Omega European Masters 2011

This week we have two fascinating events both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe a strong field is assembling for the European Masters in Switzerland where market leaders are McIlroy, Westwood, Mannessero & Kaymer. In Boston, USA, the 2nd Fedex Playoff event is staged for the Deutsche Bank Championship. Both events are sure to be birdie fests too. Undecided yesterday which event to invest in, today I have decided to invest in both. Remember folks, the Deutsche does not start til Friday this week so for now its all focus on Crans sur Sierre. The course will suit McIlroy & Westwood and either can be backed at 9s.But at 20s and seemingly dismissed by a few out there, is Martin Kaymer. Great odds for a player of his talent despite not having a good year.....so far! I don't think he has been playing too badly in fact I reckon he is not far away from clicking over four rounds and this could be his week to return to form. He tees it up on Thursday morning at 08:20 on the 10th tee alongside Louis Oosthuizen & last week's winner, Thomas Bjorn. Class act is the Dusseldorf native that he is, the 20/1 offer with Bet365 cannot go untouched and he is my first of two selections for this event this week.
My second selection was a toss up between one of my favourite's, Alex Noren & Seung You Noh. The former has won twice this year to add to his previous win on tour which came here in 2009. He is a generous 30/1 to repeat that feat again but I just cannot ignore the Korean's chances this week as he has been showing steady form the past 3/4 events which is surely to end in a victory on European soil soon. The 35/1 with Bet365 also is just about good value for the youngster and is sure to give us a run for our money in the Alps. He tees it up in the group behind Kaymer's, alongside Rory McIlroy & Miguel Angel Jiminez on the Thursday so should be carried along with some good scoring.


TIP 1: 1 pt e/w M.Kaymer @ 20/1

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w S.Y-Noh @ 35/1

I will have two selections on the blog tomorrow for the Deutsche Bank Championship to complete the staking plan for this week

McIlroy for Sawgrass- 4 for Italy

Its almost incredulous that the very weekend (or pre-weekend) that Tiger Woods produces his worse display for years, Ryo Ishikawa, 18 years of age and Rory McIlroy, aged 21 (yesterday) the pretenders to Tiger's No 1 throne in the future, produced some stunning golf last Sunday to win their prospective tournaments with an astonishing 58 & 62 respectively. Now it could be argued that Rory's 62 was better in a better class of field and better course,but a 58 is a 58 afterall and one can imagine the hype when both players tee it up in the same tournament soon. As for Rory, this is a kid that excels on confidence, whipping the big guns last week by playing the weekend in -16 at Quail Hollow can only mean 22/1 for the players (Bet Pack) is a steal. 1 pt e/w is the bet of the weekend.
Kevin Na is 2nd tip for Sawgrass and at 80/1, paying 6 places with Paddy Power, a player who has great form at The Players and has been in decent form lately and is worth .5 pts e/w also.

In Italy, pressure is on Edoardo Molinari to win on home soil having elected to play his national Open , whereas his younger brother, Francesco has opted to take his chance to play the Players. Chances of a repeat home win following Alvaro Quiros winning in Spain last week seem to be good with all the bookies as he starts favourite but I have selected 4 that I simply can't ignore for various reasons other than the odds being quoted. Alejandro Canizares is a player due to win and his form is excellent the past two months and is climbing the leaderboards and the hope is that he will start with a good opening round being in the 2nd group out and that he can take advantage of the soft greens. Thomas Aiken is taken at .5 pts e/w simply because I have to "keep the faith" with a player that will either shoot low or shoot high on any given week. I am backing James Morrison again this week following his play-off defeat last week, he is still at 33s but this is a player improving week by week and could be a star in the future and likewise with mcIlroy, confidence is key to playing well. My 4th tip is Simon Dyson @ 40/1. This is a player that seems to thrive on tournaments like this one as the field would not be considered a great one and the odds are just too good to be ignored.

Players Championship Selections:

1 pt e/w R.McIlroy @ 22/1 (1/4, 1-6)
.5 pts e/w K.Na @ 80/1 (1/4,1-6)


BMW Italian Open Selections:

1 pt e/w J.Morrison @ 33/1
1 pt e/w A.Canizares @ 35/1
1 pt e/w S.Dyson @ 40/1
.5 pts e/w T.Aiken @ 45/1