The British Open is in the past, and as always, the show must go on. The PGA Tour stops in Milwaukee this week for the US Bank Championship. As usual, the field for this event is not nearly as strong as most on tour, but there are still some very capable golfers teeing it up. Kenny Perry will be the top-ranked golfer in the field in Milwaukee, and he has already won twice so far in 2005. Perry came into this event in 2003 with two wins that season as well, and he walked out of this event with his third victory that year. He will be looking to repeat that feat this time around as well. Perry finished in a tie for 11th at St. Andrews last week.
Scott Verplank also played very well at the British Open last week. He has been really solid all year long, and this could be the week he breaks out and wins this season. Verplank has had three top-ten finishes so far in 2005. Fred Funk and Chad Campbell are ranked just outside the top 30 in the world rankings and both will be in the field this week. Funk, who won The Players Championship in March, hasn’t really done much since that victory. He finished in a tie for second at this event last season. Campbell has moved down the world rankings list all year long and has struggled with his game in a big way.
Carlos Franco will be defending at the US Bank Championship. He shot four rounds in the 60s last year and finished at -13 overall. That was good enough to win by two shots over Fred Funk and Brett Quigley. Franco will be looking to get his game back in form this week, as he only has two finishes in the top 20 all year long. His best finish so far in 2005 is a tie for fifth at the Wachovia Championship. The victory last year for Franco was the fourth of his PGA Tour career.
A couple other notables playing this week worth mentioning are Sean O’Hair and Bart Bryant. Both of these golfers have won once on the PGA Tour this season, O’Hair winning the John Deere Classic two weeks ago and Bryant winning The Memorial. Also, both played very well last week at St. Andrews. O’Hair finished in a tie for 15th in his first major, and Bryant finished in a tie for 23rd. These two are both very capable of winning on any given week.
Ryan Moore is also set to tee it up in Milwaukee this week. Moore has had his fair share of struggles so far on the PGA Tour since turning professional last month. He has made just one cut in his first three tournaments. Moore has had some good rounds, but he always follows the good round with a shaky round. The young professional will be looking to get things on track this week, and he definitely has enough talent to do it.
The US Bank Championship will be played at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course. The layout is very beautiful and will test the golfers this week. The course measures 6,759 yards and par is 70. This is one of the shortest courses the players have played in recent months. The two finishing holes will more than likely decide the winner this week, which is usually the case. The 17th hole is a 387-yard par 4. This may seem like a really easy hole, but that isn’t necessarily a correct assumption. The fairway is very narrow, and the green is guarded by a large bunker in the front. This hole will be a birdie hole normally, but it will be much more difficult when the pins are in the front.
The finishing hole is considered a birdie hole. It is a 557-yard par 5 where birdies are frequent but eagles are tough. The golfers will have to drive the ball over the creek from the tee to have any shot at going for the green in two. If not, the players will just have to settle for the traditional method. The green is guarded by five bunkers in front, so it will very difficult to card an eagle to finish the round. A long drive and a great second shot could pay dividends, but it’s just a risk the golfers will have to decide on.
I picked Darren Clarke to win the British Open last week, and he did pretty good for me. He finished in a tie for 15th along with my sleeper pick Nick O’Hern. This week, I am going with Scott Verplank. The easiest choice would be picking Kenny Perry, but I just don’t want to do that. I picked him to win The Memorial, and he rewarded me with a missed cut. Verplank has played well enough all year to win, and I think this will be the breakout week for him. For my “sleeper” pick, I’m going with Hunter Mahan. Mahan has been flirting with success all year, and I think he could sneak up on the field this week. When he gets things going, he can go really low.
The weather for the tournament should be ok. There are small chances for thunderstorms Thursday and Saturday, but they are very small chances at that. The highs should be anywhere from 80-88, and the scoring conditions should be ideal. The golfers will be playing for a $3.8 million purse, with $630,000 going to the winner. The purse isn’t one of the best of the year, but it’s still enough money to buy a few things. Past winners of this event include Mark O’Meara, Jay Haas, and Greg Norman. The US Bank Championship in Milwaukee can be seen this week on USA and CBS at the following times:
Thu 4-6pm ET USA Fri 4-6pm ET USA Sat 3-6pm ET CBS Sun 3-6pm ET CBS