On Saturday we have coming up what is arguably the biggest day on the domestic cricket calendar these days and certainly one of my favourite days of the cricketing year as the domestic cricket carnival heads down to Edgbaston for T20 Finals Day which always sees the 2 semi-finals and final played on the same day along with a host of other entertainment including the famous mascot race. The 4 teams involved this year are Surrey who take on Warwickshire on Warwickshire's home ground which is then followed by Lancashire who have been drawn against Hampshire who have the best record really of all of the county's in T20 in recent years, with the winner of those 2 games then going onto to contest the final later on in the evening in what really is a feast of explosive and exciting cricket.
In my view Hampshire and Surrey are the favourites for the title while Warwickshire in my view have to be big underdogs which makes them incredibly dangerous given the fact that they are playing finals day on their home ground.
What it's time for me to do now is to look ahead to the 2 semi-finals and then rate the chances of the 4 teams before picking my 2 semi-final winners and who I think will be the overall champion:
Semi-Final Preview:
Surrey Vs Warwickshire - Surrey have been incredibly good so far in this competition with both bat and ball, although they did make very hard work of their chase in the quarter-final and since then they have gone on to struggle in the 50 over competition, albeit with a much changed squad at their disposal. What I think that highlights for Surrey is how good their T20 squad is and how impressive they've been in this competition to not even get close to recreating that form in the 50 over competition despite blowing everyone away in the T20 form. The advantage that Surrey have is their experience from top to bottom with England (or at least former England) stars like Kevin Pietersen and Jade Dernbach as well as the spin of Gareth Batty too. Robin Peterson the South African international also offers them a lot of experience and their captain Gary Wilson plays international cricket for Ireland. Their big star this season has been Jason Roy who some people have dubbed as the "Best T20 batsman in England" and while I think other guys like Jos Buttler and particularly Alex Hales are right up there as well, Jason has showed some brilliant form and promise in this form of the game and is the leading run scorer by far in the country this season showing some real maturity with that. Warwickshire meanwhile may be on their home ground but they are massive underdogs in my opinion when it comes to both this match and their prospects of winning the whole competition. Injuries to the likes of Chris Wright, Boyd Rankin and Keith Barker certainly don't help them with the bowling but the return of the experienced Chris Woakes (along with England team mate Ian Bell who will boost the middle order) and the spin of Jeetan Patel has been massive for them in this competition including in the very good quarter-final win over Essex. Their batting has been fronted by the ever impressive Varun Chopra who is also the captain now that Jim Troughton has been forced to retire and I think Varun is dealing well with the added pressure. The experience of the likes of Jeetan Patel, Ian Bell, Chris Woakes and Rikki Clarke will be very important for them and coming in as big underdogs on their home ground can only be an advantage.
Hampshire Vs Lancashire - Hampshire come into this as quite simply the T20 specialists although their team has seen some change to it this year with James Vince the new captain and playing very impressively with those responsibilities. They still have a strong backbone though with the likes of big hitting Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams but the young guns like new signing Matt Coles, death bowler Chris Wood and left arm spinner Danny Briggs have all be very good for them again this season and helped push them along to another finals day despite not playing their best cricket throughout the competition like they have in previous years. Lancashire meanwhile have been incredibly impressive topping the North Group and then having a tight quarter-final after a "2 day clearing shower" down at Old Trafford. Lancashire have been very good as unit and will be thrilled that they can have Jos Buttler who has been of massive importance to them so far in the competition. Steven Croft has been a key man for Lancashire at the top of the innings. With the ball Junaid Khan has been a key man for them at the death but he's not available to play in Finals Day for them and that will be an enormous loss for the Northerners. However, in his place they have a man that is still well capable of performing in T20 Cricket and I was incredibly pleased to see him picked in the Lancashire Finals Day squad and that is Andrew Flintoff. His presence in the team and his experience could go a long way to pushing Lancashire close and Kabir Ali has had a very good season for Lancashire in the T20 Blast so he can take a lot of the strain. Again Lancashire are probably slight underdogs here and that could give them the advantage with Hampshire missing big overseas presence as well in Maxwell so it should be a very close game.
Predicted Semi-Final Winners: Warwickshire and Hampshire
Predicted T20 Blast Champions: Hampshire
Whoever the winners and losers are on Finals Day I'm sure the real winners will be us Cricket fans as we will enjoy a day of absolutely top quality Cricketing excitement and drama as I certainly see both semi-finals and the final going right down to the wire and having fans of all 4 sides and even us neutrals on the edge of our seats.
Friday, 22 August 2014
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Cricket: England Vs India 4th Test Match Preview
On Thursday the test series between England and India rolls on North to Old Trafford with the series tied at 1-1 after a complete England performance and one of their very best in a long time saw them level the series after they went behind at Lord's with one of their worst performances of the last 12 months which really is saying something. However, they did look a lot better at the Ageas Bowl and that defeat from Lord's does seem to have kicked the team into action and it could well kick them along to a series win if all continues in Manchester after the senior players found form down in Southampton.
