Saturday 30 July 2011

Ollie Wilson to get his season going on Sunday

It was awful weather for quite a few today in Killarney and it didn't suit Ollie Wilson today as he struggled for a 74. On Sunday he partners Robert Jan-Derksen at 10:25 tee time and this should provide them with the best of the weather before the rain comes in the afternoon. (yeah I'm a weather expert too ya know, but thats the forecast anyway). The Englishman is slowly but surely getting back to his best and he may just put today's round behind him on a course he likes tomorrow. He has been in good form within himself this week off the course, will be relaxed, and can just about edge out the Dutchman @ 2.25 with Bet365

Lawrie to lead Irish charge on Day 3

The Irish are lurking in their home Open and Dubliner Peter Lawrie could be the one to make the big move on Saturday. Rory McIlroy is not that far back, neither is Damien McGrane and Lawrie will have the incentive to be leading Irishman this week as all eyes were on the "big 4". Peter tees it up with Niklas Lemke and should outscore him handily enough as moving day may prove to be a hard one to cope with for Lemke and its a 1.83 bet with William Hill

Thursday 28 July 2011

Rory to bounce back on day 2

Rory McIlroy threw away a few shots on his back 9 on Thursday but he should make up for it tomorrow. With the way the leaderboard is after the opening day, Rory will quietly fancy his chances now and I expect him to start making his move Friday.Defending champion, Ross Fisher opened up with a nice -4, and David Horsey with -3 so there is incentive there to overturn his partners. Great value in the 2.10 on offer with Paddypower and he is the select to eliminate the mistakes and progress.

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Joost Luiten to win Threeball on Thursday in Killarney

Joost Luiten can win his "three"ball tomorrow against Stephen Dodd and Rafael Cabrera-Bello. The Dutchman is in fine form this season and the Kileen course should be ideal for his game which emphasises his accuracy. Early start tomorrow may help also and the 2.25 with Betpack is well worth taking.

Very unlucky with C.Nilsson last Sunday when he lead Jaco Van Zyl by 3 shots at the 17th tee but a horrendous 9 on the island green par 3 penultimate hole meant he lost out. No consolation in that the 9 was not the worse recorded score on the hole that day but the bet was good despite the outcome

Irish Open 2011

Its a great shame that the Irish Open tees off on the Kileen course at Killarney this week without a major sponsor following telecom oparator, 3 pulling their sponsorship in favour of Irish football. Its more of a pity as "three" recent Major winners from Ireland tee it up tomorrow along with Padraig Harrington, winner of "three" Majors as well.Its their loss but the show does go on thanks to support from the European Tour and local sponsors Liebherr, Waterford Crystal, Irish Examiner and main sponsor Discover Ireland. And what a show for what Colin Montgomerie calls "the most knowledgeable and appreciative spectators on the European Tour". They will be that again this week and very vociferous too as they cheer on Rory and Darren following their success at the last two Majors. 4 Irishmen in the field who are winners of Majors !!! Incredible stuff.
Rory goes off the 5/1 favourite. Cannot be backed at that price but he could just do it you know. Of the other "three",(and that enough of the puns and free advertising for a company that shouldn't be getting a plug here) I really do think Padraig will be up for this. Ok he is not at his best this year but he is playing better than he did in 2010 and he gave Ross Fisher a fright on Sunday here 12 months ago closing with a 64. If Padraig gets a good opening round under him the Irish crowds will inspire him and he could be the one to beat. 18/1 with Boylesports (who are paying 6 places along with Paddypower) is great value and has to be taken.
Alex Noren won for us last week, rewarding the "keep the faith" strategy so that would mean I would keep the faith with Ross Fisher this week, defending champ and course record holder. But I wont be on Ross this week although I think he is about to click but reason being for not backing him here is that the defending champion is very hard to back winning again.Hopefully Ross keeps that elusive win for the WGC or USPGA! Instead I really do fancy the chances of his compatriot, Simon Dyson @ 22/1 with Paddypower (25's with others but the extra place is worth taking). His confidence is soaring after some solid weeks lately, especially at Sandwich and Kileen will suit him. I expect him to be challenging again this week.
Third selection is Chris Wood, despite an indifferent spell the past few months. He was top 5 finisher here last year and will have fond memories of that which could be the spur to kick on for the remainder of the season. 40/1 is just about right with Paddypower.
My final selection has to be Peter Whiteford who I have been very impressed with over the past 5/6 weeks. Beautiful swing, very composed and is due a real good showing soon and his game will suit this week. 50/1 with Paddypower also.

