Denmark’s Richard Johnson became the seventh first time winner on the PGA Tour this year by claiming the Milwaukee Championship title on Sunday.

Johnson, who led the tournament for the first two rounds, hit top form on the final round to climb out of second place and finish the 2008 Milwaukee Championship with a score of 264. 3 birdies on the last 4 holes helped Johnson break a tie with Ken Duke and finish the tournament on 16 under.

Ken Duke shared the lead with Johnson up until the 17th hole, when Johnson pulled off a 12 foot putt to kill of the American’s hopes of a PGA Tour victory.

Neither of the overnight leaders Nick Flanagan or Gavin Coles managed a top 10 finish, as the Australians both hit even par 70s to finish tied on 11th place.

Dean Wilson, Pat Riley and Chad Campbell finished the 2008 Milwaukee Championship tied for 3rd place. Pre-tournament favourite Kenny Perry shot a brilliant round of 64 to finish the tournament tied for sixth place.

“I accomplished my goal,” Perry told reporters. “I wanted to top 10 it. I told my people, I told my friends. I said, ‘If I can just go there and have a good top 10, I’ve accomplished my mission.’”

Two Australians lead the 2008 Milwaukee Championship going into the final round on Sunday. A round of 68 in difficult conditions was enough to give Gavin Coles a share of the lead with Nick Flanagan.

Both golfers are 11 under for the tournament, with a large chasing pack positioned on 10 under. Neither player has managed to claim a PGA Tour title during their career.

Driving rain made conditions difficult on a day which saw Richard Johnson surrender his lead and slip back to second place on the leaderboard. Johnson shares third place with John Mills, George McNeill and Ken Duke.

Kenny Perry is still in the frame after carding a round of 69 in the third round and is currently placed third alongside the likes of Brian Davis and Martin Laird.

“My goal was to get within three, and I had my chances,” Perry said after carding one of the better rounds of the day. “If I could have made a couple putts coming in and got within three, I would have had a shot at this deal. It will take a magical round tomorrow.”

The 2008 Milwaukee Championship is set for an exciting finale this weekend as Nick Flanagan and Richard Johnson head into the 3rd round neck-and-neck, with several talented golfers chasing hot on their heels.

Outright winner betting markets are set to be very active on Saturday, with great odds on offer for the top placed golfers at the 2008 Milwaukee Championship.

Nick Flanagan’s 63 in the 2nd round sees him take up the short odds favourite mantle from Richard Johnson at a price of 9/1. Johnson is priced 10/1, and looks a good each way bet for punters wanting to cash in on 10/4 odds if the Dane finishes the 2008 Milwaukee Championship in the top 5.

Kenny Perry remains in the mix, with William Hill pricing the hottest player on the PGA Tour at odds of 10/1 to launch an assault on the tournament leaders over the weekend.

While outright winners bets promise to offer some goods odds, several interesting bets are also available in the 2008 Milwaukee Open 3 ball betting markets.

The 3 ball featuring tournament leaders Richard Johnson and Nick Flanagan sees the Australian priced short at 8/5 while Johnson has been priced 7/4 to finish the day alone at the top of the 2008 Milwaukee Championship leaderboard.

Richard Johnson scored a round 67 on Friday to keep a share of the lead at the 2008 Milwaukee Championship going in to the weekend.
Johnson was joined in first place by Australia’s Nick Flanagan, who scored a 7 under round of 63 to take a share of the lead.

“I didn’t really mis-hit a shot in my first five holes,” Flanagan said after his round. “Just middle of the greens and a couple of putts that lipped out.”

Johnson meanwhile, was happy with his game despite opening the door for Flanagan on the second day of play at the 2008 Milwaukee Championship, telling reporters, “I played better today, actually, than I did yesterday. I just didn’t get that many putts to drop today.”

The leaders are 1 shot clear of America’s Kent Jones and Australa’s Gavin Cole in second place. Troy Matteson and Ken Duke also stayed in touch with the leaders with a share of 4th place.

Meanwhile pre-tournament favourite Kenny Perry had another quiet day at the office, finishing the day 5 shots adrift of the leaders on 135.
 

The first round of the 2008 Milwaukee Championship threw up more than its fair share of surprises as action got underway at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course. William Hill have opened a small selection of 2008 Milwaukee Championship betting markets for the second round of the tournament.

There are three 3 ball betting markets on offer, featuring the most popular players at the tournament. Kenny Perry’s 3 ball featuring Troy Matteson and Chad Campbell provides the betting highlight of the second day of the 2008 Milwaukee Championship.

Perry is best priced at 11/10 to outscore the members of his group, while Chad Campbell and Troy Matteson will have to improve substantially on their first rounds to pay out at odds of 10/3 and 7/4 respectively.

Another great 3 ball betting offer pits Brett Quigley against parker McLachlin and Ken Duke. Duke is short odds favourite at 11/8, while Quigley will pay out 7/4 if he cards the lowesr score. If MacLachlin outscores his opponents during the second round of the 2008 Milwaukee Championship, his backers will be rewarded at odds of 2/1.