The only change that England have had to make is a squad change rather than a team one with the injured Liam Plunkett who missed the 3rd test leaving the squad to be replaced by Steven Finn who, if selected, will do well on a pitch that should have a lot of pace and bounce suiting his style very well and I think he deserves another go in the team. You'd have to say that would probably be at Chris Jordan's expense. Even though he went wicketless in the 3rd test match on debut, I'd like to see Pankaj Singh get another go as a tall bowler like him should also do well on this pitch. I also think someone of Ravi Ashwin's class deserves a pick if the pitch looks like it will turn. He'd probably play as a 2nd spinner at the expense of Rohit Sharma even though I'd say he's a better bowler than Ravi Jadeja.
It all makes for a very interesting test match and these are my thoughts on the 2 sides:
England
Captain Alastair Cook really got the ball rolling last week, leading from the front and seeming to find some of his form as he elected to bat first on day 1 at the Ageas Bowl and made 95, before an unbeaten half-century in the 2nd innings when England were looking to score quickly and set a target. That should give him plenty of confidence and hopefully he'll be able to finish the series well in the next 2 games with all the hard work he's put in. His opening partner Sam Robson could now do with a big score himself to cement his place in the team with a lot of other young openers knocking on the door. He's not really had a big score in this series and it seems a long time ago that he made that century at Headingley against Sri Lanka so the pressure will be on him again. After some poor scores and poor luck it was nice to see Ian Bell back amongst the runs with a big hundred and the middle order is in nice form with Jos Buttler having a good hit on debut while there was another hundred for Gary Balance and Joe Root has been making big scores this summer as well.
Bowling wise I was pleased to see Moeen Ali fulfil promise as a spinning all-rounder by taking 6 2nd innings wickets to win England the game at the Ageas Bowl and having proved himself as a decent spinner he'll be key again if it spins at Old Trafford which it surely will. James Anderson got another man of the match award at the Ageas Bowl for his first innings 5 wicket haul and another great spell on the final morning and having been cleared from allegations made by the Indian team about a run in with Jadeja, he'll want to perform well again on his home patch this week. I think that selectors will probably give Steve Finn a game rather than Chris Jordan who has some issues with his consistency that need sorting out while I was impressed with Chris Woakes despite his lack of wickets as he actually plugged away bowling a consistent line and length unlike the Indian bowlers when they were struggling for wickets.
Key Man: On his home ground, James Anderson the leading wicket taker in the series will want to continue his good work as one of the main and only men that has been getting any wickets for England in this series with Jimmy and Stuart Broad taking a lot of the strain in this series
India
India do have a few problems of their own to solve before this test match and most of them are bowling related. It looks like that if they play Ravi Ashwin that he'll replace Rohit Sharma taking India back down to 6 batsmen which might not be a great move although with a couple of all-rounders and Kumar going well down the order they shouldn't have too many problems. None of the Indian batsmen had a stand out time of it in the 3rd test and it's really about time that Dhawan for one and Virat Kohli for another started pulling their weight in the batting line-up as they're yet to make a decent score between them yet in this series and going down to 6 batsmen will put more pressure on them. Murali Vijay and Pujara have been scoring a great deal of the teams runs and Rahane is also in good form and the Indians will need this to continue now they only have 5 front line batsmen plus wicket-keeper Dhoni who has looked suspect with the bat despite scoring a couple of half-centuries
With the ball I hope they give Pankaj Singh another go as his style of bowling will be better suited to the Old Trafford pitch and at the end of the day a wicket-less debut doesn't reflect all of his potential does it? Kumar will be the pick of the bowlers that will start this test match as it looks as though Ishant Sharma is still injured and I've not been all that impressed with Mohammed Shami. Jadeja certainly isn't India's best spin option so I'd quite like to see Ashwin get a game here as the second spinner.
Key Man: Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is going to be a key man in this test match as the leading Indian wicket taker now that Ishant Sharma is still injured and he is the clear leader of a weak Indian bowling line-up so he needs to go well if they are to have any chance of taking 20 wickets and winning the test.
It will be another cracking test match if the poor Manchester weather can stay away because the winner will then be unable to lose the series while a draw would set up a brilliant shoot-out at the The Oval. As always the toss could be key to the match, but either way it will be 5 fascinating days of Cricket ahead for the fans.
The only change that England have had to make is a squad change rather than a team one with the injured Liam Plunkett who missed the 3rd test leaving the squad to be replaced by Steven Finn who, if selected, will do well on a pitch that should have a lot of pace and bounce suiting his style very well and I think he deserves another go in the team. You'd have to say that would probably be at Chris Jordan's expense. Even though he went wicketless in the 3rd test match on debut, I'd like to see Pankaj Singh get another go as a tall bowler like him should also do well on this pitch. I also think someone of Ravi Ashwin's class deserves a pick if the pitch looks like it will turn. He'd probably play as a 2nd spinner at the expense of Rohit Sharma even though I'd say he's a better bowler than Ravi Jadeja.
