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US Open golf 2009 betting guide: Robert Allenby

Golf betting: Robert Allenby tipped for the US Open at Bethpage Black

With such a strong emphasis on hitting greens in regulation this week, ROBERT ALLENBY will rarely get a better chance on at last improving a terrible Majors record. Considering the fact he's won 20 international titles, it seems bizarre that Allenby has never made the top-5 in a Major. The US Open is the one exception in that at least he has recorded several decent finishes, including 12th on this course in 2002 and three top-20s since. Allenby ranks second amongst this field for greens in regulation, and having missed only one cut this season, looks bound to be churning out pars when most others are falling away.

Others worth a mention include Vijay Singh and Zach Johnson. Both of these former Major champions have shown plenty of encouragement recently, and came in for consideration at bigger prices than usual. Johnson in particular has always struck me as an archetypal US Open champion, which makes his repeated failure in the event hard to explain.

Former dual champions Ernie Els and Retief Goosen can never be entirely written off in a US Open, though both seem less likely than ever before. Goosen did win on the PGA Tour a few months ago, but his form since has slipped back into the sloppy inaccuracy of the last couple of seasons. As for Ernie, despite much encouragement last time out at the Memorial, I can't see him relishing those five foot par putts that typify US Open weekends.

Despite strong representation in terms of numbers and calibre, relatively few of the European contingent make appeal as they bid for a first US Open title since Tony Jacklin in 1970. Besides Garcia and Harrington, Henrik Stenson is another big name with plenty to prove. When he was strolling to a mightily impressive victory at Sawgrass, I had Stenson down as a big candidate for Bethpage, particularly due to his ability to hit a three-wood 300 yards and therefore reduce the need for a driver. That certainly will be an advantage on this narrow course, but three missed cuts since Sawgrass have rather dampened his appeal in an event where he's never prospered to date. Rory McIlroy surely faces too tough an achievement on his US Open debut.