Dan Geraghty outlines his three bets for the action at Bethpage Black.
Last week was a good one with David Toms finishing tied for second and trading as low as [4.7]. As well as that, Jeff Overton finished in the top-10, trading below [20.0], while Camilo Villegas posted a top-30 finish and spent a little while as favourite.
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Right, I'm not going to even contemplate opposing Tiger in this column this week, so the three against the field will come from the betting without Mr Woods.
Earlier in the year Geoff Ogilvy looked a world beater. When he beat Rory McIlroy on his way to winning the Accenture World Matchplay for his second title of the year, Ogilvy looked in total control at all times despite his opponent playing some wonderful golf. The young Irishman simply hit a brick wall in the shape of the unassuming Aussie. Since then Ogilvy's year has quietened somewhat, which may end up being a blessing. He's recently intimated that Tiger and Phil being the centre of attention will help him play his game away from the spotlight. Last week Ogilvy put in an asonishing third round 63 on his way to a 10th place finish, he already has one US Open to his name and might be about to peak at the perfect time.
Recently, Vijay Singh has looked like coming back to the form that saw him take the PGA tour by storm last year. He's driving the ball as well as anyone and if he could putt like Tiger he'd certainly have a 2009 win under his belt. Luckily for Vijay the treacherous US Open greens will make putting difficult for everyone and if it wasn't for his recent missed cut I would be massively confident.
Bethpage's huge yardage won't bother Bubba Watson. He's as long as anyone from the tee and if he drives straight he's bound to be near the top of the leaderboard. He's still searching for his first win but he's not afraid to challenge in the big tournaments, two year's ago he finished fifth in the US Open. Back Bubba for a trade.
Selections ( without Tiger Woods): Geoff Ogilvy ([16.0]), Vijay Singh ([48.0]), Bubba Watson ([150.0])