It all makes for a very interesting test match and these are my thoughts on the 2 sides:
England
Captain Alastair Cook really got the ball rolling last week, leading from the front and seeming to find some of his form as he elected to bat first on day 1 at the Ageas Bowl and made 95, before an unbeaten half-century in the 2nd innings when England were looking to score quickly and set a target. That should give him plenty of confidence and hopefully he'll be able to finish the series well in the next 2 games with all the hard work he's put in. His opening partner Sam Robson could now do with a big score himself to cement his place in the team with a lot of other young openers knocking on the door. He's not really had a big score in this series and it seems a long time ago that he made that century at Headingley against Sri Lanka so the pressure will be on him again. After some poor scores and poor luck it was nice to see Ian Bell back amongst the runs with a big hundred and the middle order is in nice form with Jos Buttler having a good hit on debut while there was another hundred for Gary Balance and Joe Root has been making big scores this summer as well.
Bowling wise I was pleased to see Moeen Ali fulfil promise as a spinning all-rounder by taking 6 2nd innings wickets to win England the game at the Ageas Bowl and having proved himself as a decent spinner he'll be key again if it spins at Old Trafford which it surely will. James Anderson got another man of the match award at the Ageas Bowl for his first innings 5 wicket haul and another great spell on the final morning and having been cleared from allegations made by the Indian team about a run in with Jadeja, he'll want to perform well again on his home patch this week. I think that selectors will probably give Steve Finn a game rather than Chris Jordan who has some issues with his consistency that need sorting out while I was impressed with Chris Woakes despite his lack of wickets as he actually plugged away bowling a consistent line and length unlike the Indian bowlers when they were struggling for wickets.
Key Man: On his home ground, James Anderson the leading wicket taker in the series will want to continue his good work as one of the main and only men that has been getting any wickets for England in this series with Jimmy and Stuart Broad taking a lot of the strain in this series
India
India do have a few problems of their own to solve before this test match and most of them are bowling related. It looks like that if they play Ravi Ashwin that he'll replace Rohit Sharma taking India back down to 6 batsmen which might not be a great move although with a couple of all-rounders and Kumar going well down the order they shouldn't have too many problems. None of the Indian batsmen had a stand out time of it in the 3rd test and it's really about time that Dhawan for one and Virat Kohli for another started pulling their weight in the batting line-up as they're yet to make a decent score between them yet in this series and going down to 6 batsmen will put more pressure on them. Murali Vijay and Pujara have been scoring a great deal of the teams runs and Rahane is also in good form and the Indians will need this to continue now they only have 5 front line batsmen plus wicket-keeper Dhoni who has looked suspect with the bat despite scoring a couple of half-centuries
With the ball I hope they give Pankaj Singh another go as his style of bowling will be better suited to the Old Trafford pitch and at the end of the day a wicket-less debut doesn't reflect all of his potential does it? Kumar will be the pick of the bowlers that will start this test match as it looks as though Ishant Sharma is still injured and I've not been all that impressed with Mohammed Shami. Jadeja certainly isn't India's best spin option so I'd quite like to see Ashwin get a game here as the second spinner.
Key Man: Bhuvaneshwar Kumar is going to be a key man in this test match as the leading Indian wicket taker now that Ishant Sharma is still injured and he is the clear leader of a weak Indian bowling line-up so he needs to go well if they are to have any chance of taking 20 wickets and winning the test.
It will be another cracking test match if the poor Manchester weather can stay away because the winner will then be unable to lose the series while a draw would set up a brilliant shoot-out at the The Oval. As always the toss could be key to the match, but either way it will be 5 fascinating days of Cricket ahead for the fans.
Golf: US PGA Championship Preview
On Thursday we see the start of the final major of the season, but also the final event on the qualifying list for the USA's Ryder Cup team, meaning that by Monday morning we will know 9 of the 12 players in the US team that will travel to Gleneagles in September. The defending US PGA champion is of course Jason Dufner after his 2 shot victory last year over Jim Furyk. This time around we head to the Valhalla golf club which last played host to the PGA Championship in 2000 with Tiger Woods running out victorious but it also hosted the USA's Ryder Cup victory in 2008. With some rather long par 4's and some short par 4's along with 4 par 5's and 4 par 3's the par for the course is 71, but with the monstrous drivers that are currently in the game i'll say that the scoring will be good again this week as it was at the Open Championship and last weeks Bridgestone Invitational, both of which were won by Rory McIlroy who will be a huge contender this week too. There is some big news on the course this week and that is that shoe-in for Septembers Ryder Cup Dustin Johnson announced last week that he would be "taking a break from Golf" to focus on "personal issues" of his which will see him miss this event and the trip to Gleneagles, although there was also talk that he'd been banned for 6 months by the PGA for a failed drug test so it's tough to know what to believe with him. Also, Tiger Woods presence on the course this week is in some doubt after he withdrew during the final round at Bridgestone last week looking to be in some pain and he cancelled his Tuesday press conference neither being able to confirm or deny that he would be playing this week, and it will be a real shame if his back is causing him yet more problems but with age it is an injury that can come and go at any time, even more than ever.
