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  • Michigan, U.S.A.
  • 7395 yrds Par 70

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Rhodes To Profit

Skybet odds compiler John Rhodes talks USPGA and 2011 majors

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Skysports.com: Okay, the question we all want to know. What odds was Keegan Bradley pre-tournament and did anyone back him?

John Rhodes: Bradley started at 150-1 pre event for the PGA. We took a few bets on him pre, mainly because he played well in the WGC event the week before but blew up on the final six holes. Overall, though, he was a fantastic result for us.

SS: Overall, with Westwood and Donald coming up short again, it must have been a profitable week for Sky Bet?

JR: Yes, along with Bradley, the place finishers - Dufner (250-1), Hansen (175-1), Karlsson (80-1), Toms (55-1), and Verplank (250-1) - were all great results too. It always seems to be the case with the PGA, as it usually throws up the odd huge price winner, with the likes of Beem and Micheel in recent years. Jason Day and Rickie Fowler were by far our worst results in the event, backed basically off the boards at 28-1 pre-event, but neither managed to get in a blow, despite Day starting pretty well in round one. Rory McIlroy would also have been a big loser for us, but you would expect that with him being favourite for the event.

SS: Jason Dufner had a five-shot lead standing on the 15th tee. What odds did he trade at then and what price was Bradley at that point?

JR: Dufner went to 1-50 at that point, and Bradley was out to 40-1 after his triple bogey at 15 moments earlier. It was certainly a crazy 10 minutes odds wise on Sunday night!

SS: Tiger Woods had a nightmare in Atlanta. What were his odds to miss the cut and when he started well how short did he go in-running?

JR: I went only 4-11 he made the cut and 2-1 he missed it. Gone are the days where he was 1-33 to make the cut! He was -3 under through 5 holes, and we laid him in play as short as 9-1. But then his game went into meltdown and he played the last 13 holes in 10 over par, with some really wayward shots, more likely to be seen in a monthly medal on a Sunday!

SS: Do you think Bradley has a big future? Have you got prices on him for any other forthcoming events?

JR: It's hard to say on Bradley, I was actually quite surprised to see he was only 25 years old, he looks a lot older! From what I've seen of him this year he seem to have a decent game, and certainly gets his drives out there with the best of them. You would hope he doesn't go down the Micheel, Beem and Hamilton route and never to be heard of again. We have a number of specials available on Keegan for next year: he is 25-1 to win a major, 12-1 to make the cut in all 4 majors in 2012, 16-1 to win a WGC event, and 125-1 to be in the top 20 in all 4 majors. We make him a 9-4 shot to win an event next year also.

SS: It's a long wait until the next major. How do you bet on the The Masters?

JR: Yeah not until April now, but we have McIlroy and Woods as joint favs at 9-1 at present, although that price on Woods could literally be anything at present the way he is playing. Phil Mickelson is a 10-1 shot, with major-less Lee Westwood fourth best at 16-1. Luke Donald will look to build on his fourth place in last year's Masters and is 20-1 to land his first major at Augusta. PGA winner Keegan Bradley is a 125-1 shot.

SS: Looking at the majors as a whole in 2011, what price were each of the four winners and who has won the battle between bookies and punters?

JR: We had Schwartzel at 80-1 for the Masters, a quite brilliant result as he held off Adam Scott (80-1) and Jason Day (125-1) for the Green Jacket. In the US Open Rory McIlroy started at 22-1 and quite literally blew the field away with an 8 shot victory. Punters were all over the young Hollywood man and we lost heavily on the event. Darren Clarke was a pre-Open 175-1 shot. Not that well backed prior to the Royal St George's showpiece, but once he hit the front midway through the second round, there was no stopping the punters on Clarke, and he was very well backed thereafter. We only managed to show a small profit on the week, as Mickelson (45-1), Dustin Johnson (40-1) and Thomas Bjorn (200-1) were all well backed each-way. And finally, as mentioned, Keegan Bradley was a 150-1 shot to win on his first appearance in a major which he did. Overall it was a great year for Skybet on the majors, with the Masters and the PGA being two huge results for us. If it was 'Skybet v punters' using Ryder Cup scoring I would say it finished 2.5-1.5 to us!

SS: The four majors winners now get to fill their pockets even further when they contest the Grand Slam of Golf in October. Have your priced that up?

JR: We have Dave. As you might expect, McIlroy is the favourite at 13/8, ahead of 2/1 Schwartzel, 7/2 Bradley and 4/1 Clarke.

SS: This week in America we've got the Wyndham Championship? How do you bet?

JR: A bit like after the Lord Mayor's show this week, with the events on offer, but I suppose we can't have quality fields every week! Fourth at the PGA, David Toms heads the Wyndham field at 12/1. He was second here last year so it's hard to see him out of the frame. Webb Simpson, who has thrown away some good positions this year, is second best at a well-backed 18-1, and local Carolinian Bill Haas is next best at 20-1. Expect birdies to be the order of the day this week.

SS: And in Europe, it's the Czech Open. Who heads that market?

JR: Course designer Miguel Angel Jimenez heads the market in a very weak field at 18-1. Next come last year's runners-up, Peter Lawrie and Gary Boyd, at 20s and 22s respectively. For the last three years this event has promised so much field-wise, with increased prize money, but has yet to assemble a quality field. So it remains to be seen what the organisers have to do to attract the big names.

SS: Finally, John, what is your best bet of the week?

JR: A week not to get heavily involved, but I do like Ignacio Garrido in the Czech Open. He was fourth in 2009 here and fifth in the Irish Open in his last start. I found a little course link to the Castello Masters (Lawrie/Boyd both second here last year and both thirrd in Castello) and Garrido was second last year in Spain, so the connection certainly holds up well. Plus, with Jimenez designing this course, you would expect there to be some sort of Spanish feel to the track.

SS: Thanks John.

  • John Rhodes was speaking to Dave Tindall

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