The real golf season starts here?

The expat romantic in me can't get over years of watching the PGA Championship from Wentworth. It's the start proper of the UK sporting summer, usually followed by the first Lords test and then before you know it, we're into the Open championship, the greatest tournament in golf. Wentworth is almost as famous as Augusta to the Brits and has the same telegenic qualities, beautiful, challenging and best of all, with two par fives to finish.

This year's field boasts eight (count em) major winners, although that does include Ben Curtis and Paul Lawrie and this year the course has been tweaked (is nothing sacred?) by none other than Theodore Ernest Els. Which is why it's a shame that they are having a terrible spell of bad weather at the moment and this week looks no better. Starting on a Friday, the tournament organisers are hoping that the clouds will at least have cleared by the weekend.

All our tips this week are people who have been brought up playing golf in really crap conditions. Step forward the massed ranks of Celtic golfers!

We really like Darren Clarke's chances this week. After his much publicised honesty (and a six at the last that cost him a home win), it would be instant karma if the golfing gods let hin win here. Of course he's got the game, he knows the course as he's got a house there (as have half the field), and whilst he's not a generous price, he'll be there on the last day.

You'll get much bigger odds on a US Tour player who grew up in one of the world's rainiest towns. Recently back on the European circuit, Philip Price is from Pontypridd, famous for being the birthplace of Tom Jones and goal kicking machine Neil Jenkins and easily the wettest place I have ever lived. Pricey had a tough time in the USA after doing brilliantly at tour school and he's ridiculous value at 300/1 with Betfair. He's very solid and might have his eye on a late run towards Ryder Cup points following his singles win over Amy's husband last time round.

We'll not be taking prices on some of the people who have blown winning positions over the last few weeks, especially Scott and Immelman, who are both being tipped by some of our competitors, but we might have a few bob on old favourite Monty if we can get three figure odds. We'll be looking to back all three to finish in the first ten. Friday start, don't forget. Hope it blows a gale!

Show me the money (at last)

Well it's been a while since we tipped JB at 190/1 and whilst the money won't run out for many, many weeks, it was great to collect on Nathan Green finishing in the top 10 last week. Betfair offered a very generous 20/1 in a poor field and whilst we were disappointed not to collect on the 370/1 bet we laid for him to win, a win is indeed "a win".

After seeing another huge outsider end up as last man standing whilst all around him chucked the tournament away, this week we'll be focusing on the beautiful West Course at Wentworth, rather than try to pick a winner from the worst field of the US Tour for years. Stay tuned for an update and news from the course.

The loneliness of the long price punter?

Winless again. Just like the so called favourites of the last few weeks (months!) we're struggling to find any form lines in this crazy world of $6MILLION purses for tournaments where none of the worl'd top five bother to turn up. Whilst Weitterich, Couch et al help themselves to the gazillions of dollars on offer, our list of people who "can't win" continues to grow. What's Adam Scott's excuse? Immelman? They're both off our list for a while...

This week we go to Texas. The Colonial has one weird formline, in that it's often won by what we could call ahem "older players". Kenny Perry has won here twice in the last three years, last year winning by seven shots. He must be backed, even though it might seem like a bit of a pyrrhic victory (down the stretch he was battling against Billy Mayfair and Joe Durant) as a seven shot win over course and distance is not to be sniffed at.

Fred Couples missed the cut last week but he shot 72, 70, so that's hardly a tragic two days at the office. He always plays well in Texas and we can't resist him in a field like this.

It was good to see Brian Davis shoot 65 on the last day at the Byron Nelson, but he's not here this week. Still think he'll be our next J B Holmes!

The rest of the field is a lottery so we're going to change tack and start playing with Betfair's fabulous offer of paying out on a top ten finish. (Ideal for when you want to back Adam Scott next time after 54 holes). We've taken odds of between 8 and 10 to 1 about Fred Couples (old) and Camillo Villegas (not old) and huge odds about three of our favourites, Nathan Green (winner), Rich Beem (the new John Daly) and best of all, last year's tied sixth, Scott Hend. He's 530/1 to win with betfair, so we couldn't help ourselves.

Three weeks till the US Open. Promise we'll take it all more seriously by then...Go Hendy!

Jim Furyk favourite?

