Off to Tuscon,Arizona this week for the first WGC event of the season.64 of the worlds top players will do battle in a head to head knockout contest over five days at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club(Jack Nicklaus design)-At 7849 yards it's the longest course used on the PGA tour.
There's four different brackets with 16 players in each.A strategy i use every year is to pick one player from each bracket,back them each way and hope for the dream result.......four semi finalists!!!This would guarantee a winner and we can all sit back and enjoy a lovely week-end!!
Another strategy would be to pick four strong players from one bracket and hope to guarantee a semi finalist but i prefer the first one.And so on with my picks....
Charl Schwartzel (Bobby Jones bracket,50/1)
The South African is playing some great golf at present.He has'ent finished outside the top ten in his last five starts,winning SA Open two starts ago.Finishes of 9/2/58/16 in his 4 WGC events to date are impressive.Defeated Hunter Mahan and Jim Furyk last year before being beat on the 19th by Stewart Cink(another of my picks)I think Schwartzel can win the Bobby Jones bracket and secure us at least an each way payout:)
Rory McIlroy (Gary Player bracket,16/1)
For me the Gary Player bracket looks the easiest to get out of and thus insure Rory a nice route to the quarter finals.When he gets there he could set up a mouthwatering clash with world number two Martin Kymer.Like Schwartzel,Mcilroy has finished in the top ten in his last five starts and think this week we will see a hungry 21 year old wanting to show the world his star quality.Expect a big performance this week.
Geoff Ogilvy (Sam Sneed bracket,30/1)
Geoff has won this tournament twice including once on this course.He lives in the Tuscon area so knows this course better than most.Obviously enjoys the matchplay format.For me is coming out of the hardest bracket with a first round match against our own Padraig Harrington and potential match-up against Mr T.Woods or last years runner up Paul Casey.But for me his record here is to good to leave out,is a juicy price and if he can get out of his bracket will certainly be favourite to win.
Stewart Cink (Ben Hogan bracket,50/1)
Stewart was third here in 2009 and runner up to Tiger Woods on another course in 2008 so clearly has the ability and mental strenght for this format of golf.He has a stellar match play record(21-11)and has been a great ryder cup player for the U.S down through the years.Has to play last years champ Ian Poulter in his first match which will be though but Poulter,although a firery competitor has not been playing to well recently and i think if Stewart can beat him can go a very very long way in this competition.
Also first day 2-ball matches
Charl Schwatzel to beat Ryo Ishikawa 8/15
Rory McIlroy to beat Jonathan Byrd 4/9 €10 accum pays €78
Geoff Ogilvy to beat Padraig Harrington 4/6
Stewart Cink to beat Ian Poulter 11/10
A though competition to find a winner but best of luck!!!
FIRST DAY 2-BALL MATCHES ALL WON WHICH MEANS PROFIT MADE NO MATTER WHAT!!!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Stars to shine at Riviera
The PGA tour stays in Cali this week and its the Northern Trust Open at the Riviera cc,Los Angeles.It's a par 71 course over 7298 yards with three par 5's.This course does not usually play too easily and was ranked 20(out of 52)in difficulty on the PGA tour in 2010.
The course...quote"This is an old fashioned test of golf,requiring players to position their tee shots well,move the ball both ways in the air and keep out of trouble.The bentgrass greens are smaller than average and have subtle contours" Course knowledge and a few years on the clock are advantages at Riviera it seems...With rain forcast for most of the week,length from the tee might be important aswell as players who find plenty of greens in regulation.
Last year Steve Stricker scored -16 to win by two shots from Luke Donald.Phil Mickelson won this in 2008 and again in 2009 with Stricker coming 2nd so both have a liking for the course.I always have a liking for Fred Couples on this course as has a great record here also but because of forcast rain will wait till the weekend to see how he's doing!!Wont be backing the two market principles Mickelson and Stricker as their prices are to short,so my picks this week will be Dustin Johnson,Anthony Kim,Robert Karlsson and Rory Sabbatini.
Dustin Johnson(22/1 brucebetting)Had a bad week at Pebble Beach but because of that he's a huge price @22/1.Firstly,he has course form:His debut at this course was T54th,T10th in 2009 and T3rd last year,hopefully can keep progressing this year!!Just read a quote from DJ about the course after playing here last year"I just like the setup of it,its always in good shape,it really fits my eye well,the greens are really good here,its just a fun course to play"Great to read that and makes DJ my top tip for this week.
