The USPGA Championship has a reputation for being reserved for American winners and the easiest major -hence the number of one-off victors like Beem and Tway.
But with Tiger here, can anything be described as easy?
Along with our in-depth analysis, we check out some of the 200 fantastic markets that Sporting Index have created for the last major tournament of the golf season...
Come back during the tournament -as we will be updating this page every day and scouring the spreads for value as the competition hots up over at Hazeltine!
Day Two Review Once again it was all about Tiger on day two at Hazeltine -he drew away from the field with consumate ease on the back nine, and though his lead was reduced to a mere four shots with a bogey at the last -it is difficult to see him relinqushing this lead.
But as we said yesterday, the joy of spread betting is that it doesn't matter who wins, because there are so many other markets to interest us such as finishing positions, winning margin and top european / aussie / rest of world etc.
So while Tiger might run away with it -we are looking further down the board for value bets and interesting markets...
Update After Day Two -Spreads On Sporting Index Worth A Look!
Finishing Positions
1) Alastair Forsyth (Scores 73 + 75) Tied 62nd
We tipped this before the tournament and still believe there is great value there as his current quote is 56-59 (max make-up = 70). The Scot recovered from three early bogeys to make the cut. Sell @ 56
2) Hunter Mahan (Scores 69 + 75) Tied 13th
One of our seven players to follow, he struggled on the front nine and although had three birdies coming in -he also had three more bogeys. Current quote is 23-26 (max make-up = 70) though we think he will definitely be top ten. Sell @ 23
3) Stephen Ames (Scores 74 + 71) Tied 26th
Has taken over from Tom Kite as golf's Mr Steady. His current quote is 34-37 (max m/u = 70) looks generous as he will certainly do no worse than his current position and is shouting out to be sold @ 34
3) Angel Cabrera (Scores 76 + 70) Tied 38th
Made up 90 places with his second round 70 -which at one point saw him get back to even par. His current quote is 36-39 (max m/u = 70) but he should finish like a train and is well worth a punt. Sell @ 36
72 Hole match Bets -After Rnd 2 Yang (73, 70), Choi (73, 72) Yang / Choi Why K.J. Choi has lost his form so rapidly is a mystery to us all, but his opponent in this 72 hole match bet, Y.E. Yang is red hot! Buy Yang @ 1.5
72 Hole match Bets -Result Cabrera over Romero by 8 shots Cabrera / Romero -This all Argentinian affair pits the steady Cabrera against the streaky youngster Romero. No contest on present form. Buy Cabrera @ 5
After Rnd 2 , Sporting Index Quote is at 14-17
USA Hotshots (Mickelson/Stricker/Mahan/Cink): 25 pts per top ten and 25 pts bonus if one of the named players wins. Buy @ 17
Wire To Wire :Points are awarded for being in the lead (or close to the lead) for each round -see the Sporting Index golf page for exact details.
All the following players are often in contention for the majors or good value here:
Buy Stricker @ 14 / Buy Cabrera @ 7 / Buy Johnson @ 8 / Buy Singh @ 2
Players Under Par -With 12 players currently in red figures, and 25 more at even or +1, if the course is set up for scoring on Saturday then there could be as many as 20 under the card by round four. Buy @ 11
Finishing Position : Alastair Forsyth -Tied ninth in this last year with four steady rounds.Very small downside in this market as max loss is 14 points. Sell @ 56
Top European Index : Ian Poulter Plays most of his golf on the US tour now, so he will be used to the course set-up this week Buy @ 7 on Sporting Index
Seven Players To Follow This Week
Steve Stricker -Playing very well at present and having won twice in recent weeks, Stricker has risen to 5 in the world rankings. Never far away from the lead.
Stewart Cink - Can follow up his deserved win in the Open by doing what Pod Harrington did last year and win two majors in a season. Very solid performer.
Hunter Mahan -Could Mahan be the year's surprise winner? Tied 10th in 2007 and is improving with each tournament. has the ability to show low in round four.
Zac Johnson -Heading the new breed of young Americans, already won one major and has number two firmly in his sights. Has the length to triumph here and has already tasted victory earlier this season.
Sean O'Hair -Another who has won this season, he also came close to beating Woods in a head to head battle back in March. Ready to win his first major and it would be no surprise to see him win the PGA.
Henrik Stenson -The big Swede won the Players Championship in May, beating a top-class field. A major victory for a Scandinavian golfer is long overdue and who better than the world number seven ranked player.
Tiger Woods -Following his win at the Bridgestone, it is hard to bet against him. Over-turning a three shot deficit against a rejuvenated Harrington shows just how much he wants to win every event -never mind the majors. If he drives it well this week then he will be unstoppable.
Seven Players To Avoid This Week
Andres Romero -Seems to have fallen off the birdie train and all that's left are pars and bogeys. Needs to re-discover the hot streak that made him a great trading proposition in any tournament.
Sergio Garcia -If someone could keep him from looking at the leaderboard -then may just sneak over the line in a major! Was leading in this event last year until he found the water at the 16th (allowing Harrington to sneak by him). Great off the tee -but very poor from eight feet and inwards.
Adam Scott -Could be the next Sergio Garcia, looks good but never wins a major. He may yet prove us wrong, time is on his side -but again his odds are too short to have a punt on him. Has dropped from 6th to 46th in world rankings in one year.
Vijay Singh -Still looks fallible from inside 5 feet -not like the Vijay of old. Fantastic iron player but that isn't enough to justify his position as one of the favs. He makes pars from where he used to make birdies.
Justin Rose -By his own admission he has gone off the boil. His odds do reflect his lack of form, but not many players re-discover it in a major championship. Don't even think of getting involved.
Jim Furyk -The nearly man of golf, he is always there or thereabouts. The man who could swing a club in a phonebox, his odds seem to take into account that he is guaranteed to finish in the top ten. he may well be there come Sunday, but there's always two or three better.
Ernie Els-Had some good finishes at the PGA over the last few years, but can't seem to string 4 good rounds together this year . Els makes a habit of just making the cut then finishing like train -but just too late to make a serious bid to win.
The Course -Hazeltine National, Minnesota. What do you need to know about the course?
1) Designed by Robert Trent Jones snr., Hazeltine was the site of the 2002 PGA when outsider Rich Beem defeated Tiger Woods at the height of his powers.
2) No European player had won the PGA for 78 years before Harrington triumphed at Oakland Hills last year. There were 3 Europeans in the top five.
3) The Scot Richie Ramsay won the US amateur title here back in 2006 and the late Payne Stewart won the US Open at the course back in 1991.
4) Length may be an important factor as the course is well in excess of 7600 yards (7674 -Par 72) and there are four par 4's that measure 450+ yards.
5) It could all go down to the last... The 18th hole is a tough 475 yard par 4 that plays every inch. Players will have to drive between two bunkers and negotiate a three-tiered green.
Anything Else Worth Knowing About The US PGA?
1) There's been only eleven non-USA winners in the last 88 years!
2) The USPGA has seen quite a few one-time major winners including Micheel, Beem, Brooks, Elkington, Grady, Nelson & Tway.
3) The lowest 72 hole score was 265 by David Toms in 2001.
4) Tiger Woods has won it twice with 18 under par.
5) Jack Nicklaus won it five times (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975 & 1980).