Gritty, Gutsy, other words starting with "G", all being used by journo's all over the world to describe Jim Furyk's 11th tour win at the Wachovia (it's a bank!) last week. We're never surprised to see Jim Furyk win but we're definitely a little taken aback to see that he is favourite to back up at this week at the Byron Nelson. Favourite? With that swing?...

We've been away but we're back (back!) and shedding few tears about missing Chris Couch (who he) and his maiden win on tour. Well done Chris. Goodness knows how much dosh we would have wasted assuming you'd blow it down the stretch. Phew.

This week we're on familiar territory at the Byron Nelson, one of the tour's most regular venues. Unlike previous years this years field hasn't attracted the top five in the money list (hence Furyk being favourite) but despite stellar fields every year, this is a tournament with more than a smattering of surprise winners. From Ted Purdy's maiden win last year (1 from 172) to Robert Damron gifting the 2004 prize to Sergio in a play off, this tournament has also seen Shigeiki Maruyama's finest hour, so I guess we'll be ripping the form book up. Again.

If there is one thing you can say about winners of this tournament, they're probably hitting it straighter than average and they'd need to shoot 15 under or better to win. Stuart Appleby flew out of the gates last year with an opening 63, proving that low scores are out there and both Singh and Purdy, the eventual winner shot 65 on the final afternoon.

Whenever someone asks for straight, we always lean to Luke Donald. A proven winner on tour, he's an obvious pick and has had the benefit of a few weeks away from the tour. It's a Ryder Cup year and he'll be keen to cement his position in the team, presumably as a captains pick. Currently available at 28/1, good value and we'll be having a few dollars on.

As we will on JB. For 150 good reasons. Yes, we know he's gone off a little since his first win, but again, this is a relatively poor field and he's just so long, any course that rewards length and he has to come into consideration. Go J.B.Holmes. We need the money...

Journeyman's easiest chance to make a few mill?

Friends. We may not have any money left after the last few weeks, but we're looking forward to the Houston Open, surely?

There's no relief for punters as we turn up to another completely new layout, this one being a 7,400 yard plus monster. It's a pay as you play course that David Toms had a hand in designing and not, repeat NOT the same track that Vijay has won on three times in the last four years.

It'll be another punters graveyeard as a whole heap of tour pros look forward to one of those weeks with no Tiger, Els, Sergio, Phil etc. In fact, the field this week is so thin that Freddie Jacobsen and Vaughan Taylor both feature in the top ten of betting although they are playing for a staggering $4.4 million in prize money.

Still fancy a punt? Still bonkers? OK, here goes...

Once again tipsters say we need to look for people who can smack the ball a long way. So inevitably they are putting up Daly, Glover and Bubba Watson. Others are taking the rather obvious step of making Vijay favourite. The UK bookmakers are apparently taking money at 4/1. If that seems like a good idea, stop reading this and go for it. But all those choices are based on form on a different course and none of them have shown a likelihood to win recently. We're especially worried that Vijay won on a different course last year and still nervous about that putting stroke. He's the stand out player on class alone but 8 bogeys and 3 doubles during the last three rounds at the Masters isn't a great form line. We'll give him a miss this week.

It was good to see Stephen Leaney finish strong last week, with one of the best closing rounds of 68 netting him a $103,000 paycheck. On a difficult day for scoring, one shot worse would have seen him blow 26 grand, so perhaps he's starting to find some form. His driving stats show that he's by no means the longest but he's in the top drawer in terms of accuracy and we reckon you'd be expecting at least 33/1 a place, so go find some value.

Another of our wild card small field favourites Rich Beem tees it up this week. A very respectable Masters performance suggests he's on top of his form. You can never risk anything other than small stakes on the ex telephone salesman, but he does whack it a long way and unlike the majority of this field, he's got three tour wins under his belt. Once again, we're looking for three figure odds here and have everything crossed.

still going...

This looks like it might be a nice few days ahead. JB started like the proverbial with 5 early birdies in the first five and then dropped a shot on the short 6th, after three putting. Know that feeling.

Brian Davis had his usual 5 birdies and three bogeys and sits hidden in the pack at 2 under. This course really suits Brian and if he can just eliminate the bogeys, we could be on for a nice payday. There's still lots of value around and you can get on now if you're not on already.

Nathan Green is struggling to regain his form of the early season, but a 67 or 68 tomorrow should see him join us for the weekend. And that's when the fun starts. Good luck team.