Sony Open 2013

The PGA Tour finally kicked off on Monday with 36 holes played by the 30 man field in The Tournament of Champions. Those staying on in Hawaii this week won’t have much time “in-between” before they tee it up for the Sony Open at Waialae GC where Johnson Wagner defends his title. A tight track with wind (hopefully toned down) to blow will make shot making a premium this week. Not too sure if this track will suit the favourite and TOC champion , Dustin Johnson, but he has practised hard coming into the TOC that it’s difficult to ignore him to win back to back in Hawaii. he is a proven wind player though so I would not be surprised if he does go in again. With a full field though, I’m looking for bigger odds in the hope that a place return will keep the blog ticking along if not produce a winner. That said, my top pick this week is just about backable on price at 18/1.

Matt Kuchar didn’t enjoy Kapalua this week but he finished it off well. This tight track will suit his game and I’m hoping he will be chomping at the bit to get going on Thursday following the “stop-start” shenanigans at the TOC. The betting is difficult this week as the bookies seem a bit tighter then normal with their prices. I was tempted to leave the Sony Open out of the week’s plan but the 18/1 for Kuchar just about gets a nod. (I would have like 20/1+). He did finish well yesterday and he can carry that form into this one on Thursday and shouldn’t be too tired after 54 holes over 2 days to compete for 4 days this week.

Tied 10^th last year here and 2^nd in the US Open, Michael Thompson grabs my attention at 60/1 with Betpack / Stanjames. He did miss quite a few cuts last year in his 2^nd year on tour but had some notable results. Hot & cold he may be, but the chance is taken that he reproduces the form he showed here last year. He certainly has the ability to turn it on any given week and at these odds it’s worth chancing. Anything lower I would be looking elsewhere.

My final selection this week is Zach Johnson. The former Masters Champion is ideal for this kind of course. He has an early start on Thursday and plays alongside his namesake, Dustin which can only be good. Zach won the Sony Open in 2009, so he too like Thompson will enter here with good memories. A winner twice on tour last year, Zach is in good form and I’ll take the 25/1.

 

TIP 1: 1.5 pts e/w M.Kuchar @ 18/1

 

TIP 2: 0.5 pts e/w M.Thompson @ 60/1

 

TIP 3: 1.5 pts e/w Z.Johnson @ 25/1

Volvo Champions- 2013

The European Tour returns to South Africa this week and to Durban GC for the Volvo Champions. 34 players will tee it up and hopefully the champions of Europe will have a better week with the weather than their American counterparts in Hawaii have had. Indeed, at the recent Nelson Mandela Championship held in Durban similar weather conditions reduced the tournament to 36 holes at the Royal Durban GC where Scott Jamieson prevailed in a 3 man playoff to take his first European Title. He will return this week with fond memories of Durban and again this week with rain and thunderstorms forecasted for all 4 days, the Scot may not be as fazed as much as the rest, as it (the weather) served him well in December. With South Africans normally prevailing on this course it’s no surprise to see the betting being headed by Louis Oosthuizen and Ernie Els but I do fancy the chances of Jamieson to go well again this week. At 40/1 with Betpack and Stanjames, in a 34 man field, the price does represent some value for a player who was in great form the end of 2012. He followed up his win at the Nelson Mandela with a T3 at the Alfred Dunhill. He was top 15 at the Dubai Championship and 5^th at the Perth International. (He missed cut in both Hong Kong and Singapore though).

Also in the field coming in with sound form and a recent win on South African soil, is Swede Henrik Stenson. Winner of the South African Open and 3 other top 10s in his last 6 starts indicates a real return to form but odds of 15/1 are just a tad short for me here this week especially for one so temperamental. At these odds I need to be confident he can challenge for the title come Sunday.

Looking for some value in the field, Thorbjorn Olesen fits the bill nicely. He has the game to win any given week and if he reproduces the consistency he showed last year he will be contending more often this year. 22/1 is about right and I feel comfortable having a nibble here at that price. He has shown he likes to play at the bigger events and was recent runner up in Scotland at the Alfred Dunhill Links, and top 15 at the HSBC not to mention a great showing at the Open last July. He is ready to step up again this year.

I won’t be backing Padraig Harrington for awhile. He really does need to win again soon to get back to where he should be and competing in all events, but it is refreshing that he is playing here as I feel Padraig does not play enough events despite him saying this week he may be playing too much ! I think he is trying too hard but these smaller fields will suit him and he will enjoy the week with fellow Irishmen, Lowry, Clarke and Hoey. Indeed he will like to company of Paul Casey, Paul Lawrie and Ernie Els, the old stalwarts looking to put a marker down on the younger upstarts. It, however, will be an observing exercize for me this week on the 4 Irish lads. Retief Goosen though could be a surprise package as he tries to regain some form and at 25/1, I would not put anyone off backing him this week.

