PGA Championship round three: A bet to keep you awake - lay Tiger!

There’s so little left to write about that some hack has even snatched that line from me. Everywhere you go it’s Tiger Woods’ championship to lose and the forums are full of yawning punters boring their mates with speculation about who will be top “Rest of World” player. I can’t find anyone who’s much looking forward to today’s expected Tiger procession.

What has upset many people is the less than inspiring lineup behind Tiger. Where, they ask, are Singh, Mickelson, Furyk, Harrington, Garcia, Stenson? There are valid excuses for only some (though not Garcia, because he was already wrecked when he ran into the mathematical illiteracy of Boo Weekley). Stephen Ames, Woody Austin and John Senden are hardly names to get punting juices going.

They are followed by Ernie Els, the tree-hugging Scott Verplank, a rejuvenated Adam Scott and K J Choi. But they start the day six or more shots back of the best golfer on the planet. Hardly worth rushing to tee off for.

Even if I could throw the house at Woods, as Els has suggested, it’s not worth it to win a garden shed. Which throws up an awful thought - maybe I should do a spot of gardening instead. Ugh, I hate gardening. And that aversion is helping to spark an evil little thought.

This is altogether too easy isn’t it? Too predictable, much too pat.

I know all the stats, I’m well aware Tiger hasn’t lost leading a major on the last day. I know Ames and Austin are hardly top flight and I know what happened the last time the Canadian ran into Woods. But they have had their moments; who is to say they can’t have one more? This course is beatable. Tiger proved it on Friday and Weekley all but proved Tiger’s 63 was not reserved to greatest players on the planet. We’ve had 11 rounds of 67 or lower and 17 more at two under.

Tiger was pretty clinical Saturday and almost metronomic with those par putts from around 10ft. Yet his putter didn’t look so hot from further out, and its anyone’s guess what he has to do to sink it on the 18th. So he could drop a shot or two.

I know, it hardly seems credible. But AC Milan couldn’t lose against Liverpool in the European Champions League final two years ago and they did. A lot of punters went under on that one.

It’s not a bet to throw the garden shed at, let alone the house. But it beats gardening. Let’s face it, some worthy souls made a hefty profit laying Tiger Saturday as he raced to a five stroke lead and his price plummeted to 1.05 (pretty staggering for half way through a third round). It’s now back out to 1.14.

For the aid of the Weekleys of this world, the nonsensical decimal system masks the fact that his price virtually tripled in a few holes. Nice work if you can get it.