Its
last chance saloon for many on the European Tour this week as they head to
Western Australia for a co-sanctioned event that will be played on the
Karrinyup GC for the second sucessive year. The Europeans will meet their
counterparts from the Tour of Australasia and be accompanied by defending
champion, Bo Van Pelt and his compatriot Dustin Johnson. 12 months ago, Van
Pelt and his compatriot, Jason Dufner put some daylight between themselves and
the rest of the field and one would expect DJ to do just that again this week,
especially having shown some glimpses of form at the Tour Championship a few
weeks back.
Two Irish players currently sit
just outside the all-important TOP 110 and they are Peter Lawrie and David
Higgins who lie 114th & 115th in the standings.
But I want to oppose DJ
this week, he can't be backed at those odds here where emphasis is on GIR and
putting (the greens will be quick here). Yes, he's a strong favourite but just
too short in the betting. Instead I want to have a punt on Chris Doak this
week.He currently lies just inside the top 110 (105th) and looks to
have secured his card but he will be very keen to finish the season off having
played fairly well the past couple of months with his last 3 events yielding
results of 8-20-23 and cash of just over €95,000. He can take the momentum into
Perth and compete here, and at 80/1, I’m happy to be on board.
This week sees NSW's
Jake Higginbottom celebrate his 20th birthday. Almost 12 months ago, he won the
NZ Open as an amateur at Clearwater GC and has had a decent enough season on
the PGA Tour of Australia making 12/16 cuts. Of those 12 he has 8 TOP15s and
whilst this is a different kettle of fish this week, he will be under no
pressure to gain some more ranking points. If he can get a decent start he can
give us a run at a price that is too big for a player that could develop into a
tour regular winner. 175/1 is too big
My third pick is Perth
native, Nick O'Hern at 50/1.
He's had a mixed 2013 campaign but should be
at
ease on a track he knows well. He finished T11th at the WA Open last week so
brings some form into this one. Always has been a decent putter and worth a
punt here in his own backyard.
TIP 1: 1 pt e/w C.Doak
@ 80/1
TIP 2: 0.5 pts e/w
J.Higginbottom @ 175/1 Withdrawn
TIP 3: 1 pt e/w N.O'Hern @
50/1
No comments:
Post a Comment