Anthony Kim(40/1 paddypower)AK is the local boy this week playing infront of his home fans.Did'ent play last week at Pebble and missed the cut at Phoenix which was a surprise but before that has a T19th,T13th,T6th.That run of form has shown that the largely talented Kim has recovered from the thumb
surgery he had last year.In the Farmers Insurance at Torrey Pines Kim led the field in putting stats and if he can get hot with the putter at Riviera i think he can contend as he did on his debut here when T9th.Has won 3 times on the PGA tour and just like DJ because of a bad tournament previous we can get overpriced odds:)
Robert Karlsson(50/1 ladbrokes)Playing on the US tour this year and funnily enough is known as a rookie!!Has played ryder cup golf and picked upthe European tour order of merit.He comes to the U.S off the back of a win in November in Dubai and a 5th and 6th place finish in Europe in January and start of Febuary.Has played in the U.S before,got beaten in a playoff last year at the St Jude Classic which is a similar course.Great ball striker and great putter,would not be a surprise to see him go well.
Rory Sabbatini(66/1 paddypower)Going to persist with Rory as had backed him last week at pebble where he finished 15th.Was a winner here at Riviera back in 2006,also great efforts in 2009(6th) 2007(9th) 2002(2nd).In great form at the moment 22nd,13th and 15th at pebble(10th in driving distance)..ranking high in the total birdie stats at the moment too so the 66/1 looks a good price!!
Another few names to throw in because of course form and recent form are JB Holmes,Luke Donald,Andres Romero.
BEST OF LUCK!!!
The course...quote"This is an old fashioned test of golf,requiring players to position their tee shots well,move the ball both ways in the air and keep out of trouble.The bentgrass greens are smaller than average and have subtle contours" Course knowledge and a few years on the clock are advantages at Riviera it seems...With rain forcast for most of the week,length from the tee might be important aswell as players who find plenty of greens in regulation.
Last year Steve Stricker scored -16 to win by two shots from Luke Donald.Phil Mickelson won this in 2008 and again in 2009 with Stricker coming 2nd so both have a liking for the course.I always have a liking for Fred Couples on this course as has a great record here also but because of forcast rain will wait till the weekend to see how he's doing!!Wont be backing the two market principles Mickelson and Stricker as their prices are to short,so my picks this week will be Dustin Johnson,Anthony Kim,Robert Karlsson and Rory Sabbatini.
Dustin Johnson(22/1 brucebetting)Had a bad week at Pebble Beach but because of that he's a huge price @22/1.Firstly,he has course form:His debut at this course was T54th,T10th in 2009 and T3rd last year,hopefully can keep progressing this year!!Just read a quote from DJ about the course after playing here last year"I just like the setup of it,its always in good shape,it really fits my eye well,the greens are really good here,its just a fun course to play"Great to read that and makes DJ my top tip for this week.
Anthony Kim(40/1 paddypower)AK is the local boy this week playing infront of his home fans.Did'ent play last week at Pebble and missed the cut at Phoenix which was a surprise but before that has a T19th,T13th,T6th.That run of form has shown that the largely talented Kim has recovered from the thumb
surgery he had last year.In the Farmers Insurance at Torrey Pines Kim led the field in putting stats and if he can get hot with the putter at Riviera i think he can contend as he did on his debut here when T9th.Has won 3 times on the PGA tour and just like DJ because of a bad tournament previous we can get overpriced odds:)
Robert Karlsson(50/1 ladbrokes)Playing on the US tour this year and funnily enough is known as a rookie!!Has played ryder cup golf and picked upthe European tour order of merit.He comes to the U.S off the back of a win in November in Dubai and a 5th and 6th place finish in Europe in January and start of Febuary.Has played in the U.S before,got beaten in a playoff last year at the St Jude Classic which is a similar course.Great ball striker and great putter,would not be a surprise to see him go well.
Rory Sabbatini(66/1 paddypower)Going to persist with Rory as had backed him last week at pebble where he finished 15th.Was a winner here at Riviera back in 2006,also great efforts in 2009(6th) 2007(9th) 2002(2nd).In great form at the moment 22nd,13th and 15th at pebble(10th in driving distance)..ranking high in the total birdie stats at the moment too so the 66/1 looks a good price!!
Another few names to throw in because of course form and recent form are JB Holmes,Luke Donald,Andres Romero.
BEST OF LUCK!!!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Take me to the beach
After five days in the arizona desert its back to cali and probably the most beautiful course in the world...Pebble beach.Its a pro-am tournament and three courses are used and they are all shorter than average
Pebble beach golf links: par 72 course yardage 6816
Monterey peninsula cc: par 70 course yardage 6838 with three par 5s
Spyglass hill gc: par72 course yardage 6858
Conditions can get windy here and Dustin Johnson is defending champ and also won it in 2009 when the tournament was reduced to 56 holes because of the weather.He almost had three in a row here when leading going into the last round of the U.S open back in June only to shoot a final round 82.I had backed him on that occasion and its safe to say that i wanted to clock him with the r9 on the side of the head!!
Phil Mickelson has won this on three occasions with his latest being 2007.Can't bet on either as their prices are to short!!
