My sporting weekend

I get a lot of stick inside and outside The Rust as a closet gambler . I reply that just as a regular drinker is not an alcoholic so a flutterer is not a gambling addict. One of the reasons for this is that I hate ” if only”. Gamblers are unhappy people as even if they win they wished they backed more . Not me. I had the Pargie tenner on South African Dylan Fritelli to finish in the top five of the Lyoness Championship in Austria . He won it so an each way bet would have resulted in huge winnings but I am happy with my more modest ones. In the Fedex at St Jude’s I backed Stewart Cink for top five. He went into the final round winning but dropped three shots to let in last year’s winner Daniel Berger , one of the up and comers of American golf. So we had two Champions in their twenties and top fiver Cink, whose last trophy was the Open when he just edged out Tom Watson.

This week we have the event they say means most to the pros , The US Open at Erin Hills Wisconcin. I have not completed my research but I expect Jon Rahm to feature in my staking plan. Managed by Phil Mickelson’s brother ( Lefty will not be there as he prefers to attend his daughter’s graduation) the young Spaniard has all the hallmarks of Seve Ballesteros,a massive hitter with a lovely touch in and on the dancing floor. Dustin Johnson does not seem able to maximise his considerable talents since he fell down the stairs before the masters . With yardage of 7,693 and 4 par fives over 600 yards the course certainly favours a bomber like DJ. Bad weather is forecast on days two and three.

I backed India for the ICC Trophy and an India v England final seems on the cards. Dougie Heath rates England the better side but with Jason Roy its a 10 man side, they will have no home crowd factor as Indian supporters are so noisy and passionate and they have Joe Root but not Virat Kohli. England will have to replace Roy with Bairstow.

As longa as I have enough in the war chest for the US Open after the weekly trip to IKEA , I am as happy as ” big whales” with their 6 figure winnings.