Golf – The Tour Championship

Jim Furyk is the favourite for this week's Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta Georgia – an event especially created for just the top 30 money winners on the US Tour.

Normally you would expect the world number 1 and living legend Tiger Woods to be heading the betting but he has decided to take another week off from competitive golf to re-charge his batteries following his recent hectic schedule, which has seen him playing tournaments all over the world. Furyk, who is the current world number 2, is therefore the obvious nominal favourite in an event where literally anyone is capable of winning; he has managed eight top-three finishes this year and has missed the top four only twice since early June. He is priced generously at 7/1 with VC Bet, which is good value considering many firms have him priced at as little as 5/1, so be careful who you place your bet with if you fancy the unorthodox American to take this title.

Phil Mickleson is also a high profile absentee due to taking this week and the rest of the season off so Ernie Els is the second favourite for this event at 9/1 with VC Bet and sporting odds. The big South African nearly didn't make it for this event but he just squeezed into the top 30 with good performances in recent weeks managing four top-10 finishes in his last six events. Retief Goosen won this event in 2004 so he has course and distance for this tournament, which is very important in golf. He hasn't managed much spectacular in the way of form this season but he can't be ignored when running through the likely candidates. The quiet South African world number 6 is priced at 16/1 with Coral and VC Bet. Vijay Singh also figures highly in the betting and is very likely to do well here this week, he won this event in 2002 and has managed a fantastic ten top-10 finishes in this tournament. You can't discount the world number 5 in any golf tournament especially with the great record that he has here, so 10/1 with VC Bet and Stan James is very reasonable in what is a massively open field.

To give you an idea of the quality on display in this field and just how open it is, the rank outsider is Ben Curtis, who himself has won twice already this season on the US Tour and has a major title to his name when he won the British Open back in 2003. Curtis is priced at a huge 80/1 with bet365 and Ladbrokes, which has to be great value given his pedigree and the fact that he has only 26 other guys to beat. The same goes for Brett Quigley, although this is the first time he has qualified for this event and finished in the top 30, he has been incredibly consistent on tour this year; he has had ten top-10 finishes. Quigley has never managed victory on tour before but at 50/1, the reliable 37 year old he has to be good value for an each way place (1/4 of the odds for a top 4 finish with most firms).

Good luck with your selections!

Ed note: Make all your golf bets at Bet365 for a £100 new account bonus

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