Watson - chance to get off the mark.

By David John

Sky Bet's Odds Compare All Prices

BETTING BOX
FIXED ODDS
	1pt e.w. Bubba Watson at 33/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5 Stan James).	On fire currently and fine chance to break his PGA duck.
	1pt e.w. John Merrick at 66/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5 Blue Square).	Decent opportunity on form judged on fine effort at US Open.
	1pt e.w. Peter Lonard at 66/1 (1/4 1,2,3,4,5 general).	Sparkling finish last week and getting back to his best again.

Red-hot Kenny Perry is a single-figure price for this week's John Deere Classic as he bids to make it three wins from his last five outings.

One of the few big-name players around with no concerns about next week's Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, Perry has struck form with a vengeance since changing his mental approach in a bid to get into Paul Azinger's Ryder Cup team.

Captain Azinger wants winners on his side and Perry realised that was going to required - so victory at the Memorial and Buick Open for good measure will ensure he now plays at Valhalla in his home state of Kentucky.

The veteran is no stranger to stringing winning form together as he did a similar trick back in 2003 - but he will be 48 in early August and 8/1 is a pretty short price to be getting involved.

My three off the tee this week are Bubba Watson, John Merrick and Peter Lonard - in no particular order.

It is no shock to see Bubba heading the Driving Distance category again this season but he has managed to convert some of his thudding drives into tip-top scoring in his last two events as he arrives in absolutely scorching form.

His worst score from eight rounds at the recent Travelers Championship and the Buick Open has been 68, yielding a T6 and a second respectively while naturally boosting his bank balance significantly.

Interviews after the latter, where he just missed out on forcing a play-off with Perry, he was very much upbeat and considered it a tremendous week rather than a lost opportunity.

With that momentum, he is going to be a force to be reckoned with at 33/1 on a course where he posted a top 20 two seasons ago.

Australians have a good record at Deere Run - John Senden and Mark Hensby are both recent winners in the event - so it would be no surprise to see a back-to-form Lonard stake a solid claim.

The man from Sydney has been hindered by a back problem in 2008 but it is clear he is very much hitting peak form once more.

He closed out last week's AT&T National at Congressional with a stunning 63 to match the course record and then revealed on his personal website that he is keen to get playing once again.

"It all came together today," he said afterwards. " I was really pleased with my depth control and I am looking forward to next week at the John Deere."

His lone attempt at this tournament ended with a missed cut last year but he is worth following in current mood while relishing the prospect of playing some morre good golf.

Merrick is currently the Tour's best in the Total Driving category and it should not be long before he takes a title.

He already has three top-10s this campaign to his name, the most impressive coming with a T6 in the US Open at Torrey Pines.

He took a short break after that and should have got his eye back in last week at Congressional with a top 30 that included a 64 in round two.

Both he and Watson should be encouraged that this is in event that throws up first-time winners and they both have the game to make this a breakthrough week.