Wednesday 22 September 2010

Tour Championship 2010

The final playoff event sees the race for the $10million Fedex Cup conclude at East Lakes for The Tour Championship. In form Matt Kuchar looks the one to beat but although a local boy it will be interesting to see how he copes with the emotions. No doubt he is the one to beat this week but I have selected 2 that provide better value in the betting, with just 30 runners good value can be got.

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w Zach Johnson @ 22/1 (Boylesports). Playing very well this season and lately too, the fast greens will suit his putting which will be key this week. Has been threatening to win for a while and can do it on the big occassion.

Tip 2: 1 pt e/w Hunter Mahan @ 33/1 (Paddypower). Exceptional odds for a 30 runner event for a player who can beat this best when on his game. His game is not that far away and was in contention twice in the opening 2 playoffs before the weekends, but couldn't limit the mistakes. If he can limit them this week he can win.

Tuesday 21 September 2010

Vivendi Cup 2010

Bank Balance after Austrian Open + 312.87

Another win for the blog last week when Jose Manuel Lara beat David Lynn in a playoff to seal an incredible 4th win in 8 weeks for us. To add to the joy, Danny Willett somehow hung on for a place to boost the total weekly profits by another 86.50 pts. So, can we make it a hatrick? This week sees a new event on yet another unknown course but to add to the conundrum the first 2 rounds are played on 2 seperate courses in pro-am format. Harrington loves pro-ams and is playing with his brother but he will be looking for a good showing also to fine tune his game for Celtic Manor and I do expect him to go well but I wont be investing at best odds of 10/1.

TIP 1: Todd Hamilton @ 50/1 (Ladbrokes): Going to stick with the American who never really got into contention last week but did finish in a tie for 15th. The odds are excellent value for a player playing well lately.

TIP 2: James Morrison @ 100/1 (Paddypower). Has been rested and could go well again this week in this relaxed format. Has had a great season but gone off the boil lately, but has the skills to bounce back. Well worth a punt at these odds.

TIP 3: Alastair Forsyth @ 100/1 (Paddypower). Produced a lot of birdies last week and did very well to make the cut and then grab a tie for 20th. Is finding form and odds are great value for a player who can produce at any given moment.

Tuesday 14 September 2010

Austrian Open 2010

Bank Balance after KLM Open & BMW Championship + 226.37

Another great winner for the blog last week with Martin Kaymer winning easily at the KLM Open. If the greens had been better then he most likely would have won by more then the 4 shots in the end but the ease of the win was incredible(sure I had the winnings spent Saturday evening !!!). Seriously though, its back to the drawing board this week and its not easy to find the blogs 6th winner in 3 months at the Diamond Course in Austria. A new course with loads of water, so none of the players will be familiar except home favourite Markus Brier. He actually went well last week and could ride local support for a good showing which is crucial for him as he lingers around the 115 spot on tour and will hope to use the home advantage to boost his chances of keeping the card. Bookies have him priced too low for a player of his calibre so its not a bet for me. On paper, it looks as if Jiminez is the man to beat, its a strange choice to play this week as prizemoney is small enough and the 7/1 on offer doesn't appeal to me. I have selected 3 players who I do expect to go very well this week, one in particular I have high hopes.

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w T.Hamilton @ 50/1 (Ladbrokes). Former Open champion is settling in well in Europe and has been playing fairly well. He may have done better last week if he could have handled the greens a bit better. This course looks like accuracy will be key and Todd definitely has the game for a course like this. 50/1 is bit overpriced in my opinion and the American could be quite dominant on the leaderboard this week. Big hope for this week.

TIP 2: 1pt e/w Jose Manuel Lara @ 66/1 (Boylesports). The Spaniard is languising down the order of merit and is some €30K behind the 115 spot to ensure a card for next year. He went very well last week finishing in a tie for 4th and collecting €70K. Another top 5 this week is very much within his capabilities as the field is probably the weakest all year. Its the time of year when these players at the wrong end of the order of merit grind out the prizemoney.

TIP 3: 1 pt e/w D.Willett @ 28/1 (Betpack). This tip was a toss up over Richard Green, Damien McGrane and Robert Rock, who were all in the 25-33/1 price bracket. Course will suit the Irishman down to the ground but his putting has let him down lately whilst Willett is finding form again. But for his 75 last Saturday he could have been Kaymer's nearest challenger. Its on that showing that he gets the nod and he can dust himself down again for this and will be confident of a good showing.

Wednesday 8 September 2010

BMW Championship

The 3rd of the 4 playoffs takes to Cog Hill this week where Tiger defends and seeks his 6th victory there. At 7/1 its very tempting and even ore so considering his efforts last week. For me he is worth backing this week. Corey Pavin "picked" him for the Ryder Cup, although it would have been a wrong call not to...too much to lose if he omitted him. Tiger will be buoyed by the vote of confidence, will relish playing Cog Hill, will relish just the 70 man field and will set himself a target of landing this and qualifying for The Tour Championship next week and holding onto his World No 1 status for 2010. Tiger to bounce back this week !

