Furyk - in great form.

By Dave Tindall

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Betting Box Tipping Guide

BETTING BOX
FIXED ODDS
	1.5pts e.w. Jim Furyk at 16/1 (General 1/4 1,2,3,4,5).	Playing superb golf at present and has incredible record in this part of the US.
	2pts win Jim Furyk 'without Woods' at 11/1 (Betfred).	Woods may be the only man capable of stopping him.
	1.5pts e.w. Adam Scott at 33/1 (General 1/4 1,2,3,4,5).	Vastly talented Aussie is much improved in the majors this season.
	1pt e.w. Lucas Glover at 150/1 (General 1/4 1,2,3,4,5).	Excellent record on longer courses and still in hunt for Ryder Cup spot.
	1pt e.w. Tim Clark at 80/1 (Sporting Odds, Stan James 1/4 1,2,3,4,5).	Has managed a top three in all three US majors and can handle long courses.
	1pt forecast Tiger Woods to win & Sergio Garcia to finish second at 50/1 (Paddy Power).	A repeat of the 1999 USPGA at Medinah is far from out of the question.

Punters may be inclined to check out the US Tour's Driving Distance stats given that Medinah - scene of this week's USPGA - will will the longest course ever used in major championship history.

But Luke Donald, a lowly 152nd in DD, isn't bothered by the seemingly daunting 7,561-yard track.

"It felt more like 7,100 yards," said the Englishman after a practice round last week, revealing that a good chunk of Medinah's length is in its par 5s.

To prove that long courses don't necessarily favour long hitters I've looked at results from the last 10 full-field tournaments played on courses over 7,400 yards long (I've not included the International as it's played at altitude where the ball flies further).

And the top tens are a total mix of players. In fact, the longest hitter on Tour, Bubba Watson, doesn't feature once but there are entries from statistically puny hitters such as Tim Clark (186th in DD) and Olin Browne (192nd).

The added length does mean one thing however. Tiger Woods won't be able to keep his driver in his bag as he did do at Hoylake and that means he must conquer Medinah with the club which troubles him most.

Unfortunately for his rivals, that's the one minus in a sea of positives for Tiger.

Woods now appears to have reclaimed the psychological hold he had over his rivals in the early part of the decade - witness how his rivals folded at Hoylake. And since his win in Liverpool, he's confirmed that with another victory, the 50th of his US Tour career, at the Buick Open.

There is also the little matter of Tiger winning the last USPGA held at Medinah in 1999. That was just Tiger's second major title and since then he's added nine more.

I think the fact that Jack Nicklaus' record tally of 18 majors remains in the distance is a real pain for Tiger's rivals. Had the record been nine and Tiger had passed it, would his motivation be quite as strong? While it's still over the horizon, Tiger is playing like a man possessed to reach and pass Jack's target and his hunger and desire is simply unmatched.

I almost can't see past him this week, the only ray of light for the rest being his wonky driving. But is there any kudos in tipping up a 2/1 chance? I think not.

However, there is one Tiger bet which I quite like.

Paddy Power are offering a 50/1 forecast bet about a repeat of the 1999 Medinah result with Tiger beating Sergio Garcia into second.

Garcia famously gave Woods the fright of his life seven years ago with his famous eyes shut shot and scissor-kick up the fairway but had to settle for a memorable second place.

The Spaniard has challenged in numerous majors since but has always had to settle for the minor placings. But he remains a man to watch in the majors. Only last month, he and Woods went out in the last group at Hoylake and even though Garcia fell away that day he might be able to push Tiger again on a Medinah course which clearly suits his game.

As you'd back Tiger in a tight finish every time, the chances of Garcia reversing the placings from 1999 seems as unlikely as ever so, if you think Tiger is already home and hosed, the 50/1 about Garcia finishing runner-up is worth taking, especially as tied second is also allowed under the terms of the bet.

But, despite my huge respect for Tiger, my headline tip this week is Jim Furyk.

I've tipped Furyk each-way in both the US Open and Open championship and he's returned a profit both times with tied second and fourth place finishes.

Since then he's finished runner-up to Woods in the Buick Open to confirm the belief that, on present form, he's the number two golfer in the world right now.

