With Tiger up against a weak field at the AT&T Championships, Dan Geraghty turns his betting focus to the Open De France.
Last week's selections went well, Ryan Moore hit the top five and Bubba Watson the top 15. I'm not quite sure what happened to Kevin Na, after a good first round he withdrew near the end of his disappointing second round.
This week in the US Tiger plays host at the AT&T National. Anthony Kim has finally started to show a little form and he defends the title he won last year but this time he has a tougher task. With Tiger back from injury he takes his place in a weak field. With no strength in depth whatsoever I can't see many players challenging Tiger (who is in turn very very short in the betting), so this week's column comes from the European tour.
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Graeme McDowell has hit form in recent weeks. He knows he has the game to compete as one of the best players in the world and like a number of last year's stars he has geared his season towards peaking for the summer months. McDowell has good form in France and finished 13th in this tournament last year. He deservedly takes his place among the favourites.
Four years ago Frenchman Jean Francois Remesy won this tournament for the second year in succession, since then the French have not had a lot to shout about in their National Open. In that time the best result posted by a Frenchman was tied 15th by Gregory Havret in 2007. Last year the best of the French was Thomas Levet, who finished a disappointing 30th. This year there is reason to believe Levet can do a good deal better. A couple of years ago he'd completely lost his way, after he was diagnosed with Vertigo. He has since shown wonderful character in fighting his way back to the top and has been in the form of his life recently. He's posted four top-10 finishes in his last six starts, including a win at the Spanish Open in May. Levet will lead the French charge this week.
Danny Willett is starting to enjoy his first taste of the European Tour. He gained his first tour card this year via qualifying school, which means he's not exempt every week and only made it into this week's field as a result of finishing in the top 10 at last week's German Open. He's already had some excellent results this year and with a fourth place finish at the Welsh Open has as good as secured his card for next year. Willett has spoken of his desire to add consistency to his wonderful talent, expect him to trouble the top 20 once more.
Selections: Graeme McDowell ([22.0]), Thomas Levet ([32.0]), Danny Willett ([70.0])