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w P.Harrington @ 18/1 Boylesports

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w S.Dyson @ 22/1 Paddypower

TIP 3: 1 pt e/w C.Wood @ 40/1 Paddypower

TIP 4: 1 pt e/w P.Whiteford @ 50/1 Paddypower

Saturday 23 July 2011

The final round tomorrow in Stockholm should be a "victory lap" for our tip, Alex Noren as he takes an incredible 11 shot lead into Sunday. No one has ever come from more than 10 behind to win on tour so lets hope that doesn't change then. One 2ball that could add to the celebrations tomorrow sees Noren's compatriot, Christian Nilsson out with Jaco Van Zyl. Nilsson, who has two top-ten finishes to his name this season, has been solid all week and was six under par for the final ten holes on Saturday. Zyl opened with a 67 on day 1 but has kinda just hung in there the last two days and the local player is tipped to outscore him @ 2.00 with Paddypower

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Two Opening day threeball bets offering value

James Kingston is a player that seems to like teeing off early on Thursdays. Tomorrow he tees off at 08:20 on the 10th tee with playing partners, John Parry & Todd Hamilton. The American is struggling these days and Parry is trying to gain the form he showed last year. This is an ideal 3ball for the South African to return the best scorecard and at 2.90 with Betpack

A second match that I want to play is the match with Seng-Yul Noh and as mentioned in the main post for outright e/w betting, the Korean is good value this week following good form recently. He has formidable players alongside him tomorrow in Jamie Donaldson & Richard S Johnson but the 3.00 on offer has to be taken with Boylesports

Nordea Masters 2011

This week sees action in Sweden where Americans, Dustin Johnson & Bubba Watson head the markets. I was quite keen on DJ winning here but a bit disappointed at the 8/1 on offer. He was a bit ill last week but put a great show at The Open. Only 27 yrs old, I'm really impressed with him and dont believe he's a bottler despite not closing out 3 Majors. Not a great field this week and it should suit him to prevail. He may be on great appearance money but as this is the 2nd year to be invited, that fee must be lucrative and a good effort this week would ensure another invite next year. He can win this but its just not worth backing him at 8's. Bubba is not worth backing at 18s either - he has openly admitted to being homesick away from the States so I see that being an obstacle this week too.
I wasn't going to mention Alex Noren this week but having studied the form and the field have decided he is worth taking this week even at 25/1 with Paddypower. Winner recently at Celtic Manor, Alex has been in good form and can really challenge this week for his home title.
My second selection was a toss up between Seung-Yul Noh and James Morrison. The Korean has had a good couple of weeks on the links (30th in The Open) and could be full of confidence this week but I am opting for the Englishman instead. His form has been slighly better than Noh's and he is rested having not played at Sandwich, went close in Paris and put a great showing in Inverness. He is a streaky player just like Aiken, and could be about to hit top form. 5 par 5's this week will suit him and he can get very hot with the putter. Despite wanting better odds I will take the 50/1 on offer with Betpack.
Third selection is another Swede, Rickard Karlberg. Not a great 2011 so far but has shown glimpses of getting it all together over 4 days and being on home soil may be the spur to do just that. Worth a small interest at 100/1 with Paddypower
Michael Campbell is trying real hard to get back up the leaderboards, has an early start on Thursday and will click one of these weeks. So for that belief and reason I have to have a little on Cambo to surprise everyone.

TIP 1: 1.5 pts e/w A.Noren @ 25/1 Paddypower

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w J.Morrison @ 50/1 Betpack

TIP 3: .5 pts e/w R.Karlberg @ 100/1 Paddypower

TIP 4: .5 pts e/w M.Campbell @ 200/1 Boylesports

Saturday 16 July 2011

Zach Johnson could surprise today too!

Zach Johnson has been playing awfully well lately suggesting a win is not too far away. A former US Masters champion he may have the measure of the greens today too and can go better than former PGA Champion, Y E Yang @ 2.10 also with Paddypower

Clarke to keep his cool Saturday

Very frustrating day yesterday with the 2 bets. Pablo Larrazabal beat Richard Green by a shot again, producing a fine opening 36 hole score to really give him a chance in this championship. A bit surprising but fair play to him. A friend of mine suggested I may have been "chasing" this bet, I said I wasn't but perhaps I was? Convinced Green could outscore him either day, and probably thought "well he didn't day one but he'll get him on day 2!" No doubt, Green will return a better score today so! In the second grouping, Stephen Gallagher somehow lost to Bill Haas! The Scot was -3 for his round at one stage and 3 clear of the American, but he either tired or just got his club selection wrong coming in to return a 71 when it should have been a 69. Really frustrating this result but in review the 2 bets were good ones but with all betting, its not possible to get them all in.
But it's difficult to see value in today's twoballs with the weather the way it is but I have to take Darren Clarke to outscore Lucas Glover @ 2.00 with Paddypower. The Dungannon man will be at home in the wind & rain today not to say that the former US Open champion wont cope either, but Darren is up for this today, and will be patient enough if he keeps his eye on the leaderboards. (It could be a great day for Martin Kaymer, I fully expect him to set himself up nicely for tomorrow)