As always the majors bring out some magnificent 3 balls for all of the fans watching at home and on the course, so it's time for me to pick some of those out and see how they'll go:
Pick of the Groupings for Thursday and Friday: (Picks in bold)
Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed and Angel Cabrera - This one was a tough call for me with Matsuyama and Reed playing great golf at the moment and both showing a lot of future potential. Patrick Reed finished in a tie for 4th at the WGC Bridgestone invitational and you know by comments he's made in the past that he has a lot of belief in his ability, but we're yet to see that really shine through in a major which could hold him back again this week. Matsuyama though is a real talent and has done reasonably well in the majors last season but this season his form hasn't quite been as good in them although he did have a strong week at the Bridgestone last week. However, I am confident that we are soon to see the very best of Patrick Reed on the global stage, and it could well be this week.
Rickie Fowler, Victor Dubuisson and Ernie Els - Again you have to say that the winner of this 3 ball has to be between Fowler and Dubuisson. Rickie Fowler has been absolutely sublime in the majors this year with strong finishes in all of the 3 majors so far and his place in the Ryder Cup is as safe as houses because of his performances. Victor performed very well at the Open Championship last month and he's broken through very well this season but he's obviously not yet to the standard that Fowler is now reaching and for me he has to win this 3 ball.
Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott and Lee Westwood - Adam Scott is one of golfs most consistent performers in golf right now. Without properly challenging for a major this season he has been around the top 20 in these majors along with winning another PGA Tour event this season and challenging for more events as always. Lee Westwood is certainly one man that in my opinion has lost this consistency to his game and is now really struggling in the majors missing the cut at the Open and having really not challenged for any major this season maybe Lee has had his time and is starting to slowly fade away. One man who certainly hasn't had his time yet is Jordan Spieth who started the season off brilliantly challenging at the Masters and the Players Championship but hasn't really challenged for a major title since then but has been around the top 20 in a lot of tournaments and this wouldn't be a bad week for him to challenge for a title once again, but for me Adam is the most consistent performer out of this group.
Jimmy Walker, Ian Poulter and Jason Day - Jason Day has struggled this season for any consistency since that early season hand injury and it seems that his game hasn't been in the shape that it was before the injury where he was playing well and not far from winning a major, but that injury has set him back a few steps and there are no signs to me that he'll properly challenge this week either. Ian Poulter meanwhile is one guy that you'd love to see win a major but his performances right now don't suggest that he will such are the struggles he seems to be having and the fact is his form right now is nowhere. Jimmy Walker is one man though that has risen very well, is a shoe in for this years Ryder Cup and is playing the golf of his life as he is showing on a regular basis including last month at Hoylake and for me he's playing the best and most consistent golf out of this trio but quite some decent.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington - This 3 ball is an odd one to have to talk about with Tiger Woods not yet confirming his place in the event having been given until about 10 minutes before his tee time to confirm his place. If he does play with his injuries the way they are at the moment there is no chance that he will do anything impressive because back injuries won't just go away overnight and are one of the worst injuries you can have as any kind of sportsman. Padraig Harrington's form is absolutely nowhere at the moment and he is absolutely miles off of guys like Phil Mickelson in this 3 ball. Phil though seemed to re find some form in his final round at the Bridgestone invitational and hasn't been totally horrific despite struggling with a lot of aspects of his game but hopefully he can take this form with him now and push for the title this week.
Jim Furyk, Charl Schwartzel and Miguel Angel Jimenez - This should be a really good 3 ball with Miguel who has been in good form on the champions tour and still winning events on the European Tour whilst also finishing right up there at the Masters which is a really good feat at his age, and he seems like a really fun guy to play with so it should be nice for Furyk and Schwartzel. Charl is in good form at the moment with strong performances at the Open Championship and last weeks Bridgestone Invitational, although this is a really recent return to form for Schwartzel it would seem and with form its always tough to know when it's going to come and go and it could just as easily go this week if you're a player that experiences good form in short bursts. However, players like Jim Furyk are very steady and always seem to play consistently which sets him apart from a long list of players and means that he could play well and even possibly challenge at any given event. Jim has played very well in the last few weeks leading up to the Open Championship, at the Open Championship and at the Canadian Open and the WGC since then in the lead up to this. That all puts Jim in a very good position for this event.
Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen - Without being unkind to Oosthuizen, he has struggled to compete in the majors this season unlike Justin Rose and Matt Kuchar who are in good form, have been performing consistently and I'm sure this 3 ball will see them on the same side of the coin. Matt Kuchar competed well at the US Open and the Masters making the top 10 at the Masters and top 20 at Pinehurst playing particularly well in April where he lost one PGA Tour event play-off and then won the RBC Heritage the week after the Masters. A large break and his general ability to struggle at the Open meant that he finished poorly at Hoylake but a top 10 at the Canadian Open and a top 20 at the WGC last week should help him return to form. Justin though has been on fire lately winning the Scottish Open and the quicken loans in the lead up to the Open where he also performed well without really challenging for the title as he has done in the majors this season. However, I really think that Justin Rose will be right up there in the hunt for this one and I'd be surprised if both him and Kuchar don't finish in the top 20.