Kenny Perry started his campaign to claim his 4th PGA title of the season with a muted round of 67 to finish the 1st round of the 2008 Milwaukee Championship 3 under par.

Despite trailing 1st round leader Richard Johnson by 4 shots, Perry would have been delighted with his decision to skip the driving rain of Royal Birkdale in favour of a round of golf on the more hospitable greens of the Brown Deer Park Golf Course.

However, plaudits went to Denmark’s Richard Johsnon on the first day of the 2008 Milwaukee Championship. The Dane shot a round of 63 to finish 7 under, one shot ahead of South African brothers Dean and  Brendan Pappas.

The South Africans had looked set to become the first brothers in PGA Tour history to top the leaderboard at the end of a round, before Johnson scuttled their hopes with a 10 foot putt for birdie on the 18th hole.

“It was a nice putt to roll in there,” said Johnson, who surged to the head of the field after scoring a hole-in-one on the 16th. “Sadly, it probably killed the record for the Pappas brothers.”

Patrick Sheehan, Dean Wilson and Robert Garrigus share third place on a score of 65.

The Milwaukee Championship gets underway today as Kenny Perry begins his campaign to claim his 4th PGA Tour title of 2008. With many of the world’s top players in action at the Open Championship, Perry is set to dominate play on the greens of Brown Deer Park Golf Course.

William Hill have opened four betting markets for the 1st round of the 2008 Milwaukee Championship. Outright winner betting markets will be open throughout the tournament, allowing punters to make selections for tournament winner after reading the flow of play.

1st round 3 ball betting will also be available throughout that day, with betting markets reflecting the 3 ball schedule for the 1st round. 3 ball betting is a popular golf betting option as the odds usually pay out at better than evens, allowing punters to place each way bets.

Kenny Perry is best priced in his 3 ball at 4/5, while Chad Campbell offers good odds at 7/4. Troy Matteson completes the headliner 3 ball at a price of 7/4.

Punters can also place money on whether or not there will be a playoff at the 2008 Milwaukee Championship. This special Milwaukee Championship betting market offers odds of 5/2 to punters betting on extra holes, while a bet on no playoff will pay out at 2/7.

Kenny Perry’s controversial decision to defect from the 2008 Open Championship in favour of a shot at the 2008 Milwaukee Championship has seen the event transformed from a routine stop on the PGA Tour into an important event.

Perry’s presence at the 2008 Milwaukee Championship will swing the media spotlight onto the Brown Deer Park Golf Club on Thursday, as golf fans around the world tune in to see whether Perry can claim his 4th PGA title of the season.

The American has been in red hot form in 2008, and will fancy his chances of taking the lions share of the $4 million prize money up for grabs at the tournament.

William Hill are also backing Perry to continue his great run of form by pricing the American 3/1 to claim his second title at Brown Deer Park Golf Club.

Perry’s closest rival in the betting markets is New Zealand’s Chad Campbell, who is priced 16/1. Heath Slocum is priced 3rd at odds of 20/1 while 2006 champion Corey Pavin will pay out bets at 25/1 if he wins his third Milwaukee Championship title.
 

Kenny Perry will head into the 2008 Milwaukee Championship as tournament favourite after wrapping up his 3rd PGA Tour title of the year at the John Deere Classic on Sunday.

Perry, who has been embroiled in controversy after snubbing the 2008 Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, continued to show sublime form as he defeated Brad Adamonis and Jay Williamson in a playoff for the John Deere Classic title.

Perry shot a 1 under par 70 over the final round of the 2008 John Deere Classic to tie with Williamson and Adamonis and progress to the playoff.

Perry wrapped up the playoff in one hole as both Williamson and Adamonis found the water hazard on the 18th hole, while the 47 year old shot par.

Perry attributed his win to his putting game, where he believes he has found top form in recent weeks. “I have never remembered a tournament where my putter won the tournament for me - I was clutch.”

“I guess 47 is now the new 30,” Perry told reporters after his win.

 The victory has seen Perry consolidate his position in the Ryder Cup rankings, and the American is virtually certain to represent his country in 2008 Ryder Cup.

The 2008 Milwaukee Championship is set to benefit from Kenny Perry’s defection from the 2008 Open Championship. While the cream of world golf take to the Royal Birkdale links, Perry will be staying put in North America to focus on picking up Ryder Cup points.

Perry has come under heavy fire from golf commentators for snubbing the Open when he is effectively the form player of the North American PGA Tour.

Perry has won two PGA Tour events in the last two weeks, and has set his sights on two achievable victories at the John Deere Classic and Milwaukee Open rather than taking a long shot at the British Open on the unfamiliar links courses of Great Britain.

The Milwaukee Open has been a happy hunting ground for Perry who has achieved eight top 10 finishes at the event, including a win at the 2003 Milwaukee Open.

“I’ve been getting hammered for it,” Perry told reporters in response to questions about his decision to skip the Open Championship. “I’m proud of myself to be able to push that aside and go out there and shoot good scores.”

Perry’s schedule of play for the 2008 season, and the decision to skip the Open Championship, was made months before the excellent run of form that saw him enter the world top 20. Perry admitted that his long term strategy had always been to participate in the 2008 Ryder Cup.