Tuesday 20 March 2012

Trophée Hassan 2012

Was in two minds this week whether to opt for the Bay Hill Invitational in the US or stick with the European Tour as its a low key affair in Agadir, Morocco this week. Having had a look at Bay Hill, I found the odds of low value especially for Sergio Garcia @ 25s, Mahan 25s and possibly Haas @ 40s. (My 3 picks for it). I went back to Europe and decided on taking a chance on better value for the Trophee Hassan.

I put up Shane Lowry last week and he almost delivered a nice placing but for 2 late bogeys over his final 3 holes. With golf betting it pays to stick with your tips over a spell and with the course being a links with some wind thrown in for good measure I am gonna stick with Shane Lowry again this week at a rather generous 60/1 with Bet365. The Irishman has had a slow start to the season but his tied 6th last week will give him confidence for this week and if he can just get a decent opening round under his belt he should be up there.

My second selection this week is Alex Noren @ 40/1 with Bet365 also. Regular readers will know I am a fan. He stepped up last year but this year has been slow to get going. Following a nice relaxing break in New York & Monaco the Swede comes here well rested and practiced. He is one of the better players teeing it up here and I do expect him to be on the leaderboard. He has a midday start on Thursday and tees it up alongside Pablo Larrazabal and Jbe Kruger before an early start Friday. Good grouping and good tee times - no excuse then Alex ! I have opted for Alex over Jaco Van Zyl who can be backed at 22/1 with Paddypower, the South African is playing very well lately and is the main threat this week obviously as he is in form plus he was beaten here in a play-off last year by David Horsey but the value is with Noren as far as I am concerned- just!.

My third selection is Raphael Jacquelin who had a superb weekend last week in Malaga. He heads to Morocco in form a week before heading to Sicily to defend a title he won last year. The Frenchman can be streaky and with the trip to Italy surely on his mind, and that being a positive thought, he can use those good thoughts to go well here this week. 50/1 for the 3 time European Tour winner is excellent value with Bet365. He tees up alongside Van Zyl and Marcel Siem (also in decent form lately) so this threeball should bring each other along very nicely.


TIP 1: 1 pt e/w S.Lowry @ 60/1 Bet365

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w A.Noren @ 40/1 Bet365

TIP 3: 1pt e/w R.Jacquelin @ 50/1 Bet365

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Andalucia Masters 2012

The European tour finally makes it to European soil this week where Miguel Angel Jiminez hosts the Andalucia Masters. He has stated that he will lose money this week on hosting the event, so with that in mind I have scrathed him off my short list. These events prove to be quite open even though Robert Rock heads the betting due to decent form (Winner in Dubai). I have picked three with real value this week.

Due to time constraints the right up is brief this week but I will be updating on Twitter more regularly.

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w Chris Wood @ 50/1 Boylesports

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w D.Willett @ 66/1 Ladbrokes

TIP 3: 1 pt e/w S.Lowry @ 80/1 Ladbrokes

Monday 5 March 2012

WGC Cadillac Championship

The new World Number One, Rory McIlroy heads the betting this week for the WGC Cadillac Championship to be staged at The Blue Monster at Doral, Florida. He sets off the 6/1 favourite and there is no reason the Irishman can't win again this week. Tiger Woods is available at 8/1 and maybe better value than Rory this week, but there is some serious value further down the list to take this one out.
Sergio Garcia is showing great return to form lately and will be suited to the course.I also believe he will be motivated by Rory's success coupled with Tigers return to form and he will want to be part of the terrific season that lies ahead. With The Masters looming this is the ideal event to assess where your game is at and the Spaniard will be well focussed for this one. I will be backing "El Nino" with Paddypower who are paying 6 places this week.
My second selection is Adam Scott who put a decent showing a couple of weeks ago at The Northern Trust Open despite being his first outing of 2012. The Aussie is sure to have a great season and is already on my shortlist for Augusta in a few weeks time. Again with 6 places on offer I will be backing Adam at 40/1 with Paddypower.
My third selection will be another Aussie in the shape of Jason Day. Loves the big events, loves tough courses and if gets going on the greens will be challenging for the title. This selection cannot be ignored this week at odds of 50/1 across most bookmakers,but Paddypower have him marked up at 45/1. For that extra place on offer I will take the 45s as I still think this is great value for a player about to explode on the tour this year.
There are many others to consider this week. But will stick with the selections as above despite the attentions of Schwartzel, Simpson,Haas,McDowell, and the return of Paul Casey (available at 125/1 with Boylesports).

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w S.Garcia @ 33/1 Paddypower

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w A.Scott @ 40/1 Paddypower

TIP 3: 1 pt e/w J.Day @ 45/1 Paddypower

If you don't hav a Paddy Power account and would like to avail of the 6 places on offer this week, check out Paddy Power and avail of the sign up offers by clicking on the advertisement here.