Thursday 14 July 2011

Friday Threeballs for The Open

2 out of 3 successful on day 1 and a bit unlucky with Richard Green losing out to Pablo Larrazabal who shot a fine 68. Tomorrow they are out early and again I feel the Aussie can outscore the Spaniard as well as Steve Marino. They should get the best of the weather in the morning as rain and wind speed forecasted to pick up in the afternoon. The experience of Green should see him play steady enough and I am not afraid to back him again @ 2.88 with Victor Chandler Golf

In the early afternoon, Scot, Stephen Gallagher will set off in the company of American Bill Haas and Japan's Hiroyuke Fujita having opened with a level par 70. This means he carries a 2 shot lead over Haas and 5 over Fujita. In the wind & rain, Gallagher should prove more able than his partners who need a decent score tomorrow and is great value at 2.63 with Betpack to see out this threeball.

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Opening Day Threeball at The Open

First threeball out sees Danny Willett teeing it up alongside Nathan Green & Jerrry Kelly and surprisingly, the Englishman can be had @ 2.40 to outscore his partners who I feel will struggle on this course. The Englishman is improving all the time and the early start may help get over Open nerves and is taken @ 2.40 to prevail with Betpack

Paul Casey may not be having the best year so far but has played a lot of golf on this course despite missing cut in 2003. His playing partners should be taken care of in the morning in the shape of 2003 winner, Ben Curtis & Aaron Baddeley. Again 2.40 with Betpack

Richard Green can be backed at 3.00 with Boylesports to beat Steve Marino and Pablo Larrazabal. I believe he will. Good driver of the ball and a prolific putter will see the left-hander around Sandwich whilst the Spaniard may get too excited leaving the American wishing he had more experience.

The 3 bets above are for 1 pt each

The Open 2011

Very hard to see any American winning this week with perhaps the exception of ultra consistent, Matt Kuchar. With so many American winners over the past 20 years of the Claret Jug, surely they should be considered but recent Majors have gone elsewhere and form suggests that trend is likely to continue. Royal St.George's may not throw up a big as a challenge as was hoped with dry fairways and greens and reasonable good weather forecasted with slight rain and wind the weekend supposedly on the cards. The fact the rough hasn't grown the way the R&A wanted means scoring could be slightly better than anticipated although the par of the course is now just 70 with only 2 par 5's. Emphasis will be on putting the ball on the fairway off the tee and making as many pars as possible, taking birdies when they come. Therefore, this week it should help those who are long and straight and in good form and thats the only way to approach the staking plan. Of course, The Open does throw up outsiders regularly on the leaderboards (who would have predicted the walk in the park by Louis Oosthuizen last year?).The 3 market leaders are obvious choices and Luke Donald should really be starting out as favourite. He is in the best form of anybody but the mind games could be a factor and I am just not comfortable with Luke Donald being a Major winner for some reason. I would love to see Rory win it and he is worth backing at 10/1 this morning with William Hill. I also like to chances of Lee Westwood, I don't believe he can go without winning one and his driving should be an advantage here, if he can just hole his share of putts. He had a decent outing last week in Inverness and his major form is uncomparable to anyone else in this field in recent years. Padriag Harrington, of course chases a 3rd Claret Jug and despite a dip in form he too is a major challenger this week. I do also like Martin Kaymer's chances, he is gradually getting back to top form and had chances last year, has won the Dunhill Links and will be at ease on this course and is great value at 25/1 with Paddypower who are paying 7 places.
I have to back Ross Fisher! I have said many times he is a Major Winner in waiting. Not in great form this year but like Kaymer has been gradually improving over recent tournaments and he is a must bet for me at 80/1 with Paddypower. Ross has good major form and he will have been disappointed to have missed out on the US Open last month, an incentive to do well here this week.
My outside bet this week is in the shape of Nicolas Colsaerts at 150/1 Paddypower. The Belgian hits it a mile and is gaining consistency week in week out. Has the game to challenge for a top 7 placing here.
Retief Goosen has excellent Open form without winning it but 8 top 20 finishes in the past 10 years is an incredible effort and I can see him going well again this week so I will have small investement of him at 50/1 with Paddypower also.

