US Open Tip: David Toms e/w

While a lot has been made of the brutal length of the Congressional Country Club, it would be wrong to rule out all the more moderate hitters. It’s no good blasting the ball in excess of 300 yards on a regular basis if you can’t keep it in the fairway. A principle facet of US Open course design is that errors will be punished severely; bogeys can very easily turn into doubles and triples.

Driving accuracy is therefore an integral part of what makes a winner of this stern major test and David Toms ranks 3rd on the PGA Tour in that particular category. Perhaps even more pertinently, on a course that tests your credentials at every turn, he is the number one golfer in the all-around rating this season. Toms will inevitably face longer approach shots than many of his rivals in Maryland, but that is the case most weeks on tour where he still rates as 2nd in the greens in regulation percentage. With a scoring average of 69.97 (6th best) we might start to wonder why this tip is a 55/1 shot with William Hill.

Form is no concern whatsoever. Toms was disappointed when he lost the Players’ Championship in a play-off last month, but second was still highly creditable and what followed was really impressive. The very following week the 44-year-old bounced back with victory in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

Toms has another advantage over many of his shorter price adversaries this week in that he has won a major title already. His US PGA Championship success was one of eight top 10 finishes he has recorded in the big four events. All this can only add value to a man currently being overlooked at 55/1 with Skybet.

*Remember Skybet are paying 1/4 odds for a top six finish.