Wednesday 13 December 2017

Indonesian Masters 2017 - Royale Jakarta GC

Last fling of the blog this year to salvage something before we sign off a rather unsuccessful years golf betting. Hard reading for me never mind anyone following on any of the selections but it was a year of what could have been and hard luck stories and I'll look forward to starting afresh in the new year.

A rare dip for me in the Asian Tour but I felt with Shubhankar Sharma's win last week in Johannesburg there might be a spring in the steps of his fellow countrymen in Jakarta this week and the one player that I will pin my hopes on getting some returns is a player I've put up a few times over the past couple of seasons, Gangajeet Bhullar @ 35/1, The 29 year old Indian is a 7-time winner on the Asian Tour with the most recent coming just last October in Macao. He's followed up with T-20s at The Indonesia Open and Panasonic Open since,before missing the cut in Hong Kong, and grabbing a T-40 in Mauritius. But it's his 3 wins in Indonesia that interests me as he has won the Indonesia President Invitational (2009)and The Indonesian Open (2013 & 2016)  and he showed his liking for playing here by that T-20 in the Indonesian Open in October again this year. Buoyed hopefully by Sharma's win last week and the return to Jakarta where he has tasted considerable success in the past he may be more motivated that market leader Justin Rose who makes an eye raising appearance here and seems to be treating the visit as a bit of break with his wife (who will caddy this week). If the tourney is to be affected by weather this week, I expect the Asians to be more relaxed and hopefully Bhullar can add his 4th title in Indonesia and make the 35/1 a must play


Selections

3.00 pts e/w G. Bhullar @ 35/1



Wednesday 29 November 2017

Mauritius Open 2017 - Heritage GC

We have two European Tour events this week, both co-sanctioned (or tri-sanctioned in one case) events taking place in much sunnier climates than what we are experiencing now in Europe as Mauritius and Australia play hosts. Whilst Sergio Garcia and Marc Leishman head the market for the Aussie PGA, Louis Oosthuizen pays a visit to The Heritage GC in Mauritius where he is involved in the development of the resort. The South African is the class act of the field and should be challenged by his compatriots in the shape of former winner here two years ago, George Coetzee and Dylan Frittelli as well as Burmester and Fichardt. The field sees a number of Challenge Tour and Q-School graduates make their 2018 season debuts this week and they'll be looking to make their mark as soon as possible. (So too will Tiger in the Bahamas this week and despite the media overkill on the return, I'm sure all of us golf fans will hope that its a successful comeback this time.)

Gavin Moynihan is one such player who secured his playing rights after a very successful year that saw him starting the year having to qualify for the EuroPro tour to get some starts. Having won at Close Hall on first start on that tour he quickly followed up by a strong showing on the Challenge Tour's AndalucĂ­a Costa del Sol Match Play 9 by finishing second to Aaron Rai. Continuing on the Challenge Tour for the season, the Dubliner would eventually finish 19th in the Road to Oman Rankings before finishing TOP25 at Q-School. It's not the first time I've mentioned Gavin on this blog, and it won't be the last, as I expect Gavin to move onto greater things on Tour. Given the progression in 2017 and recent form, I'm confident he can hit the ground running and should the wind get up this week as is forecasted, I'm quietly confident the conditions and course layout will also help to get a decent result. His fellow Irish amateur and Walker Cup buddy, Paul Dunne, has excelled on tour to date and he'll be motivated and inspired to emulate the highs so far of the Greystones man. At 210.00 outright and @ 7.00 for a TOP 20 Gavin makes my staking plan this week.

I put up Darren Fichardt a number of times already this season and I'm keen to do so again this week at a decent price of 70.00 (3.50 TOP-20,6.00 TOP-10). 6th last time out in Sun City he'll be looking forward to defending the Joburg Open next week so could be in the mood to have his game in shape this week in anticipation. He's a certainly a value price this week playing on Sunshine Tour where he finished third on the Order of Merit last season.

Lastly, the defending course champion from two years ago, George Coetzee is worth a play here @ 23.00. He was in brilliant form in Sep/Oct having posted 4 TOP-15s in 5 events between the KLM Open,European,British & Portugal Masters, as well as the Italian Open. He may have cooled off a bit since but results of 27-37-58 in the Final Series can be taken into comparison towards the quality of field in front of him this week. Given the course form and price, he's worth chancing to take down Oosty here.