TIP 1: 2 pts win Rory McIlroy @ 10/1 William Hill

TIP2: 1 pt e/w Martin Kaymer @ 25/1 Paddypower

TIP 3: .5 pts e/w Nicolas Clsaerts @ 150/1 Paddypower

TIP 4: .75 pts e/w R.Fisher @ 80/1 Paddypower

TIP 5: .75 pts e/w R.Goosen @ 50/1 Paddypower

TIP 6: .5 pts e/w P.Harrington @ 40/1 Betpack (taken over Lee Westwood due to better odds and Rory selected at 10's)

Friday 8 July 2011

Lowry to relish afternoon conditions in Inverness

A bogey at the last for Gmac yesterday denied us a good threeball bet winning but a small profit made with the dead heat with Justin Rose nonetheless. Today, his compatriot, Shane Lowry tees off this afternoon at 13:50 on -3 and he can outscore his partners, Garrido & Derksen. Well used to links and the weather conditions, he should be more comfortable on the course than the Spaniard & the Dutchman and is value at 2.2 with Paddypower

Wednesday 6 July 2011

GMAC to start well at Castle Stuart Thursday

An afternoon tee-time at Castle Stuart tomorrow sees Graeme McDowell tee it up with playing partners, Justin Rose & Angel Cabrera. Rose has lost a bit form recently and will be out to tweak his game before the Open next week and he may start off with some caution on the unknown course. Cabrera, whilst an assured putter, is long but not as accurate off the tee and despite wide fairways being offered this week the rough might come into play for the big hitting Argentine. The Irishman on the other hand should be well used to links and wind and the Portrush man is great value at 2.5 with Boylesports to outscore his partners.

Note: Boylesports are paying 8 places next week for the British Open...open your account here at Boylesports

Tuesday 5 July 2011

Scottish Open 2011 - Castle Stuart Links

This years Scottish Open moves to the Scottish Highlands and the fantastic looking Castle Stuart Course. A new venue for the tournament and a links course to get the players in the mood for the Open the following week. Had a quick look at the betting for The Open today and am struggling to see any value in it but have decided there is some value to be had this week in a star studded lineup. Remeber only some bookmakers are paying 6 places this week, one of which is Paddy Power and should you need to open an account with them you can do so by clicking on this link for Paddypower

I am siding with twice Open champion, Padraig Harrington this week who will be hoping to time his run perfectly for a hat-trick at Sandwich next week and he can go a long way to warming up with a win here.He hasn't been playing that badly lately, ok, he cannot put 4 good rounds together but when he does.....he could be a winner and his time is coming. Well suited to this type of course where control and accuracy, not to mention an A short game is vital. 35/1 with Paddypower
I am going Irish again in the shape of Darren Clarke. Darren loves links golf and is quietly going about his business this year, relishes this time of year and is well worth backing at 80/1 with Paddypower.

My third pick this week is Thomas Aiken @ 60/1 with Boylesports who are also paying 6 places. The South African has the first win under his belt and has done well on links courses in the past and could come in under the radar this week. Is an exceptional talent, has an early start on Thursay off the 10th tee which may help him establish a position early.

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w P.Harrington @ 35/1 Paddypower

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w D.Clarke @ 80/1 Paddypower

TIP 3: 1pt e/w T.Aiken @ 60/1 Boylesports

Friday 1 July 2011

Whiteford to make up for untidy finish in Rd 2

Peter Whiteford is in fantastic form of late, and although he missed the cut last week, he posted 3 top 10s in the previous 3 events (Italy,Wales & BMW PGA). He is tied 14th at present on -2 BUT should be better having dropped a shot at his 17th before double bogeying the last. The 3 dropped shots have cost him a tied 4th position going into the weekend but it does highlight how well he is playing despite the errors there and I am confident he can post a sub par round tomorrow good enough to eclipse the efforts of Hennie Otto. The South African hasn't missed a cut for awhile but mediocre scoring the weekends this season has meant he has not done as well as he should have and the Scot is a value better to outscore him at 1.83 with

Kaymer to step it up on day 2 at Golf de National

I fully expect Martin Kaymer to produce a good round today to put himself into contention for the weekend. He is just 6 back off the lead and will feel this is an opportunity to regain the world No 3 spot on Sunday. Pablo Larrazabal is playing well but is erractic and you can never tell when he will maintain form whilst Gregory Bourdy is steady making this threeball very interesting. That said, Kaymer is the class act and the offer of 2.25 with William Hill cannot be ignored.


1 pt M.Kaymer to win day 2 threeball @ 2.25 William Hill