Ryan Moore, Henrik Stenson and Kenny Perry - This 3 ball is of course about Stenson and Moore. Henrik performed really well in the majors last year and carried that on during this years Masters but has fallen away slightly since which of course does not bode well for his title winning chances this week, but I think he is still the type of player that could perform below his best and still finish in the top 20 and have some good early rounds before perhaps falling back on Saturday and Sunday. Ryan Moore though has been performing well recently with one bad round at the Open costing him a very good finish there, and that is a slight worry for him if he is ever going to win a major you can't have that one bad round. At the end of the day you need to be more consistent and that could be the difference between players like him and players like Henrik Stenson.
Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy - This 3 ball is made up of the 3 major winners but there is a subtle difference between each one of them. For Bubba Watson he may have won the Masters quite handsomely but apart from that his form has been poor, especially in the majors and there's no sign of that turning around. Kaymer however, played well for the period around the US Open and the Players Championship which he won both of, but his form hasn't been to the same standard since the break he took after the US Open which will worry him. Rory McIlroy though has been sublime for a long period now and is really hot right now after a victory early in the season at the BMW PGA Championship before then winning the Open Championship as I predicted before then going on to win the WGC Bridgestone Invitational last week to become the new World No.1 and deservedly so as he's the best player in the world right now and probably will be for some time in my opinion.
Now onto the main event of things, and the players I think will be in contention for the title this weekend:
8 players to watch for the US PGA Championship:
Rory McIlroy - As I mentioned earlier, new world number 1 McIlroy is the hottest player in the game now and could quite easily turn up and win any tournament he enters as he has done in the last month taking home the Open Championship to win 3 of the 4 majors by the age of 25 and then win the WGC Bridgestone invitational coming from behind on the final day. The fact is Rory now has the game to win anywhere on any given week and his full concentration is on winning as many golf tournaments as he can which makes him an incredibly dangerous player for the future now and could be the reason that he could possibly dominate the game for a generation. The most dangerous aspect of his game is monster driving and coupled with good putting form he really is someone who can run away with a title.
Justin Rose - I have no doubt that before his career is over Justin Rose will be a multiple major champion. He's quite simply too good not to be. His form over the last few months makes it a heavy possibility that this could be the week he wins his 2nd major as he always seems to be around at the majors but with confidence high after those victories that led him into the Open and some good performances since then he has every chance this week. One of Justin's great strengths is that he knows exactly what he is capable of and goes out believing in himself and he'll know that he is right up there to win this title and I'd be amazed if he doesn't make at least the top 20 this week.
Rickie Fowler - Rickie Fowler has been absolutely superb this season and really seems to have come of age under the coaching of Butch Harmon which was a brilliant decision of Rickie's. He's competed brilliantly at all 3 of the majors so far this season and he's always near the top of the leaderboard in the big competitions. He's clearly been working very hard and a major championship that would fulfil at least part of his potential shouldn't be too far around the corner. He's shown that he has the game to tackle all sorts of courses so he shouldn't have a problem again this week after a season that will give him full confidence and he's going to be an absolutely vital player for USA in the Ryder Cup next month if you ask me. I was particularly impressed by Fowlers temperament in the majors so far as he doesn't seem to let too much get on top of him and that will make him a champion in the near future.
Graeme McDowell - The GMac will be a long shot for this weeks title at Valhalla in many peoples eyes but looking at his form and his potential as a man that has already got major championships under his belt points to him as a real contender. That form I refer to is that he's had 3 consecutive top 10 finishes to build up for this event including a tied 9th finish that he secured at Hoylake which he then followed up with a tied 9th finish at the Canadian Open where he played nicely and another good performance at last weeks WGC where he came tied for 8th and he only had one bad round at the US Open championship even if he did finish tied for 28th after starting the event very well, so if he does have another strong finish this week and make a top 10 or top 20 no-one would be surprised and if he were to take the title and his 2nd major you could've easily seen it coming. The message here: don't rule out McDowell.
Sergio Garcia - Sergio has had an incredibly solid season on tour and in the big competitions without walking away with a title, despite being in the running for around 5 titles since April finishing in the top 5 on every occasion including in each of the last 3 events he's entered. Sergio did fall away on the final day of last weeks WGC which you could say he should've won but in the end he finished 2nd to Rory. He also finished 2nd with Rickie Fowler to Rory at the Open last month also finishing tied for 2nd at the Travellers Championship a month earlier. It was 3rd place that he managed at the Players Championship and again at April's Houston Open so you can clearly see that he's been putting himself in the position to win titles on an array of courses in an array of conditions so nothing that this week throws up should be a problem with the confidence he has. The problem for Sergio has not been how he's started tournaments but how he's finished them buckling under pressure at times of last weeks WGC and in the end at the Open as well so to have any chance of winning this week he needs to get any nerves he has under control when he thinks he has a real chance of winning if that is what's been happening.
