Couples is Betting Favorite at US Senior Open – PGA Golf Betting
by Charles Jay
Golf bettors know that with three majors during a one-month period, this is clearly crunch time for the betting favorites on the Champions Tour, especially for people like Fred Couples.
The "young guns" are the guys in their early 50's who have had a lot of early success on this senior circuit.
One of them, Tom Lehman, won the first major of the year, the Senior PGA, and another, Bernhard Langer, won the Senior British Open last week.
Now, in the U.S. Senior Open, which tees off Thursday at the Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, WA, the betting favorite (at +600) is Couples, who lost his first major in a playoff and now seeks some redemption.
NBC will televise this event on the weekend.
PGA Golf Betting - U.S. Senior Open
July 29 - August 1
Sahalee Country Club
Sammamish, WA
TV Schedule
(all times Eastern)
Thursday -- ESPN2: 5-9 PM
Friday -- ESPN2: 5-9 PM
Saturday -- NBC: 4-7 PM
Sunday -- NBC: 4-7 PM
Obviously it's going to be difficult to defeat Fred Couples, the +600 betting favorite in this tournament, who has burst out of the box like a rocket on the Champions Tour.
If you follow it at all, you know that Couples finished second in his initial seniors event, then reeled off three wins in a row.
In his first major as a senior golfer, he lost in a playoff to Tom Lehman, and then decided not to play in the Senior British Open last week, opting for the Canadian Open on the regular PGA Tour instead.
That was a bad bet. He missed the cut there, so he didn't get paid.
Couples has now gone five straight tournaments without winning, but he has shot over 71 in just ONE round since he has been a member of the Champions Tour.
That's a pretty incredible figure - to have shot just one round over par in nine tournaments, and that immediately makes him of interest to bettors.
Betting Odds - To Win U.S. Senior Open
- Fred Couples +600
- Corey Pavin +650
- Tom Lehman +900
- Bernhard Langer +800
- Fred Funk +1200
- Dan Forsman +1400
- Loren Roberts +1500
- Tom Pernice +1800
- Tom Watson +2200
- Mark Calcavecchia +2200
- Jay Haas +2200
- John Cook +2200
A lot of people like the momentum that Corey Pavin has, even if he hasn't won a tournament this year.
Pavin (priced at +650 in the betting) is a rare player in that he has had success on both tours this year; not only has he had three finishes in the top three on the Champions Tour, including the runner-up spot at the British Senior Open, but he made the top ten at Colonial and lost in a playoff at the Travelers Championship in the regular PGA Tour.
Like Couples, this is his first year playing senior golf.
He could cap off a great year with a win this week and victory in the Ryder Cup as the team captain (his USA team is a +160 betting underdog there).
Of course, speaking of success on the regular tour, if you're a senior golfer you can't get much closer to that than to lose in the playoff at a MAJOR, which is what Tom Watson (a longshot bet at +2000 this week) did last year in the British Open.
He didn't have much luck overseas this year, missing the cut at the British Open and tying for 24th place last week at the Senior British.
Since winning the Mitsubishi Electric Championship to kick off his 2010 campaign, bettors have noticed that Watson's results have gotten progressively worse, as he has gone T-5, T-8, T-12, T-18, and T-24.
Of course, on the plus side, he was also in the top twenty at the Masters.
Tom Lehman, who's at +900 in the betting, won the year's first major, the Senior PGA Championship, and recovered well after three bad rounds to shoot a final-round 67 and tie for eleventh at the Senior British Open.
That was only the second time this year that Lehman had not placed in the top ten on the Champions Tour.
Dan Forsman, priced at +1400 in the U.S. Senior Open betting odds, is one of those players who didn't hit it real big on the regular tour, but has had greater success, comparatively speaking, since turning to the Champions Tour.
He had top ten finishes in the Masters and PGA Championship, but did not get to play in a lot of majors.
He's been on a fairly hot streak, finishing in the top five in four of the last six tournaments he's played in, and that will bring interest from some bettors, but there have been disappointments in the senior majors this year, with a T-21 in the Senior PGA and a T-18 in Scotland last week.
Right now he occupies the top spot in Greens in Regulation.
You can assure yourself that Berhard Langer, who is +800 in the betting, is a legitimate threat in this tournament.
Langer, who won the Masters in 1985 and 1993, has been a genuine force ever since he stepped into the Champions Tour, placing in the top ten in 40 out of 57 tournaments he has played.
Bettors have taken note that he's won eleven senior events, but not a major until he won the Senior British at Carnoustie last week.
JAY'S BETTING PLAY: PAVIN (+650) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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