Staking Plan:

0.25 pts G. Moynihan @ 210.00
0.75 pts D. Fichardt @ 70.00
1.00 pts e/w D.Fichardt @ 51.00
2.00 pts e/w G.Coetzee @ 23.00

3.00 pts TOP20 G. Moynihan @ 7.00





Tuesday 21 November 2017

Hong Kong Open 2018 - Fanling GC

A surprisingly strong field has assembled this week for the new season opener in Hong Kong where the new European Tour Number One, Tommy Fleetwood tees it up with Justin Rose and Sergio Garcia. They face tough competition from Matthew Fitzpatrick, Kiradech Aphibarnrat & Rafael Cabrera-Bello and its perhaps the latter three that will go off fresher and more relaxed than the market leaders. Europe's TOP 3 should be exhausted after their efforts last week, especially the Southport native who tees it up for his 6th event from the last 7 on tour. Then again so too does Aphibarnrat and we have to consider the amount of travel these recent have entailed, from Italy to Spain to China then back to Turkey, South Africa and finally Dubai. Shooting back to China here has to take its toll for someone. Concentration off the tee is more critical than most weeks here as we are faced with a very short but very tight tree-lined course that will reward accurate play so despite their obvious class in the field I believe the market leaders may just be here to fulfill obligations and perhaps get some Christmas shopping in!

Greens in Regulation is the key stat for the week and it would be a good week to have the wedges on point. It could be a week for a one of the younger more accurate, shorter players to break through.

It's a course that should suit Aaron Rai as well as Marcus Kinhult but its just the one selection for me this week - Ashley Chesters. The 28 year old will be keen to kick on again this season having secured his card and the double European Amateur Champion should find courses such as Fanling to his forte ,as he ranked 15th for GIR for the season just completed not to mention 24th for DA. Notable T15 results came at Valderrama, Portstewart, Green Eagle GC (where he led after 36) and at Golfclub Munchen Eichenreid as well in Morocco this year.  The Walker Cup player from 2015, who won 3 of his 4 matches when halving with Bryson Dechambeau in the singles, has shown steady improvement since, and can capitalize on courses like Fanling to further his goals for the forthcoming season and get a solid result under his belt early.

0.75 pts A. Chesters @ 150.00
5.25 pts A. Chesters TOP20 @ 5.50

Tuesday 14 November 2017

DP World Tour Championship 2017 - Dubai

The curtain comes down on the 2017 Europeantour this week with 60 players left standing for the DP World Tour Championship to be played once again at the Greg Norman designed Earth Course. Long hitters tend to go well at the course and those that find greens in abundance will contend. The top players will no doubt prevail again but they do have challengers from players who have been finding form of late and may just go in here.

Shane Lowry is one such player that arrives off the back of some solid weeks having 12-8-12 in is last 3 starts. Having posted two T-10s here in his 5 starts, the Offaly man is striking it sweet of late and is a bet here @ 34.00

Peter Uihlein withdrew from the Nedbank Challenge last week but was in fine form beforehand (14th in Turkey & 5th in China). He recently gained his PGA tour card for the season ahead and has grabbed a T-10 already at the CIMB Classic in Malaysia. He can cap off a solid Europeantour campaign with a bold showing here @ 60.00

Charl Schwartzel was backed last week and despite not being a regular winner, his form of late suggests that barren spell could end at some point soon. With results here of 3-4-47-3-5 the past 5 visits, the South African should be confident of a good week @ 36.00

3.50 pts S. Lowry @ 34.00
2.00 pts P. Uihlein @ 60.00
3.50 pts C. Schwartzel @ 36.00



Monday 6 November 2017

Nedbank Challenge 2017 - Gary Player Country Club, Sun City

I've very little time for a preview this week and having been travelling extensively the past few weeks this is the first opportunity I've had to look at a golf tournament since the Italian Open. Accurate, in-form golfers is what I want this week and I've thrown in last years runner up, Jeunghun Wang as an outsider.

