7th Jun 2014 | US Open
US Open 1st Round Leader Tips: Tom Lewis
Pinehurst is reminiscent of a links course and that is where Tom Lewis has shown his best form.
Course form at the US Open is thin on the ground but Graeme McDowell gave us some insight into Pinehurst via his BBC Sport blog.
In it, he described the course as having ‘the feel of a challenge similar to the Open - especially approaching the greens. It feels like a mixture of being at St Andrews and Royal Melbourne in Australia.’
If his assertion is correct, the course could favour European based players, especially in round one.
I expect Tom Lewis to challenge for majors in years to come but at the moment he’s not consistent enough over four days to back in the outright market. Instead, he provides excellent value to be first round leader.
The 23-year-old sprang to prominence at the 2011 Open Championship when he finished T30 and was the leading amateur.
Many of his best results have come on links courses. He won the 2011 St Andrews Trophy, an international amateur event and finished T3 at last year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship after shooting an opening round of 64.
The young Englishman has made the cut in his last five tournaments with three top-25 finishes.
On a course that should suit him, he is an excellent each-way bet to be first round leader at 300/1 (Sportingbet) with ¼ odds for a top-6 finish.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 08:36 7th Jun, 2014 but subject to change
