reluctant to get involved in those pairings. Instead I’m going to focus on a couple of later pairs.
The first of those is the Hideki Matsuyama and Harris English pairing. I’m a big fan of Matsuyama and this course does suit him with the landing areas all in front of him allowing him to bring his supreme ball striking into play and it is no surprise to me that he is inching closer to the top of the leaderboard.
Harris English is more of a surprise. Although his all-round game has been talked up plenty and should be respected he isn’t always strong mentally and weeks like this one certainly challenge the mind. I like the Japanese player here though. He is used to and comfortable being at this stage of a major whereas it might be a little new for English and on a course I expect to firm up a lot as the day goes on the slight extra inaccuracy off the tee from English could be significant.
I’m also going to get involved in the final pairing of the day. Robert Streb’s 63 on Friday was magnificent and a welcome return to form for someone who is having a really poor year and that form leads me to think that he might be found out in this company and this spotlight.
Jimmy Walker has been saying how his game is getting back to its best for a while now and we’ve finally seen that bear true out on the golf course. But for a silly bogey at the last hole on Friday he would have a one shot lead going into the weekend.
Walker leads the scrambling this week and he is high up in the strokes gained putting and they are both things which make for good scoring. Streb is putting well but if he doesn’t find the fairways and greens as often as he did on Friday he could be there for the taking. I like Walker with his experience at this stage of big events and his better all-round game.
Tips
WON – Back H.Matsuyama to beat H.English for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bwin
Back him here:
WON – Back J.Walker to beat R.Streb for a 4/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
Back him here:
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