Take on the Professor: Bearded genius turns attention to US Open

Our resident sports boffin could quite easily focus his attention on football this summer, what with the Copa America, Women’s World Cup and U21 European Championships all taking place.

But to give mere mortals a chance – and to show off his wide repertoire – The Professor has decided to branch out over the coming weeks.

A dip into rugby league delivered another victory and the chance to enhance his ego while his picks for the recent Monaco Grand Prix had the selected challenger running scared.

This time the bearded calculator is hitting the links and putting himself to the test with the upcoming 2015 US Open his next target.

Hoping to dent our hero’s pride and make off with a £25 FREE BET while he’s at it is @ParkEnder90.

As usual, the format is simple. Each contestant will pick five golfers and their finishing places will be added up. The player with the lowest cumulative total wins!

Let’s see what our profound pair are putting up…

Want to see how the Prof comes up with his picks? Here’s a brief insight into his methods.

– Phil Mickelson (1st).  A six-time runner-up at the only major which still eludes him but that’s about to change with a brand new venue. Chambers Bay is ideally suited to the American’s inventive game and particularly his ability to read links-style, undulating greens.

–  Justin Rose (2nd). The Englishman already has one US Open in the bag and his white-hot form places him right in the mix for a second. Since tying for second at the Masters, Rose has recorded a win and two seconds.

– Brooks Koepka (3rd). One of the few with first-hand knowledge of the challenging Chambers Bay course having contested the Amateur US Open in 2010. The Floridian finished fourth in this major last year and crucially arrives in great nick off a tie for third in Memphis.

– Byeong-Hun An (4th). The 2009 Amateur US Open champion very nearly defended it a year later at Chambers Bay, so has this course’s number. His record-breaking PGA BMW Championship win at Wentworth recently confirmed he’s no longer just a rising star.

–  Ernie Els (5th). The two-time winner has the requisite, unflappable temperament for majors golf and links in particular. Els’ second Open Championship victory in 2012 showed his affinity for links courses still runs strong, while the South African has recorded three top 10s in his last five US Open starts.

Who do you think will win? Get involved on Twitter and via Facebook and watch out for your chance to land a free bet!

Terms and Conditions:

1. You must be aged 18 years or over to bet and participate in this promotion.

2. One winning participant, selected at random, will be contacted via Twitter and asked to submit predictions for their top 5 highest-placed players at the 2015 US Open.

3. Ladbrokes News Team will then inform the participant of their selections so that both parties are fully aware of what’s been chosen in advance of the first tee off on Thursday 18 June 2015.

4. At the end of the tournament we will add up the finishing positions of each of the 5 players and whoever has the lowest cumulative score wins. For example, if the Professor’s picks finish 1st, 4th, 27th, 64th & 70th, the cumulative score would be 166 in which case the contestant would need to score 165 or less to win.

5. In the event of a draw, once the race has finished, you will be asked a relevant tie-breaker question, chosen at the News team’s discretion. If you answer the tie-break question correctly, you win; if you answer incorrectly, the Ladbrokes News Team wins.

6. Free bet token will be valid for 7 days.

7. Free bets must be used in their entirety as a Win Single on any sport and cannot be split into multiple stakes. A free bet token cannot be partially redeemed. If you attempt to place a bet for a lesser total stake than the value of your free bet, the remaining value of the free bet will be void.

8. Free bets are non-refundable. Stakes will not be returned on winning bets placed with free bets.

9. Redeemed free bets will not count toward qualification to view streamed events.

10. Free bets do not count towards qualifying for any other promotional offers.

11. Ladbrokes reserves the right to amend or withdraw the competition at any time.

For full T&Cs please click here.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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