The Tiger is back. After a stunning performance at Augusta last month, Tiger Woods claimed his first Major title since 2008 with a one-shot victory at The Masters to land his 15th Major title of an incredible career that now seems to have a new lease of life following this outstanding victory.
Having come back from what looked like career-ending back problems between 2014 and 2017, Woods has regained both his form and his class over the past 12 months to move ominously up the World Rankings once again and after showing he is close to his best last season, he proved that he was back at the top of his game last month with victory at Augusta.
[featured_offer id=”1750″]However, it wasn’t just the manner of his win at Augusta that was so impressive. Woods now certainly seems to have a greater grip of what his talent can do and, perhaps more importantly, what he can do physically. He was well aware of the physical, mental and emotional toll winning The Masters took on him and he took a few weeks off to ensure that he fully recovered from it. Something that an old Tiger Woods, may not have had the forethought to do.
So, while Woods is rested heading into the USPGA Championship this weekend in New York, a number of his compatriots and fellow professionals are hoping that this weekend will be their chance to land a Major. If you fancy a flutter on any of them, then head over to bet365 Sport. There’s lots of great golf markets available and if you are not yet a member you can join using the current bet365 New Player Bonus, which offers you a little added extra once you are up and betting on the site.
So how will Tiger fare this week at Bethpage Black? Let’s take a look at the course and see whether it is one suited to his particular game.
Bethpage Black Course Layout
- Hole 1 – 430 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 2 – 389 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 3 – 230 Yards (Par 3)
- Hole 4 – 517 Yards (Par 5)
- Hole 5 – 478 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 6 – 408 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 7 – 524 Yards (Par 5)
- Hole 8 – 210 Yards (Par 3)
- Hole 9 – 460 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 10 – 502 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 11 – 435 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 12 – 517 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 13 – 608 Yards (Par 5)
- Hole 14 – 161 Yards (Par 3)
- Hole 15 – 459 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 16 – 490 Yards (Par 4)
- Hole 17 – 207 Yards (Par 3)
- Hole 18 – 411 Yards (Par 4)
Par 70 – Length 7436 Yards
Since it hosted the US Open in 2002, Bethpage Black has been lengthened by around 220 yards and this, combined with a par score of just 70, has made it one of the toughest courses on the US Tour. The publicly owned course was ranked the 6th toughest on tour by Golf Digest in 2008 and it is a course that does offer opportunities for birdies and even eagles, but also can be incredibly tough.
The problem for Tiger Woods is that it can be very penalising for golfers not accurate from the tee and with his longest club in his hand, Woods has been erratic when driving the ball at times. If he can resolve that issue, then the length of the course should not be a problem and of course, Tiger’s irons, short game and putting are amongst the best in the world, if not the best of all time.
Hole 13 and 14 will be pivotal in many players rounds with a massive 608-yard par 5, which will likely be a birdie opportunity for many players, if not an eagle for some, followed by a tricky par 3 of 161 yards, the shortest hole on the course which again could see players pick up a shot heading into a tough final four holes.
So Bethpage Black may not be Woods’ ideal course to be honest, but it is a course where he can thrive if he can find his A-game, if Woods can do that then in truth there are probably no courses in the world where he could not at least challenge, if not win.
Woods v The Field
While I don’t see Woods having any huge issues overcoming the different challenges that will face him at Bethpage Black this weekend, where I do feel he will face far more of a threat comes from the players that will be opposing him over the four days of action.
The 156-strong field will be battling it out for a prize pool of $11,000,000 and while the money has long since ceased to be a motivation for the top players, the prestige of being a Major winner in 2019 will certainly be motivating them.
There’s no doubt that American players have a great record on both this course and this tournament, which suggests Woods main threat will likely come from his potenetial Ryder Cup team mates. The likes of Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson, Zach Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Dufner, Jordan Spieth, Justin Thomas and defending champion Brooks Koepka will all no doubt be pushing hard to land a victory here.
However, there is also a very strong representation from other parts of the world too with Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Francesco Molinari, Ian Poulter, Tommy Fleetwood, Adam Scott, Jason Day, Branden Grace, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson all likely to be amongst the players in with a shout come Sunday afternoon.
Indeed, such is the quality and depth of this field, that it is easy to see why Woods, even though he is favourite to win the event, is still rated as a 10/1 shot with bet365. That is simply because this is a Major and the field is so packed with talent that picking a winner can be incredibly difficult.
Who wins the USPGA Championship?
I can see Tiger Woods being involved in this tournament on the final day and perhaps being in one of the later groups, but I think the lack of golf for him over the past month or so since his Masters win may well just catch up with him here and as such, Tiger may prowl around Bethpage, but I think he’ll leave hungry.
I think history shows an American winner is the most likely one and of the elite group of players, two stand out for me. The first is Dustin Johnson who has the incredible length off the tee that is required to make this course much more playable. Johnson is also in good form but he is overdue another Major win and I think this event, perhaps more so than any other, tends to suit his game better.
You can’t also not mention Brooks Koepka as a potential winner. He won back to back US Opens in 2017 and 2018 and could yet make it three in a row in 2019. He also won the USPGA last year and I think like Johnson, this course is particularly well set up for his skill set.
I’d probably just back Johnson to win although I would certainly consider an each way punt on Koepka too.
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