Picking a 1st Round Leader at The Memorial

Tee-off:  6/4/2009

This week’s tournament, The Memorial at Muirfield Villiage Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, figures to be a battle between Tiger Woods and Paul Casey.

It makes sense as Woods will be using The Memorial as a prep for a run at the U.S. Open.  Casey has been very good this entire year and could take the momentum of a 5th place finish in the Crowne Plaza last week to a victory in The Memorial this week.

For the BetUS faithful, the real money is in picking the leader after the 1st Round.  It’s a much more difficult challenge which is why settling on a golfer with low odds is never the way to go.

Let’s take a look at 10 golfers that could be leading after the 1st round of The Memorial this week.

Golf:  The Memorial 1st Round Leader

1. Steve Stricker +3000 - - Stricker is ranked #1 in scoring average before the cut at 68.50 per round.  Not only that but he won the Crowne Plaza Invitational in a playoff last week.

2. Kenny Perry +2500 - - Kenny Perry is the defending champion at The Memorial and is ranked in the top three in scoring average before the cut at 69.16.  He could bounce back from his Masters meltdown and have a solid Thursday.

3. Charley Hoffman +6000 - - Hoffman’s 69.03 is second in scoring average before the cut this year.  He’s a forgotten man going into The Memorial but at the odds deserves a long look from gamblers to be leading after Thursday.

4. Paul Casey +1800 - - Casey is just good every time he steps onto the golf course.  His 69.33 average puts him in the top 5 in scoring average before the cut and because he’s one of the favorites to win the tournament, his 18 to 1 odds to lead after Thursday might make him an overlay in this category.

5. Nick Watney +4000 - - Watney is ranked 7th in scoring average with a 69.37 average before the cut and will go into The Memorial under the radar.  That’s good for bettors.

6. Geoff Ogilvy +3000 - - Even though he’s been golfing worse lately than he has all year, Ogilvy still makes the list because his 69.30 average before the cut ranks him 4th on the list.  He could turn it around as the fairways are easier to hit at Muirfield Village than on some of the other courses he’s been playing lately.

7. Sean O’Hair +2500 - - A 69.61 average before the cut puts him into the top ten in that category.  O’Hair finished second to Tiger Woods in the Arnold Palmer and has been very good this year.

8. Robert Allenby +5500 - - Allenby’s 69.50 average before the cut puts him 8th on the list.  He’s yet another golfer that could be leading after Thursday’s round but hasn’t gotten any respect in the Sportsbook.

9. Ian Poulter +3000 - - Poulter jumped from 28th to 16th after last week in scoring average before the cut.  His 69.88 isn’t as good as some of the others on this list but the odds are nice and Poulter was the favorite to win the Byron Nelson after Lefty withdrew two weeks ago.

10. Mike Weir +4000 - - Gamblers shouldn’t forget about Mike Weir who can really golf well at times.  Weir’s before the cut average of 69.76 puts him 12th on the list.  He too could prove tough on Thursday.