Another huge plus for Furyk is his incredible record in the state of Illinois.

Furyk's last 10 finishes in the mid-west state read: 4th, 1st, 7th, 3rd, 1st, 3rd, 8th, 34th, 7th, 6th.

The 8th place was in the 1999 USPGA at Medinah so he boasts specific course form as well.

Hopefully, Donald's comments allay any fears that this course is too long for him and, to further remove doubts, Furyk won this year's Wachovia Championship on a course measuring 7,442 yards.

Clearly, Furyk's continued excellence impacts his price and, after the 20/1 for the US Open and 40s for the Open, we have to take 16/1 here.

But that's fair enough for me. His current form figures read 2-4-4-2 and when you add in his Tiger-esque like form figures in Illinois he has fantastic credentials. Certainly better than some of the other big guns who are lamely thrown in at around the 16/1 mark for major after major.

As he's 11/1 in Betfred's market 'without Woods', we'll also play that as he has a great chance of being best of the rest.

I vowed at the start of the year to back Phil Mickelson in every US major. It worked at the Masters and should have worked in the US Open.

Deserting him now may seem unwise but I still think there are aftershocks following his horrendous final hole cock-up at Winged Foot. He hasn't looked the same player since and even though he's thick-skinned enough to shake off the mental scars quicker than most I still think he's a little vulnerable.

Vijay Singh has a good record on long courses and perhaps his 49th at Medinah in 1999 was due partly to the extra pressures of defending his first major title.

But compare his credentials to Furyk's and it's no contest and yet their prices are very similar. It's a similar story with Ernie Els, who missed the cut at Medinah in 1999.

Moving on, let's not forget that the USPGA has a reputation for throwing up first-time major winners even though the trend hasn't been quite as strong in recent years.

One outstanding candidate to break his duck this year is Adam Scott.

The Aussies have had a cracking season on the US Tour in 2006 but Scott has yet to join the winners' party.

However, he's been extremely consistent. Since a 27th at the US Masters, Scott has bagged a second, two thirds, a fourth, an eighth at Hoylake and nothing worse than a tied 21st in any event on US soil.

One of his goals this season was to improve his record in the majors and he's bettered his finish in each one - 27th, 21st, 8th.

Everything looks in place and with the added belief he has now, I expect a big, big challenge.

The USPGA is the last-chance saloon for the Americans seeking a Ryder Cup place and one of those bubbling under takes my eye this week.

Lucas Glover is the man in question and his name pops up four times when looking at the list of top 10 finishers in the last 10 tournaments held on courses over 7,400 yards.

Glover is 11th in Total Driving so hits it both long and straight (Scott is 14th incidentally) and 13 top 10s in the last two seasons, including a win at Walt Disney, shows he's someone to be taken seriously.

True, his brief record in the majors is miserable so far but, as this is the one that most resembles a regular US Tour event, he may feel more at home.

Glover is 2nd in Par 5 Performance this season so will enjoy having four to go at and he knows he needs a big performance to jump from 14th and bag a place in the US Ryder Cup team.

The pressure is on of course but he looks like he can handle it and at 150/1 the rewards are serious if he performs to his best.

A European has not won the USPGA since Scotland's Tommy Armour in 1930 so it doesn't bode well for Donald, Monty, Harrington and co.

Apart from Garcia, I would pick Donald as the most likely to end that serious drought as the Englishman is based in Chicago and played all his college golf in these parts.

But it's a South African who gets the final place in our staking plan.

The length of the course seems to have persuaded the layers that Tim Clark will have less of a chance here than he would at a US Open but I don't think that's the case.

Clark supposedly had no chance at Augusta but he made a mockery of those claims by finishing runner-up.

That means he's had a top three finish in all the US majors (2005 US Open and 2003 USPGA) and it wouldn't surprise me if his first win on American soil came in a major.

With the rough expected to be a factor this week, Clark's straight hitting will allow him to play his approach shots from the fairway.

And even though he may be hitting from further back than most it's worth pointing out that he ranks 15th in the stats for Approach shots hit from 200 yards or over.