US Open Golf / Paul Krishnamurty / 15 June 2010 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Tiger and Phil are locked together at the top of the betting with Lee Westwood a solid third favourite. Meanwhile, Padraig Harrington lurks lower down in the odds. Paul Krishnamurty rates this quartet's chances of finishing up in the winners' circle on Sunday

Tiger Woods [8.0]
Five-year US Open Record: 6/1/2/mc/2

As he returns to the scene of his finest ever hour, Tiger is in turmoil. Without wanting to regurgitate the endless discussion of the problems in his private life, it's plain to see that Woods' golf has been adversely affected. Returning to action at the Masters was always going to be a tall order, but he must be given credit for scrambling into fourth place while his game was so obviously out of sorts. Since then, he's suffered a neck injury and offered no hint of a return to form on the golf course. Most recently at Memorial, he ranked last for driving accuracy; a repeat of which would be suicidal in a US Open.

Of course, it would take a brave man to write off a player who won a US Open at Pebble Beach by 15 shots, and another when barely able to walk, but it would take almost as much bravery to back him as favourite this year, without any supporting evidence.

Phil Mickelson [8.4]
Five-year US Open Record: 2/18/mc/2/33

As with Tiger, Mickelson's chances are examined in greater detail here. I know my colleague Steven Rawlings is sweet on Lefty's chances of finally ending his US Open jinx, (Mickelson has been runner-up on no fewer than five occasions), but I must disagree. Granted, he was magnificent at the Masters, and I certainly rate his chances higher than Tiger's, but he is suffering from the same weakness as his great rival. Inability to regularly hit fairways is always going to make life tough at a US Open, and I've also never really been convinced of Phil's prowess in the windy conditions he will likely encounter at Pebble Beach.

Lee Westwood [13.0]
Five-year US Open Record: 23/3/36/-/33

After top-three finishes in the last three majors, Lee is now the undisputed holder of the 'Best player yet to win a major' tag. I recently argued the case for backing Westwood at Pebble Beach, and having landed his first Stateside title for 12 years at Sunday's St Jude Classic, that case looks even stronger. Emerging triumphant from that nerve-jangling play-off win must have boosted Lee's confidence, and goes a long way to negating charges that he'd lost his bottle. In my view, he's the man to beat.

Padraig Harrington [34.0]
Five-year US Open Record: mc/36/mc/5/mc

With each passing week, Harrington's place amongst the favourites looks less appropriate. He hasn't won anything since the 2008 USPGA, and was particularly disappointing at last week's St Jude Classic. Nevertheless, with this year's US Open being played at a links venue, this dual British Open champion must come in for serious consideration.

There are few better equipped for this test, especially if the wind gets up, as we saw when this major was last held at Pebble Beach. Back in 2000, Harrington was just another European also-ran, yet he produced what was then his best ever Stateside performance to finish 5th.

Recommended Bet: Lee Westwood to win outright @ [13.5]