Lee challenging big two

SPORT BETTING:I CAN’T make up my mind which is irritating me most at the moment . . . England’s World Cup woes; the incessant noise from the stands which makes it seem as though matches are being played in a bee hive; or that horrendous fat singer in the Go Compare adverts.

It’s so close between the three that it will have to go to a play-off, which brings us rather neatly to Lee Westwood.

Our Lee is currently the world’s best golfer. OK, he did not win the Masters or the Players’ Championship as he should have, but he was the dominant player for much of those two competitions and he finally fell over the line in a play-off for the St Jude Classic in Memphis on Sunday.

That win should have set up Westwood rather nicely for the US Open which gets under way at Pebble Beach tomorrow.

Not surprisingly, the bookies are taking few chances with our man, who is third favourite to land his first and long-overdue major.

The Worksop wonder is a best-priced 12-1 with his playing partner on the first two days, Tiger Woods, the 8-1 joint jolly alongside golf’s other superstar, Phil Mickelson.

Woods has been off the pace since returning from his self-imposed exile from golf, but Pebble Beach was the venue for his amazing 15-shot victory in 2000 and that statistic alone makes him a man to be feared this weekend.

Mickelson, winner of the Masters in such great style, also has plenty going for him, but this is an event in which outsiders tend to prosper.

Lucas Glover was any price when winning last year and it’s these lesser-known American golfers who tend to come to the fore in this tournament.

I was tempted to go for Woods now he has become a realistic price but until he shows he can still hack it (or rather not hack it, if you get my meaning) in the rarefied atmosphere of a major, then I won’t be lumping on.

Instead, I am going for a couple of long-shots who have impressed me in recent weeks – Heath Slocum and Ricky Barnes.

They might not have won a major, but they are in decent form and are not the 125-1 shots the bookies would have you believe. I suggest a small amount on both, each-way (first six places) with Betfred.



BACK to England’s soccer players and their worries on and off the field.

I had expressed my reservations about Robert Green in this column before, so it was no surprise to see him blunder big time.

Never mind, I suppose we should be still be able to reach the last 16 without too much trouble, but do you really think we are looking like possible winners? Me neither.

England are 1-4 to beat Algeria on Friday night with the draw at 6-1 and the unthinkable 12s.



AMID all this sporting excitement it seems to have slipped under the radar that Australia’s cricketers are about to play over here.

The Aussies take on rejuvenated England in a five-match, one-day series starting at the Rose Bowl next Tuesday and are 4-7 to come out on top.

That’s a silly price. England wiped the floor with them in the recent Twenty20 World Cup and I think we will sort them out again. Get on at the generous 6-4.



RECOMMENDATIONS: US Open Golf, Heath Slocum, Ricky Barnes, each-way, 125-1 (Betfred); England to beat Australia in one-day series, 6-4 (Stan James, Ladbrokes).