My shortlist for the week consists of 16 golfers and can be found here

My Staking Plan for the week totals 12 pts

3.00 pts T.Fleetwood @ 21.00
3.00 pts M.Fitzpatrick @ 21.00
2.50 pts C.Schwartzel @ 29.00
0.25 pts J.Wang @ 110.00
3.25 pts J.Wang T-10 @ 9.00

Wednesday 18 October 2017

Andalucia Masters 2017 - Valderrama GC, Spain

After an absence of 6 years, the Andalucia Masters makes it's way back on to the European Tour this week to be played at the very challenging Valderrama GC. The Tournament was last played here in 2010 & 2011. It disappeared from the tour very abruptly when it was announced just 4 weeks prior to the scheduled 2012 event that it was being pulled. The course famously hosted the Ryder Cup in 1997, the American Express Championship in 1999 and 2000 as well as the Volvo Masters from 1988 to 2008 with a brief 5 year break when it was played at the Montecastillo GC between 1997-2001. From an Irishman's perspective, its been a good part of the world for Irish golfers where Ronan Raftery, Paul McGinley, Darren Clarke, Pádraig Harrington and Graeme McDowell have all won the Andalucia Masters or Volvo Masters. Spanish Open titles have also gone the way of Pádraig Harrington, Peter Lawrie, Eamon D'arcy and Eddie Pollard. Five former US Masters winners have won this event and Tiger Woods & Mike Weir wins at those American Express Championships pushes the number to 7!

Valderrama sorts out the men from the boys, and those who like to spray it off the tee may as well not bother this week. A good accuracy tee to green is required here and the small tricky greens will require a week with a solid approach game and for me, those that possess strong driving accuracy and approach stats, are the ones to get onside this week. This already questions the market leader's ability to win here. Jon Rahm may well contend but at 5/1 he really is too short but we must consider the price against the ability of the field. Course specialist, Sergio Garcia has a tremendous record here and he'll be keen to keep that record going but with new clubs in the bag and extra attention back home as a newly married man and a chisler on the way, I'm expecting too much attention being afforded by the locals to Sergio here this week. They are the men to beat for sure and in a field that is relatively weak for a course of such stature, hosting, it's an event I dont want to get too involved in.

Shane Lowry did not make my shortlist on Monday purely on price but as alluded to in last week's post, I'm at odds to start rejecting players purely based on my ill-perceived "value". Lowry has been in solid form of late and his ball striking is ideal for Valderrma, as his results in the past prove having finished 4th in 2011 and 18th in 2010. He's a best price 16/1 (I made him 20/1) so I'm gonna wait and see does he drift in the morning to the 20.00+ mark given he's out early. I backed Graeme McDowell when he won here in 2010 @ 15/1, with 2010 being a strong year for this blog, so perhaps the Irish affiliation at around the same price may just be what I need to consider.(not reason for backing him of course!)
Martin Kaymer is on record saying he loves Valderrama GC and having backed him a couple of weeks ago I wouldn't be surprised to see his drought end here this week. Like Lowry though, I'll wait for the off and see if his price drifts tomorrow afternoon on the back of high morning scores. He plays alongside Harrington & Rahm. Lowry plays alongside Garcia, so the preference before the off is the Irishman.
(Results page will be updated tomorrow with these selections if made)

England's Chris Hanson has been quite solid this season with 6 TOP20s from his 27 starts. His strong accuracy game will serve him well here, sitting in the TOP10 on tour for both DA & GIR.  At 125.00 he could be worth chancing but I'm keeping away here this week. I'm not enamoured by his TOP10/TOP20 odds @ 8.00 & 4.00 respectively either. I've spent a bit longer than usual this week going through the shortlist and the rest of the field and I have no confidence in any upset here.