Matt Kuchar - Matt Kuchar has been one of my contenders for each major this year simply because I think he can't be far from winning one. He definetly performs at his best in the US which shows from the fact that he made the top 10 at the Masters, top 20 at the US Open but struggling for the top 50 at Hoylake. He has been consistent over the season making lots of top 10's and top 20's as he has done since the Open with a top 10 in Canada and a top 20 at the WGC last week. With such consistency you know he's likely to challenge a lot, and the more you challenge the more chance you have of winning an event, which is exactly what he did in April when he won the RBC Heritage and exactly what he could do here at Valhalla. He just needs to be more consistent throughout a round to make it happen.
Adam Scott - It's been a really good few months for Adam Scott without anything exciting really happening. His results in the majors of tied 13th at the Masters, tied 9th at the US Open and tied 5th at the Open would suggest that Scott has challenged well for at least one major this season, but despite those 3 good results he never looked at any stage like he would win any of those titles. His form has also been brilliant on the PGA tour and really does explain why he has only just been knocked back down to world no.2. In May Scott he won the Crowne Plaza, before finishing tied for 4th at the Memorial Tournament and then tied for 8th at least weeks WGC to add to those. The only area of weakness you can easily spot in Adam's game is the putting with him having to use a belly putter which is suppose is unusual for someone of such a high class and ranking because the use of a belly putter would usually suggest quite great problems with putting but he clearly gets on with it nicely, but it will be interesting to see how he goes once those type of putters are outlawed. Still none of that will effect his performance this week and once again he is right up there to win this championship.
Jim Furyk - Old Jim Furyk is an incredibly steady golfer, who seems to perform well at most of the majors on the calendar and seems to be player that is in form a lot more than he isn't. My reason for picking him as a contender for this tournament is simple. As an incredibly steady golfer, his only problem is getting over the line and, but if he can get far enough in front you'd expect him to eventually close out a tournament as he really should've done in Canada 2 weeks ago. He has been playing well and striking the ball well though since the lead up to the Open championship a couple of weeks ago and if Jim is striking the ball well there is no reason why he can't go on a strong run this week and possibly walk off with the title.
Michael's 3 picks for the US PGA Championship:
Rory McIlroy
Rickie Fowler
Jim Furyk
What it means is that we have a brilliant weekend of Golf ahead of us and it should be an entertaining major as well as tense and thrilling as always not just because of the feat of winning a major championship but as Ryder Cup places will become a lot closer for some and a lot further away for others if they have good or bad weekends at Valhalla.
As always the majors bring out some magnificent 3 balls for all of the fans watching at home and on the course, so it's time for me to pick some of those out and see how they'll go:
Pick of the Groupings for Thursday and Friday: (Picks in bold)
Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed and Angel Cabrera - This one was a tough call for me with Matsuyama and Reed playing great golf at the moment and both showing a lot of future potential. Patrick Reed finished in a tie for 4th at the WGC Bridgestone invitational and you know by comments he's made in the past that he has a lot of belief in his ability, but we're yet to see that really shine through in a major which could hold him back again this week. Matsuyama though is a real talent and has done reasonably well in the majors last season but this season his form hasn't quite been as good in them although he did have a strong week at the Bridgestone last week. However, I am confident that we are soon to see the very best of Patrick Reed on the global stage, and it could well be this week.
Rickie Fowler, Victor Dubuisson and Ernie Els - Again you have to say that the winner of this 3 ball has to be between Fowler and Dubuisson. Rickie Fowler has been absolutely sublime in the majors this year with strong finishes in all of the 3 majors so far and his place in the Ryder Cup is as safe as houses because of his performances. Victor performed very well at the Open Championship last month and he's broken through very well this season but he's obviously not yet to the standard that Fowler is now reaching and for me he has to win this 3 ball.
Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott and Lee Westwood - Adam Scott is one of golfs most consistent performers in golf right now. Without properly challenging for a major this season he has been around the top 20 in these majors along with winning another PGA Tour event this season and challenging for more events as always. Lee Westwood is certainly one man that in my opinion has lost this consistency to his game and is now really struggling in the majors missing the cut at the Open and having really not challenged for any major this season maybe Lee has had his time and is starting to slowly fade away. One man who certainly hasn't had his time yet is Jordan Spieth who started the season off brilliantly challenging at the Masters and the Players Championship but hasn't really challenged for a major title since then but has been around the top 20 in a lot of tournaments and this wouldn't be a bad week for him to challenge for a title once again, but for me Adam is the most consistent performer out of this group.
Jimmy Walker, Ian Poulter and Jason Day - Jason Day has struggled this season for any consistency since that early season hand injury and it seems that his game hasn't been in the shape that it was before the injury where he was playing well and not far from winning a major, but that injury has set him back a few steps and there are no signs to me that he'll properly challenge this week either. Ian Poulter meanwhile is one guy that you'd love to see win a major but his performances right now don't suggest that he will such are the struggles he seems to be having and the fact is his form right now is nowhere. Jimmy Walker is one man though that has risen very well, is a shoe in for this years Ryder Cup and is playing the golf of his life as he is showing on a regular basis including last month at Hoylake and for me he's playing the best and most consistent golf out of this trio but quite some decent.
Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Padraig Harrington - This 3 ball is an odd one to have to talk about with Tiger Woods not yet confirming his place in the event having been given until about 10 minutes before his tee time to confirm his place. If he does play with his injuries the way they are at the moment there is no chance that he will do anything impressive because back injuries won't just go away overnight and are one of the worst injuries you can have as any kind of sportsman. Padraig Harrington's form is absolutely nowhere at the moment and he is absolutely miles off of guys like Phil Mickelson in this 3 ball. Phil though seemed to re find some form in his final round at the Bridgestone invitational and hasn't been totally horrific despite struggling with a lot of aspects of his game but hopefully he can take this form with him now and push for the title this week.
Jim Furyk, Charl Schwartzel and Miguel Angel Jimenez - This should be a really good 3 ball with Miguel who has been in good form on the champions tour and still winning events on the European Tour whilst also finishing right up there at the Masters which is a really good feat at his age, and he seems like a really fun guy to play with so it should be nice for Furyk and Schwartzel. Charl is in good form at the moment with strong performances at the Open Championship and last weeks Bridgestone Invitational, although this is a really recent return to form for Schwartzel it would seem and with form its always tough to know when it's going to come and go and it could just as easily go this week if you're a player that experiences good form in short bursts. However, players like Jim Furyk are very steady and always seem to play consistently which sets him apart from a long list of players and means that he could play well and even possibly challenge at any given event. Jim has played very well in the last few weeks leading up to the Open Championship, at the Open Championship and at the Canadian Open and the WGC since then in the lead up to this. That all puts Jim in a very good position for this event.
Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose and Louis Oosthuizen - Without being unkind to Oosthuizen, he has struggled to compete in the majors this season unlike Justin Rose and Matt Kuchar who are in good form, have been performing consistently and I'm sure this 3 ball will see them on the same side of the coin. Matt Kuchar competed well at the US Open and the Masters making the top 10 at the Masters and top 20 at Pinehurst playing particularly well in April where he lost one PGA Tour event play-off and then won the RBC Heritage the week after the Masters. A large break and his general ability to struggle at the Open meant that he finished poorly at Hoylake but a top 10 at the Canadian Open and a top 20 at the WGC last week should help him return to form. Justin though has been on fire lately winning the Scottish Open and the quicken loans in the lead up to the Open where he also performed well without really challenging for the title as he has done in the majors this season. However, I really think that Justin Rose will be right up there in the hunt for this one and I'd be surprised if both him and Kuchar don't finish in the top 20.
Ryan Moore, Henrik Stenson and Kenny Perry - This 3 ball is of course about Stenson and Moore. Henrik performed really well in the majors last year and carried that on during this years Masters but has fallen away slightly since which of course does not bode well for his title winning chances this week, but I think he is still the type of player that could perform below his best and still finish in the top 20 and have some good early rounds before perhaps falling back on Saturday and Sunday. Ryan Moore though has been performing well recently with one bad round at the Open costing him a very good finish there, and that is a slight worry for him if he is ever going to win a major you can't have that one bad round. At the end of the day you need to be more consistent and that could be the difference between players like him and players like Henrik Stenson.
Bubba Watson, Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy - This 3 ball is made up of the 3 major winners but there is a subtle difference between each one of them. For Bubba Watson he may have won the Masters quite handsomely but apart from that his form has been poor, especially in the majors and there's no sign of that turning around. Kaymer however, played well for the period around the US Open and the Players Championship which he won both of, but his form hasn't been to the same standard since the break he took after the US Open which will worry him. Rory McIlroy though has been sublime for a long period now and is really hot right now after a victory early in the season at the BMW PGA Championship before then winning the Open Championship as I predicted before then going on to win the WGC Bridgestone Invitational last week to become the new World No.1 and deservedly so as he's the best player in the world right now and probably will be for some time in my opinion.
Now onto the main event of things, and the players I think will be in contention for the title this weekend:
8 players to watch for the US PGA Championship:
Rory McIlroy - As I mentioned earlier, new world number 1 McIlroy is the hottest player in the game now and could quite easily turn up and win any tournament he enters as he has done in the last month taking home the Open Championship to win 3 of the 4 majors by the age of 25 and then win the WGC Bridgestone invitational coming from behind on the final day. The fact is Rory now has the game to win anywhere on any given week and his full concentration is on winning as many golf tournaments as he can which makes him an incredibly dangerous player for the future now and could be the reason that he could possibly dominate the game for a generation. The most dangerous aspect of his game is monster driving and coupled with good putting form he really is someone who can run away with a title.
Justin Rose - I have no doubt that before his career is over Justin Rose will be a multiple major champion. He's quite simply too good not to be. His form over the last few months makes it a heavy possibility that this could be the week he wins his 2nd major as he always seems to be around at the majors but with confidence high after those victories that led him into the Open and some good performances since then he has every chance this week. One of Justin's great strengths is that he knows exactly what he is capable of and goes out believing in himself and he'll know that he is right up there to win this title and I'd be amazed if he doesn't make at least the top 20 this week.
