Maybank Malaysian Open - 2013

Gangajeet Bhullar made a good run at it last Sunday at the Avantha Masters to finish 2nd and enable us to get some return for the blog. He was never going to win it after Thomas Aiken had made a huge move on the Saturday but it was a bit frustrating to see the South African win it after I mentioned in the pre-tournament write up that he should win it and at 50/1 was very tempted to back him. We should have! Tommy Fleetwood almost made the places as well but I believe his pitching on Saturday and Sunday let him down and the nerves may have played their part. He will be one to watch out for again though.
The European remains down in Asia this week for the Malaysian Open to be played for the 4th year at the Kuala Lumpur G& CC. Luke Donald & Charl Schwartzel headline the line-up and hopefully the event will attract more spectators than last week in Noida. Padraig Harrington also plays this week following a run out in Thailand last week as he prepares for the Masters in three weeks time. Donald & Schwartzel head the betting at 11/2 & 6/1 or thereabouts and perhaps the smart play would be to decide between the two who will prevail and back them outright with 2 or 3 pts. But there is no fun in that, although, I do feel Donald is the man to beat this week. With that in mind I have made 3 selections from my shortlist of 11 should he and Charl slip up in the heat and rain. I mention the rain as these events over the years in this part of the world have often been affected by thunderstorms and therefore ruin the event but the forecast this week is not too bad although the familiar thunderstorms are forecasted for days 1 & 2. Sunny spells for the remainder of the event should ensure no major disruption.

Tampa Bay Championship - 2013

Quality tournament fare again on the cards from the US PGA this week when the re-named Tampa Bay Championship taks place at Copperhead GC at the Innisbrook Resort in Florida. This is a par 71 course, tree lined with small greens and it is ranked as one of the easier par 71s on tour last year (5th easiest of 11 ) but the final 3 holes were ranked as one of the most difficult closing 3 holes on tour. These three holes are affectionately called "the Snake Pit" and comprise of a par 4 in between two par 3s. No Tiger or Rory this week but its still a quality field with Luke Donald, Adam Scott, Simpson, Dufner,Kuchar,Oosthuizen, Kaymer, Garcia and others competing.
This week I'm looking at players who are coming here in decent form and whose play suits the course.It will definitely suit Luke Donald but at 16/1 I am very relunctant to back him for the win.(he is the defnding champion too). One of the players towards the head of the betting market that I do like though is Webb Simpson @ 20/1. This price may shorten, hence why I tweeted this last night before I got a chance to write up this preview. Simpson has good course form and has come close on a couple of occasions to winning here. The US Open Champion is well suited to this type of track and should he get the flatstick to perform this week I think he can win this. He has his trusted caddy, Paul Tesori back on the bag now and this could hopefully act as the catalyst to return Simpson to winning ways.He was T 20th last week without really playing that well so a trip here must be an opportunity to go better. Ever consistent, a good start on Thursday could see him well positioned and that will bring added confidence to the putting. 1 pt e/w @ 20/1 Betpack

Avantha Masters 2013

We head off to India this week for the Avantha Masters to be played at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort in Noida, just 40km away from New Delhi. This year, we have a new course to consider following the first three events having been hosted at the DLF G &CC in Delhi. The Greg Norman designed course is regarded as India's longest at just over 7,300 yards and is said to be designed similar to those sand belt courses in Melbourne. There are also quite a number of lakes on this course which did host an Asian Tour event (SAIL Open) in 2008 which was won by New Zealander, Mark Brown. So with very little course form to go on and a field not overly jumping out at me, I am putting up players that have been showing some form of late in the hope they continue that here this week. Two players are aiming for a piece of history this week. Defending Champion Jbe Kruger is bidding to win his second European Tour Title and defend also, not many can say they have defended their first title with their second win. SSP Chowrasia is gunning for his 3rd Avantha Masters Title.

WGC - Cadillac 2013

The second of the World Golf Championships takes place at The Doral Golf Resort in Miami this week where Tiger Woods is seeking his 7th title in this the 14th instalment. He won his second title when this event was staged at Mount Juliet in Ireland over 4 glorious days of weather that the Irish Open wish they could have had over recent years, and which I attended with my father over the 4 days. So, this event is an event that I always look forward to even though it is now held back on American soil. I do wish though as a WGC that they could rotate the event again around the world. Anyway, onto this week and the Blue Monster course at the resort where the 18th hole always reminds me of the 18th  Smurfit Course at the K Club. 60 players tee it up on Thursday where Justin Rose is defending. Rose has been in fine form this season and will be quietly confident of doing well here. It will be interesting to see how Tiger fares after his disappointing showing last week, but one thing is guaranteed, the Golf Channel will still be showing plenty of him over the 4 days. Tiger is the 12/1 favourite and in a 60 man field, I'm sure he will have some support.
My first pick this week is Martin Kaymer. The German has or had been threatening to kick start 2013 following success in South Africa at the end of 2012 but despite finishing down the field last week his play suggested he is not too far away from clicking. He has mediocre form here at Doral, but what I do like about his course form is that he has always returned a great score in one of the rounds. 64s, 65s and 66s have been produced here and if he can get a decent first round under his belt this could be the week to click and get back in the winners enclosure. He finished tied 20th here last year following opening and closing 74s. He was tied 24th the year before, again signing for a brace of 74s over the weekend. He managed a better weekend the year before to finish tied 3rd. When on song, Kaymer is one of the best in the world, and I dont think we'll be waiting long before he rises the world rankings again to challenge for the number one spot which he held briefly before. 55/1 is too big in my eyes and is a must for me here.
My second selection is Peter Hanson of Sweden who also has a top 5 finish here in recent years. These kind of courses suit his game and he comes in here on the back of a top 15 at the Honda. Ever cool on the course, Hanson is starting to show his likeness for the big ones despite not getting it down come back 9 on Sundays on more than a few occasions. In 2012, he finished 3rd at Augusta, 23rd at The Open, 15th at The Players. He will be under the radar this week for sure and 60/1 with Bet365 is value and worth an e/w chance.
My third pick is Russell Henley who was quite impressive in winning the Sony Open in January. The rookie has had time to celebrate that win and is now re-focussed on the job at hand and I was quite impressed with his performance again last week at The National PGA where he finished alonside Hanson in the top 15. 110/1 with Betpack or StanJames is far too big for the rookie who is in terrific form and represents great value.
I had considered Dustin Johnson at 40/1 who is a bit big at that price as a result of recent form but DJ is a player that can shrug that off quite easily and contend here. Rory has great course form here but his game is not right at the moment and the 25s on offer although tempting on paper probably are best passed on. Rory is now more focussed on getting ready for Augusta.

TIP 1: 1 pt e/w Martin Kaymer @ 55/1 Betpack or StanJames

TIP 2: 1 pt e/w Peter Hanson @ 60/1 Bet365

TIP 3: 1 pt e/w Russell Henley @ 110/1 Betpack or StanJames