Tuesday 10 October 2017

Italian Open 2017 - GC Milano

The season continues to be a frustrating one for the blog but I'm determined to end the year with a positive result. I liked Hatton's chances for last week, but he didn't make my shortlist. Reason being I didn't think there was value there. I spent a bit of time reviewing my selections over the course of the year and continued my review by looking at selections that performed in better seasons. Without coming to a decisive conclusion however, I did conclude that I am spending too much time analyzing price each week. Golf betting is different than a 8 or 12 horse race, or a two sided football or tennis match, and the tournaments will generally have 156 players teeing it up each week and whilst we can safely say that 50% of the field wont win, we can have a lot more possibilities than any other sport. Can we hone in on the "TOP30 probables" each week and find the winner, perhaps we can but can we back them all ? I'll often do my tissue and find 30+ players showing what I perceive is value, settle on say 15, then select 3-5 for final staking plan and leave the winners out. The TOP20 market is a market I want to focus on, but the fun in golf betting is backing the 50/1 shot or better still the 100/1+ winner. Having analyzed my results from 2009- 2011, I could tell from my notes, that my picks were based on players who I believed would be in form for that event, with little emphasis on the value of those selections. I'm not suggesting we start doing a Jeremy Chapman and backing the market leaders, (in fairness, we can't knock that approach either as those that do go by that approach seem to be ahead this season), but I'm changing my thought process and redoing my shortlist approach going forward. This weekly blog will return to focusing on getting results without getting too caught up on the reasons why the selections are made. Well,what I mean is, I wont be spending as much time writing the previews trying to convince myself and followers why I think such and such a player is a bet.

We have a decent field gathering this week in Milan for a Rolex Series event. The Italian Open had a decent field last year when players were getting together in advance of the Ryder Cup, but the money on offer this year ensures we have plenty of top contenders teeing it up. Jon Rahm, winner of the Irish Open at Portstewart during the summer tees it up here and starts favourite. He's too short, enough said! Frani Molinari is worth a second look at 17.00, but for me, Matty Fitzpatrick is the one I want to be on board with here. He was 3rd on debut two years ago and followed up with a 16th last year. A recent winner too at The European Masters, Fitzpatrick has found form with two T-15s at the British Masters & Dunhill Links. Golf Club Milano is an old course dating back to 1928 and can be considered a "traditional/technical" course where the fairways will be tree-lined emphasizing accuracy from tee to green although last years statistics indicated that the approach shot was the key factor rather than finding the fairways. It's a course suited to his game and @ 26.00 he's a bet for me.

I do think Tommy Fleetwood will go well this week following a return to action last week but I backed him here last year @ 75.00 (T-10 @ 7.00, where he duly obliged) and I can't bring myself to do so at 23.00 here especially with the Fitzpatrick price. I did price him a lot lower last week but it was in part due to the format and courses, I can't back him at this price this week. (Lets see if the new approach is flawed already). Instead I'll get onside with Joost Luiten @ 90.00. The Dutchman has two TOP5s in his last 4 visits to the Italian Open albeit at different courses (Circolo Golf Torino & Royal Park Roveri) but he's finding form of late and can raise his game for an event of this stature this week. He can do so on the back of solid GIR stats last week and perhaps clinch his third TOP5 if not a win on a third course.

I can't leave Darren Fichardt out here. But for that snowman in Newcastle, he would have yielded a big return for the blog that week, and he played well enough last week to suggest he is continuing solid form. He may not go on to win but @ 250.00 he's worth a quid or two, but @ 9.00 for that TOP20 I want to go again in the hope that he makes it 4 in a row having finished inside the TOP20 the past 3 years in Italy.

Finally, Romain Wattel is included to follow up on his maiden win in Holland and his T-15 last week in Scotland. He has form in Italy too, having posted 38-10 here in Milan the past two years as well as 11-8 the previous two years again. At 100.00 he's worth a shot in the e/w markets.

Selections (10 pts)

2.00 pts win M. Fitzpatrick @ 26.00
0.50 pts e/w J. Luiten @ 90.00
0.25 pts win D. Fichardt @ 250.00
0.25 pts e/w R. Wattel @ 100.00

6.25 pts TOP20 D. Fichardt @ 9.00

Wednesday 4 October 2017

Dunhill Links 2017 - Carnoustie, Kingsbarns & St Andrews

Ireland's Paul Dunne made it a hat-trick of first time winners on the European Tour last Sunday when winning the British Masters fending off the weekend charge of Rory McIlroy.  Romain Wattel and Lucas Bjeergaard got their maiden wins in the previous two weeks and the list of first time winners for the season also includes Sam Brazel, Renato Paratore, Adrian Otaegui, Jason Norris. Former Challenge Tour winners also broke through this season to win for the first time on the Europeantour including Jordan Smith, Julian Suri, Matt Wallace and Dylan Frittelli bringing the overall first time winners to 11! Excluding the Majors & WGCs, thats a 31% return for the season. It's also worth noting their age group and it'll be quite interesting to see how they and that age group fare this week in Scotland in an event that has been kind to the more experienced players.