I will put up a third pick this week in the shape of the aforementioned, Paul Lawrie who simply loves windy conditions. On this basis and with the threat of rain and thunderstorms for the week, the Scot completes the staking plan to keep his recent return to form going. 25/1 in general just about gets my interest as some of the bigger prices on offer don’t instil much confidence for backing. As maybe hinted at above, the camaraderie between the players this week maybe key to good performances and 1999 Open Champion maybe at ease here.

 

TIP 1: 0.75 pt e/w S. Jamieson @ 40/1

 

TIP 2: 1.5 pt e/w T. Olesen @ 22/1

 

TIP 3: 1 pt e/w P. Lawrie @ 25/1

Hyundai Tournament of Champions 2013

Friday sees the PGA tour kick off the New Year with a 30 man line-up for the Tournament of Champions, where winners only on the 2012 PGA Tour  qualify to play. One of the few par 73 courses to be utilized on tour, and with just three par 3s on the course, the course wont be easy and with an expectant wind and some rain the weekend, we could be in store for a very good tournament. Steve Stricker is defending champion here but I do like the look of Webb Simpson who has played well here in the past also. Dusting off seasonal activities and weeks without competitive action may be something to consider before throwing our cash away, but some players do tend to play better on particular courses and this should be one such course for Webby. On his debut here last year he finished 3rd, so fond memories should help him again this week. At 14/1 he is worth a punt for me.

Second up this year is Scott Piercy @ 25/1. Had an awfully good season last year and he could be the one to watch for an improvement this year. He had 4 straight top 20s to end 2012 and was top 15 here in 2010. The Las Vegas native will be hoping for a winning start to 2013 and has the ability to do just that here.

My final pick this week is Ryan Moore. With just 3 missed cuts from 24 events in 2012, Moore is showing the sort of consistency that is required to succeed on the tour and he may now feel that the time is right to actually start winning "more". He finished his last 4 events in 2012 with 4 Top 10s and was tied 6th here in 2010. 20/1 is about right and worth a flutter.

(Remember this tournament starts on Friday local time with a Monday finish. Thats 10 hours behind BST.)

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w W.Simpson @ 14/1

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w S.Piercy @ 25/1

TIP 3: 1 pt e/w R.Moore @ 20/1

2013 - Golf Tipping & Tipster Competitions

Firstly, may I wish all readers of this blog a Happy New Year. I'm gunning for a better year this year and hope to emulate 2010's performance. So much so, I'm aiming to pit myself alongside some online tipsters out there, some of them the best in the business.
As with last year, I will be mostly tipping on the Europeantour with some key PGA events, but each week I will participate in some online tipster competitions through mostly twitter and facebook. (Follow me @birdieclubtips and https://www.facebook.com/Birdieclubtipster)

There are quite a number of them out there and these fellow tipster can actually help the staking plan take shape each week as some top tipsters may be in agreement with my own selections and some weeks they may be off on a different track altogther. The best of these tipping competitions out there undoubtly can be found on Facebook run by the Golf Betting System. Its much more than a weekly tipster comp with great prizes! Its a great forum of betting banter and "knowledge" on who should prevail on that week's course and who is in form to succeed. There will be many views as to who represents value and some will post 3 digit prices and have very solid reasons why the pick is valid. Many of the tipsters who are successful are those that do pick the good value who are most likely to win or place any given week. The trick though is who to listen to ! But as always, I'll be posting my own tips.
On the forum, there's an Irishman living in Korea who will sometimes pick Irishmen & Koreans yet pick others at the right time and his system will work ! A guy in Australia will tip up someone out of the blue regularly too and jump up the leaderboard, and then we have the heavy hitters who think picking one winner a week is too easy...so they do doubles....and do alright out of it too. We have John Daly admirers and Henrik Stenson fans (who gave everyone a real good run for their money last year!). First round leader betting discussion are always worth following, and as for the majors, well the lads at GBS (Steve Bamford & Paul Williams) have a seperate competition for it too. In fact,the forum is so well organized, with the leaderboard updated every week, its no surprise to see it gaining popularity and its always a good starting point each week to see where the good & bad money is going.

The Golf Betting System Punters League is free to join by anybody with a Facebook Account here at http://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/punters_league.htm. But check out the rest of the site while you're at it. A weekly podcast on their tips for both European & PGA tours, as well as tour stats makes this a very enjoyable site to visit on a weekly basis when considering your own picks. The lads are improving the site on an ongoing basis and I'm delighted to be able to recommend them to any keen golf bettor out there. But the real benefit of GBS, is the participation in the weekly Punters League and by participation, I mean the banter and the insight to how our fellow bettors react to the scoring as it unfolds each day is excellent and well worth getting involved.


I'll be participating and hopefully will put a good 2013 campaign together. My Results Page will be updated here on the blog whilst the Punters League leaderboard can be accessed through the link on the left which can be accessed throughout the season.

Good Luck everyone.
                                                                                                                                                                               

Check them out and tell them Birdieclubtipster sent you

 

http://www.golfbettingsystem.co.uk/punters_league.htm