Open Betting: Relaxed Rory is no one hit wonder

British Open / Ralph Ellis / 23 June 2011 / Leave a Comment

Rory holds his trophy aloft - there will be more

"People who know me understand that I would not want anything like a bus parade," said Rory. "And anyway, there are four of these Majors every year and I've only won one."

History is strewn with one time winners who have struggled to repeat their heroics but Rory McIlroy is unlikely to join them, says Ralph Ellis.

They say the first big title is the hardest, and that's probably not wrong. But the idea that winning one Grand Slam or Major is the automatic passport to winning plenty is patently wrong.
At Wimbledon, for every Roger Federer or Pete Sampras there's been a Michael Stich or a Richard Krajicek; guys who were so blown away by the success of their first title that they couldn't handle the pressure of contending for another.

And in golf, in the 12 Majors since Tiger Woods won the US Open in 2008, there have been 11 different winners. Eight of whom were collecting their first, and only, big prize.

Which leads us to Rory McIlroy, back home in Belfast yesterday to show off his US Open trophy at the Holywood Golf Club where they've been forecasting big things for the curly headed kid since he was chipping airflow balls into his mum's washing machine. You can't help but enjoy the pictures this morning, with champagne flowing and a huge crowd of his nearest and dearest there to celebrate Sunday's incredible success.

But will he be another one-hit wonder? Well, the bit I enjoyed most in this morning's coverage was the quote buried deep in one of the reports. "People who know me understand that I would not want anything like a bus parade," said Rory. "And anyway, there are four of these Majors every year and I've only won one."

Now, I know that my Betting.Betfair colleague Paul Krishnamurty has already warned you against catching McIlroy fever, but I'm taking the opposite view. When Tiger was eating up the opposition on his way to 14 Majors he started every tournament at prices around [2.5] or [3.0]. Rory has been in the same sort of form, if you discount his last day meltdown at Augusta, yet is as long as [7.0] for the Open. That's amazing value.

He's not only saying, but also doing, all the right things. He'll prepare for Royal St George's in exactly the same way he did for the Congressional, with a week off before going to the course for some long private practice rounds - then not turning up in Kent until the Tuesday afternoon and playing just nine holes that night and again the next day. In the meantime, he'll be in the Royal Box at Wimbledon and in Germany to see David Haye fight Wladimir Klitschko. Good. He's staying relaxed.

Then there's the added bonus that the different tests of a spectacular links course will come as nothing new. While his playing partner for the first two rounds at Congressional, Dustin Johnson, is talking about joining the European Tour to get experience away from the perfectly manicured American fairways, McIlroy has been brought up amid the peculiar demands of different courses over here.

McIlroy has led, and led handsomely, for seven of the last eight rounds of golf in Major competitions. Why wouldn't you back him - at such a value price - to go on playing like that?

Five things you might not know about Dustin Johnson

1. Born June 1984 in Columbia, South Carolina. His grandfather on his mother's side Art Whisnant was an All-American basketball player who was drafted by the LA Lakers. His father Scott played wide receiver for South Carolina. It's an athletic family - his younger brother Austin has played guard at Charleston Southern.

2. Scott split from his mother Kandee in an acrimonious divorce in the late 1990s. Dustin and his sister Laurie chose to live with their father. According to accounts their parents have not spoken since.

3. Aged 16 Dustin was led astray as part of a school gang and ended up on parole after pleading guilty to a burglary charge involving the theft of a gun linked to a murder. He was given a full pardon nine years later.

4. The third longest driver on the PGA tour with an average 308 yards, he can hit the ball almost as far left-handed.

5. He was disqualified from a play-off for the 2010 USPGA Championship at Whistling Straits for grounding his club in a 'bunker' he thought was just a patch of dirt. He admitted he hadn't read a notice in the locker room explaining the local rules of the course.

The golf season enjoys a very mini break over the next fortnight so Steve focuses minds for the year to come with a quintet of bets that will be placed in 2011...

It's a stroll in the sun for Louis on a day when drama just didn't materialise......

South African cruises through the final round to win the open at St Andrews by seven shots.......

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West Indies Cricket Team: Relaxed but focussed

West Indies / Frank Gregan / 07 March 2011 / Leave a Comment

Too cool for school. Benn is a fine spinner

"There's nothing wrong with that, in fact quite the opposite is true. A relaxed and ‘chilled out’ lifestyle where one works to live rather than lives to work has to be conducive to healthy mental well being. But as far as sport is concerned, in order to be the best, the very best, apathy has to be replaced with obsession."

They may be the kings of cool and the greatest exponents of the laid-back cricketer but this West Indies team means business and could prove to be dangerous opponents.

One of my mates is a bit of a military legend. He's probably the only bloke that's been kicked out of the SAS - for fighting! Seriously, you couldn't make it up, the Regiment frowned upon a bar room brawl in America and returned him to his parent unit.

Such is his popularity that even though he elected to marry at the same time that England played their opening game of the 2006 football World Cup finals, his friends made the trek to Newcastle from the four corners of the earth to witness him getting hitched.

Another one of my pals had returned to his native Jamaica (he held dual citizenship) after his days in the Army ended but he flew in to be at the gig. We were Brothers in Arms as members of a four man team on an operational tour during which we were together pretty much round the clock every day of the week. I know him better than my siblings and have a great affection for him.

The night before the wedding we all met in the hotel bar and re-fought battles as we put the world to rights. There was tremendous excitement and anticipation about the following day - all except for my Jamaican buddy who confessed to me he could "take it or leave it."

He'd made a 10,000 mile round trip to be there but wasn't in the least bit excited about the event or meeting mates that he hadn't seen for over a decade. His attitude was typical Caribbean, relaxed and unfazed by everything going on around him. This sounds like I'm stereotyping all of the people from the islands that make up the cricketing union of the West Indies. But I guess I am because everyone, and I've met loads through the Army and sport, that I've come across from that region are so laid back they are horizontal!

There's nothing wrong with that, in fact quite the opposite is true. A relaxed and 'chilled out' lifestyle where one works to live rather than lives to work has to be conducive to healthy mental well being. But as far as sport is concerned, in order to be the best, the very best, apathy has to be replaced with obsession.

You don't get to be top of your profession by not applying yourself 100%. Brian Lara and Sir Viv Richards were just that, the very best of their generation and there's a whole host of other great West Indian cricketers who have left their mark on the game. Giants of international cricket such as Gordon Greenidge, Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Wes Hall and Sir Garfield Sobers who were all great cricketers but also tenacious competitors. They made use of every ounce of their talent.

Many pundits believe that the same can't be said about this crop of West Indian cricketers. They've got undoubted ability but their application leaves a lot to be desired. They've been underachieving for the last couple of years and the players seem unperturbed by the situation.

They now have a great opportunity to earn a place in history by winning this World Cup and it would be a classic case of coming good at exactly the right time if they manage to pull it off. They lost their opening fixture when they were comprehensively beaten by the South Africans but since then they've walloped the Dutch and hammered Bangladesh without breaking sweat during a game in which many believed there would be an upset.

As a consequence they have been backed into [23.0] to win the tournament from a high of [38.0]. That's a very big price for a team that can sometimes afford to have Shivnarine Chanderpaul coming into bat at number seven but no doubt many Betfairians have been put off by the West Indian laid back approach.

So do the West Indies really want to win this trophy? You bet they do. Don't be put off by the chilled, cool, "do I look good in these sunglasses" persona. It's all a front. Unless you care, you don't travel 10,000 miles to go to a wedding and you definitely don't get to play international cricket for the West Indies.

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