It was a frustrating result for the blog in Newcastle on Sunday,as the main bet, Darren Fichardt T-20 market, failed by a shot when he finished in a tie for 26th, with the damage coming at one hole on Saturday as the South African somehow took 8 on the par-3 5th !

We go again this week for the Pro-AM format where a list of previous winners tells us we should be focusing on top class links players and maybe the more experienced who can break the sequence of maiden winners on the tour.

The Shortlist contains those who I think can go close to a win and/or indeed a TOP20. Thanks to that charging weekend scoring of Rory McIlroy, we've no doubt got some decent prices available with Rory shortening at the head of the market. Tommy Fleetwood returns to action having become a father last week, his form here and indeed in Scotland can't be ignored and if he's on a high with the "nappy factor" he'll be the man to beat this week.He went off the boil last month but perhaps the impending fatherhood was on his mind. He returns to action at an event and courses that he loves and will be in a relaxed mood. The pro-am format could just be the ideal event for his return too and the early show of 26.00 is tempting as too is the 26.00 on offer for former winner Branden Grace who could be smarting after being on the wrong end of the President's Cup in New York where he left with a contribution of 2 points.

I put up Peter Hanson here last year @160.00, and I have him priced @ 126.00 this year so the value is there again with a best early price of 200.00 . The Swede turns 40 this week but arrives in poor form and the price reflects that but I wouldn't be surprised to see him up his game this week. Oliver Wilson sprang from nowhere to finally win on tour here in 2014 and the previous year David Howell did the same when winning for his 5th and last time on tour. The "experienced" players may take heart this week given the rise of the young guns this season and with the format in place here being different as well as the winning trend in recent years. We've seen these type of players come out of nowhere for this event and kick start their careers again and this year, we have a number of players hoping to do just that again. Hanson could fall into this category and find a great week within him and so too could former winner Martin Kaymer @ 41.00 

Kaymer is a relaxed individual and his demeanour is obviously suited to the slog that the celebrity pro-ams offer as shown by his record here having posted a further 4 TOP10s. They say form is temporary, class is permanent and with Martin Kaymer, that long awaited victory can't be far away for a player of enormous class. This week is ideal at an event he loves and is my main outright pick at the price.

Alexander Bjork arrives rested and having finished 20-16-25-31 in his last 4 events which included Himmerland and The Dutch courses. He's 19/23 this season with 9 T-20s (3 T-10s). The price of 5.00 for his 10th T-20 of the season is fair but I do think Peter Hanson has a shot in this market at almost twice the price (9.00) Nacho Elvira was next on the list, his T20 price of 5.00 has some value but the Swede gets the nod.

Ireland's Gavin Moynihan gets an invite this week and whilst he seeks a card for next season either via Challenge Tour or the Qualifying Stage, this is the type of tournament that he could be expected to excel in. Given his good mate and former Walker Cup team mate, Paul Dunne won just last week, Gavin can be inspired to raise to those levels and take heart from his result at Portstewart during the summer where he finished TOP Irishman for a TOP15 at The Irish Open. If it's a links player you want this week and one that plays well in wind,rain, mud and whatever shite gets thrown up, then Gavin Moynihan has gotta be on the radar. Twice winner of the Irish Amateur at Royal Dublin not to mention being denied a third by a playoff defeat, his performances there came in atrocious conditions. He also won the Scottish Amateur at Panmure in very windy conditions in 2014. Honing his game at The Island Golf Club, links golf is his forte. Paul Dunne repeated Moynihan's success at Close Hall last week (Gavin winning on the Euro Pro tour at Close Hall earlier this season) and whilst a win here this week would be a surprise, a solid showing on the leaderboard wouldn't. Gavin partners Brett Desmond, son of Dermot Desmond (who plays with Robert Karlsson) and husband of Andrea Corr. Gavin needn't worry about the post round drinks bill ! 21.00 TOP 20 for me

1.50 pts e/w M. Kaymer @ 41.00
5.00 pts T20 P.Hanson @ 9.00
2.00 pts T20 G.Moynihan @ 21.00

Join Playon here and avail of free entry to this weeks £5.00 Dunhill Links game using code "BIRDIE"


Wednesday 27 September 2017

British Masters 2017 - Close Hall GC

I've limited time this week for a preview of the British Masters to be played at Close Hsll on the Colt Course hosted by Lee Westwood.