So its the full 4pts win on Tiger @ 7/1

Tuesday 7 September 2010

KLM Open 2010

Bank Balance after European Masters & Deutsche Bank +180.37

Seung-Y Noh grabbed 4th last week in Switzerland to return 16 pts but the weekend should have been more profitable! Hunter Mahan had a weekend to forget, he was -13 after 9 holes in the 3rd rd on Sunday tied for the lead but gave 5 shots back on the homeward journey. On Monday he got an early birdie but ended up +5 for his rd to slip right down the field. Very frustrating to watch it happen when he had just got into the mix. But thats golf and thats betting! We made a 6pts profit for the week, if we did that every week we'd be happy.

This week's European action returns to Hilvershume GC in Holland, which last hosted the KLM Open 5 years ago. All the talk is about Simon Dyson this week but I just cannot see him beating the USPGA Champion, Martin Kaymer who plays in his first tournament since winning at Whistling Straits. Yes, he will be mobbed by reporters etc in Holland, but he is German, which means the cool head will prevail. Dusseldorf is not far from anywhere in Holland so he wont be travelling far either (less than 2 hrs drive if he wanted to). Kaymer is class, and the quality of the field, although quite good, is not near that of Martin's. Ross Fisher I rate as the next best although potential dangers lurk in the shape of Manessero, Schwartzel, Molinari and Robert Karlsson(who is due a return to form soon). Alvaro Quiros may go well this week too if he "goes for it". For me this week its a case of who can challenge the German and if Ross Fisher can add to his Irish Open title and rise the Race to Dubai rankings now that it reaches its final 10 events. The blogs old favourite, Thomas Aiken showed a bit of promise last week and the bookies have duly noted, but he is worth considering for a top 10 finish on the grounds he starts early thursday and pending that round can set him up for a challenge. Speaking of old favourites, I will be watching Michael Campbell's scorecard this week. He is @ 23/1 & 33/1 for top 20 finish with Skybet & Extrabet, he had 8 birdies in his first rd last week, if he can steady the mistakes he could be on his way back.

TIP 1: 4 pts WIN Martin Kaymer @ 12/1 (Betpack). The recent Major Champion can win here if the added attention does not affect him. Stand out quality player in this field. Odds not as bad as anticipated and therefore represent value for a win only bet.

TIP 2: 1 pt WIN Ross Fisher @ 20/1 (Betpack). Can challenge if he starts well. Has the game to be a Major winner and will be looking forward to Ryder Cup & Dubai over the next 2 months. WIN only the tip, can tail off if not in with chance to win.

TIP 3: 1 pt TOP 10 Finish Thomas Aiken @ 15/2 (Betpack). The South African has not quite showed the potential the past 18 months or so but finished well last week. Quite capable of anything and may do well this week on a course that should suit his game down to the ground.

Will look at a 4 pt investment also for the BMW Championship, the 3rd playoff event in the FEDEx Cup. I will post those 4 pts advice tomorrow.(Wednesday)

Thursday 2 September 2010

Deutsche Bank Fedex Cup Playoff Week 2

Its a very open field this week, very hard to pick the winner so the stategy is to find a couple of players representing value that could get over the winning line or at least pay value for a place. Those two players are:

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w H.Mahan @ 40/1 (betpack) Tipped by the blog last week but never got going. Is a big time player, winner this season in big fields and will like this forgiving course. 40/1 is great value for him

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w R.Palmer @ 80/1 (betpack)In best form of his career right now with 2 top 5's in last 3 starts. With this and the price on offer its a good value e/w bet

Wednesday 1 September 2010

Omega European Masters 2010

Bank Balance after Johnnie Walker & The Barclays + 174.37

The picturesque course at Crans-sur-Sierre GC is the venue in Switzerland this week on the European Tour, where one of this blog's favourite players, Alexander Noren, is defending his title. Unfortunately, his form this year is very poor and it looks as if a repeat performance wont be on the cards this week. I have selected 3 players for this week who I expect to not only contend over the 4 days but who have a realistc chance of winning despite the tournament throwing up winners from nowhere with no apparent form. That said, the Roll of Honour does possess some star players.

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w Bradley Dredge @ 20/1 (Betpack). Whilst not a great fan of the Welshman's style of play, or his consistency, he is a player that does have a fantastic record at this course. Boasting 6 top 20 finishes, with 4 of those inside the top 4, winner in 2006 by 8 shots and scores of 62 & 64s in the portfolio, he simply has to be backed this week @ 20/1 having shown some decent form lately.

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w Rhys Davies @ 33/1 (Paddypower). Delighted to hear that Monty has included the young man with a role within the Ryder Cup team as he will be a future star for Europe. He can add a bit of pressure on his compatriot above this week too with his brilliant putting game on a course that tends to throw up a lot of birdies. Great value for a player quite capabale of winning any given week.

TIP 3: 1 pt e/w Seung-yul Noh @ 60/1 (Boylesports). The young Korean has an abundance of talent and has the ability to win here. Playing with the Great White Shark for the opening 2 rounds will be a great help to him not to mention in form Edoardo Molinari.