Rickie Fowler - Rickie Fowler has been absolutely superb this season and really seems to have come of age under the coaching of Butch Harmon which was a brilliant decision of Rickie's. He's competed brilliantly at all 3 of the majors so far this season and he's always near the top of the leaderboard in the big competitions. He's clearly been working very hard and a major championship that would fulfil at least part of his potential shouldn't be too far around the corner. He's shown that he has the game to tackle all sorts of courses so he shouldn't have a problem again this week after a season that will give him full confidence and he's going to be an absolutely vital player for USA in the Ryder Cup next month if you ask me. I was particularly impressed by Fowlers temperament in the majors so far as he doesn't seem to let too much get on top of him and that will make him a champion in the near future.
Graeme McDowell - The GMac will be a long shot for this weeks title at Valhalla in many peoples eyes but looking at his form and his potential as a man that has already got major championships under his belt points to him as a real contender. That form I refer to is that he's had 3 consecutive top 10 finishes to build up for this event including a tied 9th finish that he secured at Hoylake which he then followed up with a tied 9th finish at the Canadian Open where he played nicely and another good performance at last weeks WGC where he came tied for 8th and he only had one bad round at the US Open championship even if he did finish tied for 28th after starting the event very well, so if he does have another strong finish this week and make a top 10 or top 20 no-one would be surprised and if he were to take the title and his 2nd major you could've easily seen it coming. The message here: don't rule out McDowell.
Sergio Garcia - Sergio has had an incredibly solid season on tour and in the big competitions without walking away with a title, despite being in the running for around 5 titles since April finishing in the top 5 on every occasion including in each of the last 3 events he's entered. Sergio did fall away on the final day of last weeks WGC which you could say he should've won but in the end he finished 2nd to Rory. He also finished 2nd with Rickie Fowler to Rory at the Open last month also finishing tied for 2nd at the Travellers Championship a month earlier. It was 3rd place that he managed at the Players Championship and again at April's Houston Open so you can clearly see that he's been putting himself in the position to win titles on an array of courses in an array of conditions so nothing that this week throws up should be a problem with the confidence he has. The problem for Sergio has not been how he's started tournaments but how he's finished them buckling under pressure at times of last weeks WGC and in the end at the Open as well so to have any chance of winning this week he needs to get any nerves he has under control when he thinks he has a real chance of winning if that is what's been happening.
Matt Kuchar - Matt Kuchar has been one of my contenders for each major this year simply because I think he can't be far from winning one. He definetly performs at his best in the US which shows from the fact that he made the top 10 at the Masters, top 20 at the US Open but struggling for the top 50 at Hoylake. He has been consistent over the season making lots of top 10's and top 20's as he has done since the Open with a top 10 in Canada and a top 20 at the WGC last week. With such consistency you know he's likely to challenge a lot, and the more you challenge the more chance you have of winning an event, which is exactly what he did in April when he won the RBC Heritage and exactly what he could do here at Valhalla. He just needs to be more consistent throughout a round to make it happen.
Adam Scott - It's been a really good few months for Adam Scott without anything exciting really happening. His results in the majors of tied 13th at the Masters, tied 9th at the US Open and tied 5th at the Open would suggest that Scott has challenged well for at least one major this season, but despite those 3 good results he never looked at any stage like he would win any of those titles. His form has also been brilliant on the PGA tour and really does explain why he has only just been knocked back down to world no.2. In May Scott he won the Crowne Plaza, before finishing tied for 4th at the Memorial Tournament and then tied for 8th at least weeks WGC to add to those. The only area of weakness you can easily spot in Adam's game is the putting with him having to use a belly putter which is suppose is unusual for someone of such a high class and ranking because the use of a belly putter would usually suggest quite great problems with putting but he clearly gets on with it nicely, but it will be interesting to see how he goes once those type of putters are outlawed. Still none of that will effect his performance this week and once again he is right up there to win this championship.
Jim Furyk - Old Jim Furyk is an incredibly steady golfer, who seems to perform well at most of the majors on the calendar and seems to be player that is in form a lot more than he isn't. My reason for picking him as a contender for this tournament is simple. As an incredibly steady golfer, his only problem is getting over the line and, but if he can get far enough in front you'd expect him to eventually close out a tournament as he really should've done in Canada 2 weeks ago. He has been playing well and striking the ball well though since the lead up to the Open championship a couple of weeks ago and if Jim is striking the ball well there is no reason why he can't go on a strong run this week and possibly walk off with the title.
Michael's 3 picks for the US PGA Championship:
Rory McIlroy
Rickie Fowler
Jim Furyk
What it means is that we have a brilliant weekend of Golf ahead of us and it should be an entertaining major as well as tense and thrilling as always not just because of the feat of winning a major championship but as Ryder Cup places will become a lot closer for some and a lot further away for others if they have good or bad weekends at Valhalla.
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