From my shortlist earlier this week I'm backing just 3 players as per below.

Previews to continue next week

DATE TOUR EVENT Bet Details Odds Bet Type Units Result Total Cost of Bet Returns P&L
28/09/2017 EURO British Masters 0.50 pts D. Frittelli @ 120.00 120 win 0.5 0.5
28/09/2017 EURO British Masters 0.25 pts J. Wang @ 170.00 170 win 0.25 0.25
28/09/2017 EURO British Masters 0.25 pts D. Fichardt @ 660.00 660 win 0.25 0.25
28/09/2017 EURO British Masters 5.00 pts TOP20 D. Fichardt @ 11.00 11 win 5 5

Tuesday 19 September 2017

Portugal Masters 2017 - Oceanico Victoria Clube de Golfe

Villamoura, Algarve is the setting for this weeks European Tour event where Pádraig Harrington will defend the Portugal Masters title. A resort course where birdies are the order of the week, the list of winners here suggest big hitting, wind liking players will prevail come Sunday.

I put up George Coetzee on the shortlist for last week in Spijk but didn't include him the staking plan, but his T-3rd result emphasized his return to form this season and he now has 6 TOP-10s and a further 2 TOP20s from his 19 starts. Through in this recent form with solid course form here, the South African is a bet @ 34.00

Thorbjorn Olesen represents a bit of value too @ 22.00. The Dane has no course form to boast of but I cant ignore his form this season. 16/17 with 4 TOP10s (5 TOP20s), Olesen hasn't missed a cut since May at Wentworth, and tees it up having had the last three weeks off. Class player who has the ability to see off this field will be anxious to get some Ryder Cup points in the bag here.

Richard Sterne is another I cannot ignore this week @ 50.00 He may not have won since 2013, but the 36 year old can boast decent results of late to climb to 67 in the R2D and 108 in the OWGR. Those numbers should be an incentive to improve on before the season concludes. Three TOP20s in his last 5 starts came out last week's KLM Open (9th), European Open (19th) and Scottish Open (19th). He was 28th at the PGA Championship.

Join Playon here and get free entry using code "BIRDIE" on this weeks DFS games

Selections:

3.00 pts G. Coetzee @ 34.00
4.50 pts T. Olesen @ 22.00
1.25 pts e/w R.Sterne @ 50.00

Wednesday 13 September 2017

KLM Open 2017 - The Dutch GC, Spijk, Holland

Local hero, Joost Luiten looks to defend his National title again at The Dutch GC this week and he showed in his recent outing that he's coming into form at the right time to do so. He won the first of his two National Opens in 2013 and followed up with a TOP-5 twelve months later  at Kennemer GC. He'll be joined in the field this week by players looking to save their card and playing privileges for next season as well as market leaders, Bernd Wiesberger , Ross Fisher, Lee Westwood, Julian Suri, Andy Sullivan to name but a few. Fisher & Westwood are both former winners of the title. Another former winner, Peter Hanson, also showing a return to form of late, joins twice winner Simon Dyson, who looks to find something to re-ignite his career after a difficult time on tour the past 4 years following that incident in Abu Dhabi. The Englishman has arguably the best Dutch form in this week's field having won twice (at two different courses) as well as a runner up in 2014 to Paul Casey and a 3rd place finish in 2013, where he tied alongside Ross Fisher. The event has seen a number of multiple winners, and also a number of high profile winners over the years.

It's been a decent season, so far, for Ross Fisher who is 10/15 with 6 TOP-20s, 5 of which were TOP-10s and 2 of those were TOP-5. 3rd at the WGC in Mexico being the highlight of the season so far but Ross can boast solid performances in much better company when finishing 7th at Golf National in France, and 9th at Wentworth last May. Form has dipped a bit of late having missed the cut last week in Crans and at Quail Hollow last month but the former KLM Open winner as mentioned already should be liking The Dutch this week. He was 45th here last year and can boast solid form in The Netherlands to complement that win in 2007 with a further 4 TOP-20s in his 8 visits since. Currently inside the TOP-10 in The Race to Dubai, Fisher will look to kick on towards the Series Finale as well as gather some Ryder Cup points. Hes well worth a bet here @ 34.00

