Wednesday 16 October 2013

Perth International 2013 - Karrinyup G&CC

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TIP 2: 0.5 pts e/w J.Higginbottom @ 175/1 Withdrawn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

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