We're on a bit of a tear after big collects at the PGA Champs and at Colonial tookus to 78.9% POT (profit on turnover) since our restart at Bay Hill, hopefully we can make it three in a row at Muirfield!

After a scorching month of May, Club 20 starts our winter in Dublin, Ohio tonight (9.20pm AEST) for the Memorial at Muirfield Village, the famous favorite of one Jack Nicklaus.

Course

A 7,400yd Par 72 (meaning four Par 5’s in play), Muirfield is one of the toughest tests of the PGA season. The fairways are relatively easy to hit off the tee but if you miss them, or you spray your approach even a few meters off target, you are pretty cactus at this course. 

Muirfield ranks as one of the most difficult courses for around-the-green and out of the bunkers, so any golfers on our card this week will want to be either wizards with their wedge, or trustworthy enough with their irons to seldom need one in hand. 

The bent greens will be very very slick as they always are, but that is something most of these guys quite like so expect putting to be secondary to pure ball striking and around the green sharpness this week.

Weather

Forecast to be a few showers lingering around for pretty much the whole first round, looks difficult to predict in terms of wave split, some guys could get unlucky with a heavier downpour but we’re not factoring it in. Fri-Sun looks clear, not a lot of wind to speak of really. 

The Card

Last few weeks we went pretty hard and fortunately won. Despite the winnings, I’m going to take the foot slightly off the gas and not bet any outrights or first round leaders here at Jack's Place. 

Particularly in an event with such a good top end where any one of a dozen guys under 35-1 can and probably should win, I just don’t see the value in chasing the bigger prices, so instead, the Top 40 Multi is headlining and being expended (!!), putting up eight (8) golfers in an attempt to get 6, 7 or (golfing gods willing) 8 through the cut and finishing in the Top 40. 

If we hit any six of these we double our money (minimum), but if seven or eight of them land then it is going to be a huge, huuuuuuuge week.  

• Matt jones – Tore our hearts out last week but giving another chance, good course form, great around the green, hit it well R2 @ Colonial just couldn’t sink anything then waterball final hole. Worth holding on for another week.

• Adam Scott – Game looked to have turned around at Honda (gained six stroked on approach) but then a MC at PGA Champs. That miss was on the number, and after Scotty started 7 on the Par 4 10th so the game is not as bad as that MC appears. Great memorial form and will enjoy these greens. 

• Shane Lowry – T9 heritage, T4 at PGA Champs, the driver is singing, the approach game is on fire and he is a wizard around the greens and out of bunkers, his change of putting grips after Bay Hill has worked. Add a  T8 at Sawgrass and T21 at Augusta. Lowry never needed to putt lights out, just had to avoid putting shithouse and he is doing that. Can contend here.

• Gary Woodland – Played three weeks straight now for T5, T38, T14 thanks to white hot irons and a functioning putter. Was let down at Kiawah Island by a few wayward drives otherwise he would have been in contention. Had made 7 of last 8 cuts here at Memorial. Sets up great for him if his irons continue to fire.

• Kevin Streelman – Has made 6 of his last 6 cuts at Muirfield, off the tee game solid (gained last 11 since start of Feb) and his irons have joined in last 5 events (gained 3.7 Heritage, 5.6 at Honda and 3 at PGA champs) and a T20 last week shows it is all still there. Around the green has been poor last few months but still scoring well, he is traditionally a better wedge player than his recent form suggests so if he can fix that and maintain T2G stuff we’re on. Has always gained around the greens at Muirfield so all looks good. 

• Christiaan Bezuidenhout – Putting and around the green game is probably best on tour right now. Excellent wedge play. Bunkers here are not a problem. His irons looked to have returned at Kiawah Island despite a horrid final round 77. Big concern is off the tee. Some of these holes will demand he reaches for some length and if he starts spraying it, he will find himself in a lot of bother, but he seems to have found a way to mitigate this lately and if he finds the short stuff, look out he could gain 10 strokes on this field on and around the greens.

• Kyle Stanley – I was ultra-wary of the Stanley hype this week and he still made the card. Gained 8 strokes on approach last week after 5.5 at Wells Fargo a few weeks ago. They are career numbers. If those irons are locked in, he can actually contend here at a track he has finished T6, T3 and runner up in last eight years. It is Kyle Stanley, and yes it can go very bad. But there is enough here to suggest he makes the weekend and lands a T40 bet at decent odds for me to lock him into the team. 

• Jason Dufner – the Duffman has been thrusting in our direction this week after perfectly masking another decent T2G week by losing 4 strokes around the greens (something he hasn’t done in almost 4 seasons). His course form is excellent. Former winner and has made 6/7 cuts including 5/7 inside the Top 40 (last year finished T44). Game is not rock solid, but it is close enough that he gets to a familiar track it cant flick around pretty quick and we needed a guy in there at juicer odds.

• Grillo, Ortiz, Hoffman were all unlucky to miss the card (mostly on price) whilst Finau, Matsuyama and Reed (Stats Insider Green Smiley Bet) are all fancied for good weeks as well for anyone who wants to mix and match and maybe remove some of the more dubious selections in the above card. 

LPGA TOUR – US Open 

Been a while since we dipped the toes into the LPGA Tour but since it is a) the US Open and b) the Euro event is a poxy 54-hole tournament with a rubbish field that Paul Casey should lap, what better time to dive in. 

Anyone who wants to feel better about their golf game should tune into as much of this US Open as they can, because it is at the Olympic Club (Lakes Course) in San Francisco and it will be HAAAAAAAARD. 

The course is hard in benign conditions but its going to BLOW this week and these ladies are going to cop it – seeing the weather, I will be shocked if the winner finishes in single digits over par.  

After doing a thorough 4-can prep sesh, I’m pretty bullish about our US Open card, taking all five golfers Outright, three of them each-way.

• Nelle Korda @ 19-1

• Jess Korda @ 19-1

• Hannah Green @ 29-1 (ew)

• Rachel Heck @ 126-1 (ew)

• Sarah Kemp @ 200-1 (ew)

Right so that’s our golf betting for this week with 45 bets if you are playing them all, so make sure you reduce your stake or make adjustments where you need to to stay in the betting zone you are comfortable with. 

Don’t forget to join in our golfing conversations on twitter, chatter is picking up slightly these last few weeks as we start winning more which has been good, but by all means come and throw your two or ten cents into the mix on who you like/hate/need to make a cut this week.

Come join the Twitter party @Club20 for our most up-to-date bets.