Nacho Elvira can point to a decent season of golf having produced 5 TOP-20s from his 20 starts. 6th & 11th in the Middle East indicates he can play in the wind but it's his last 3 starts that provide the confidence that he could be in for a good week where he has finished 12-19-20 at European Open, Made in Denmark and last week's European Masters. He tied alongside Ross Fisher in 45th place last year at The Dutch, so has the course experience under his belt. He had 6 TOP10s last season so is finding his way on Tour and could be ready to strike for a win that is becoming an inevitably. The Spaniard is worth a bet here @ 51.00 especially with 6 places on offer with Paddypower.

Jens Fahrbring has similar 2017 form to Elvira in that he's also 12/20 with 5 TOP-20s. 5th in Hamburg last month and 18th in Prague two weeks ago suggest he's in decent form despite a missed cut in between in Denmark. Given hes 5/20 in TOP-20s this season (25%)  the price of 8.00 to grab another here is appealing as he makes a push to improve on his R2D position of 110.

Selections
1.00 pts e/w R. Fisher @ 34.00
0.75 pts e/w N.Elvira @ 51.00
6.50 pts TOP-20 J. Fahrbring @ 8.00

Wednesday 6 September 2017

European Masters 2017 - Crans sur Sierre, Switzerland

One of the most eagerly anticipated events on the tour, The Omega European Masters takes place in the Swiss Alps this week where Alex Noren returns to action hoping to complete a hattrick of wins having taken the title in 2009 & 2016.

My Shortlist
Best Odds
Exchange
My Odds
My % Book
Value (Y/N)
TOP10
TOP20
Tyrrell Hatton
41
42
34
2.94%
YES
4.6
2.8
Benjamin Hebert
81
81
67
1.49%
YES
8
4.33
Mike Lorenzo Vera
81
81
71
1.41%
YES
8
4.2
Pablo Larrazabal
81
81
67
1.49%
YES
8
4.5
Victor Dubuisson
81
81
71
1.41%
YES
9
4.5
Dylan Frittelli
81
90
81
1.23%
YES
10
5.5
David Lipsky
81
105
81
1.23%
YES
8
5
George Coetzee
101
114
61
1.64%
YES
11
5.5
James Morrison
111
105
101
0.99%
YES
10
6
Alexander Bjork
111
114
101
0.99%
YES
12
5.6
Julien Quesne
151
152
201
0.5
NO
15
7
Bernd Wiesberger
26
27
23
4.35%
YES
3.4
2.2
Ross Fisher
36
30
31
3.23%
NO
4.33
2.5

It's a very short preview again this week I'm afraid due to time constraints but I did release my 13-man shortlist(above) earlier today with the highlighted players very much my focus for the week ahead. Frenchman, Mike Lorenzo-Vera, may have been better known for his mustache to date but we can't ignore his consistent form of late either. 9th last week in Prague and 3rd in Paris in July, he's 10/13 with 6 of those resulting in T-20s for the season so far. He makes his 5th appearance here this week and clearly likes the course. He had to retire in 2015 but in his three other visits he has posted 12-19-14. Same again this week please Mike and hopefully a charge at the title come Sunday @ 81.00, 4.20 (TOP20)

Despite arriving "very fresh" I think its time to get onside with Bernd Wiesberger @ 26.00. The Austrian is 16/17 with a win in Shenzhen and 6 TOP-20s for the season.  I like his price here and on review would probably see him more a 18/1-20/1 shot in this field given his form this season and he can go in here for win number two of the season.

Lastly, I'll take Alexander Bjork for a TOP20 this week despite making his debut at the course. He's 18/22 for the season, from which he's posted 7 TOP-20s (35%) - the odds of 5.60 imply 18% so I'm keen to get on board here. Tempted also by Coetzee, Quesne & Morrison but I'll stick with the Swede and hope it's the right pick !

Staking Plan

1.50 pts e/w B. Wiesberger @ 26.0
0.50 pts win M. Lorenzo-Vera @ 81.00
3.00 pts TOP20 M. Lorenzo-Vera @ 4.20
3.50 pts TOP20 A. Bjork @ 5.60