My main bets are Tim Clark,Brian Gay,Rory Sabbatini,and outsider bet on Tom Gillis
Tim Clark(16/1)Had to withdraw from the Bob hope tournament with blister problems!!!But hopefully fully recovered to give a good performance in which he finished a decent 10th last year.Seems to play well in pro-ams as has a good record at the hope and is in good recent form finishing T2nd at the Sony Open a few weeks back.
Brian Gay(33/1)Have to say that i'm a big Brian Gay fan on short courses,Suprisingly only played this tournament once being last year and finished a respectable 16th as he is not playing aswell then as he is now.Has Started the season well with a 15th, 5th and 8th.
Rory Sabbatini(66/1)Played well last week in Phoenix 22nd and has some good form in this tournament 2nd(06) 10th(03)Great wind player and if the wind blows Rory could come in at a nice price!!
Tom Gillis(80/1)Have to say that at the start of this season i did'ent know alot about Tom but has been up on alot of leaderboards this year again last week in Phoenix,decided last week that because of his form i'd check him out in future tournaments.Finished 8th here last year,really great putter but a bit shaky on the shorter ones which might not be great if he's leading on sunday!!Was No1 on birdies last year on tour so he's a bit of a mixed bag but if he clicks could be a great bet this week!!
BEST OF LUCK
Unfortunately one of my picks Tim clark has pulled out of the tournament but because he had not started you will be able to get your money back....had high hopes for him aswell:(
TOM GILLIS finished 3rd which made him a 20/1 WINNER!!!!!
Pebble beach golf links: par 72 course yardage 6816
Monterey peninsula cc: par 70 course yardage 6838 with three par 5s
Spyglass hill gc: par72 course yardage 6858
Conditions can get windy here and Dustin Johnson is defending champ and also won it in 2009 when the tournament was reduced to 56 holes because of the weather.He almost had three in a row here when leading going into the last round of the U.S open back in June only to shoot a final round 82.I had backed him on that occasion and its safe to say that i wanted to clock him with the r9 on the side of the head!!
Phil Mickelson has won this on three occasions with his latest being 2007.Can't bet on either as their prices are to short!!
My main bets are Tim Clark,Brian Gay,Rory Sabbatini,and outsider bet on Tom Gillis
Tim Clark(16/1)Had to withdraw from the Bob hope tournament with blister problems!!!But hopefully fully recovered to give a good performance in which he finished a decent 10th last year.Seems to play well in pro-ams as has a good record at the hope and is in good recent form finishing T2nd at the Sony Open a few weeks back.
Brian Gay(33/1)Have to say that i'm a big Brian Gay fan on short courses,Suprisingly only played this tournament once being last year and finished a respectable 16th as he is not playing aswell then as he is now.Has Started the season well with a 15th, 5th and 8th.
Rory Sabbatini(66/1)Played well last week in Phoenix 22nd and has some good form in this tournament 2nd(06) 10th(03)Great wind player and if the wind blows Rory could come in at a nice price!!
Tom Gillis(80/1)Have to say that at the start of this season i did'ent know alot about Tom but has been up on alot of leaderboards this year again last week in Phoenix,decided last week that because of his form i'd check him out in future tournaments.Finished 8th here last year,really great putter but a bit shaky on the shorter ones which might not be great if he's leading on sunday!!Was No1 on birdies last year on tour so he's a bit of a mixed bag but if he clicks could be a great bet this week!!
BEST OF LUCK
Unfortunately one of my picks Tim clark has pulled out of the tournament but because he had not started you will be able to get your money back....had high hopes for him aswell:(
TOM GILLIS finished 3rd which made him a 20/1 WINNER!!!!!
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Yes to noh in Dubai
Seung-Yul-Noh 50/1 Paddypowers
A par 72 course of 7300 yards with greens reading 11.8 on the stimpmeter(fast) but may slow down with scattered showers forecast on Thursday.Conditions should improve for the week-end.
Last year Miguel Angel Jimenez(33s) won in a play-off against Lee westwood(12s).Other winners here include Rory mcilroy(7s)09, Tiger(6s)08-06, Stenson(45s)07, last weeks winner Bjorn(55s)01, David Howell(150s) in 99.
As for my selection Seung-Yul-Noh A young lad full of talent who hits the ball miles and straight and has a silky short game,Already a winner on the european tour at the age of 20,expect great things from this lad starting at the Dubai desert classic....GET ON!!!!!
A par 72 course of 7300 yards with greens reading 11.8 on the stimpmeter(fast) but may slow down with scattered showers forecast on Thursday.Conditions should improve for the week-end.
Last year Miguel Angel Jimenez(33s) won in a play-off against Lee westwood(12s).Other winners here include Rory mcilroy(7s)09, Tiger(6s)08-06, Stenson(45s)07, last weeks winner Bjorn(55s)01, David Howell(150s) in 99.
As for my selection Seung-Yul-Noh A young lad full of talent who hits the ball miles and straight and has a silky short game,Already a winner on the european tour at the age of 20,expect great things from this lad starting at the Dubai desert classic....GET ON!!!!!
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