Golf betting blog: Wonderkid wins in Washington

Downthe18th reflect on the magic that unfolded at Chambers Bay last weekend, and whaqt you could have won

Golf betting blog: Wonderkid wins in Washington

Monday morning – groggy-eyed, sleep-deprived and half a dozen alarms later we asked ourselves, was it worth staying up till 3am? Oh you bet ya.

The entertainment value of events like that is priceless with more plot twists than an Eastenders Christmas Special.

Let's talk about Jordan Spieth. The 21-year-old entered the week at 9/1 slotting in behind deserved favourite Rory McIlroy (5/1). Jordan was never more than 3 off the lead after the first round and as you can imagine, 2/1 was the best price you were getting as he entered Sunday at Chambers Bay.

For Spieth and his caddie Michael Grellar, the course was all too familiar, well sort of.

Grellar had caddied over 40 rounds around this place and actually first met up with the now two-time major winner just down the road in the 2011 U.S.Amateur at Gold Mountain. Naturally, Spieth won. 

They then played in Grellar's pre-wedding foursome around Chambers Bay two years ago, a wedding that meant Spieth would sacrifice the WGC Bridgestone and guaranteed money – but that's just the kind of guy he is.

Behind the 'golden child' was DJ. His three-putt on 18 drew grimaces from just about everyone in golf. Thursday morning he was up at 22/1, considered value by many on what was perceived as a bombers track.

The storylines continue. Louis Oosthuizen was a pre-tournament 100/1 but that doesn't tell the half of it.

Teeing off on Thursday alongside Tiger and Rickie, none of the trio got it going. At +7, Louis still came out three shots clear of Woods, four of Fowler. He sat in the market at 300/1. Not bad for the guy who picked up 11 shots to par over the final three rounds, finishing in just 29 blows over his closing 9 holes. He's 45/1 for the Open at St Andrews, a course where he has won before...

How about this one? Cameron Smith (300/1), 21-years-old, finished up in a tie for 4^th alongside fellow Aussie Adam Scott (40/1).

This guy back in 2014 ranked 917^th in the world after missing the cut at the Oates Victorian Open on the PGA Tour of Australia. He's now 89 in the world with temporary status on the PGA Tour until the end of 2015. He's had worse weeks.

The other man to share a tie for 4^th was of course Branden Grace (125/1). A stunning effort from the Pretorian who up until a horror-show on 16 was looking like continuing his 100% success rate of converting 54-hole leads.

All in all, what a week. Bring on St Andrews.

Head over to the golf betting blog www.downthe18th.wordpress.com for this week's preview and picks.

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