May 18th – European and PGA Tour Preview and Bets

A superb weekend for golf with 2 huge tournaments in Both Europe and USA so we’ve decided to go public with our preview and bets

In Europe we have the BMW PGA Championship which is arguably the biggest event in Europe outside the Open Championship and as such the host club (Wentworth)attracts a quality field every year. The interesting thing here will be the greens which are all brand new from last year. I would expect them to be a bit slower than in previous years so the emphasis on putting won’t be as strong. Solid driving always helps, although fairly wide fairways make that not too much of a challenge. But good ball striking will be the key with a couple of makeable (in 2) Par 5’s and greens in regulation will help attack the slow greens for birdies. The course is one shot shorter this year with the 12^th hole changed from a Par 5 to a Par 4 whilst the addition of water on the 18^th will make it a little tougher to find that last ditch eagle on what used to be an easily reachable Par 5.

Although the course has changed we still look towards those who’ve played well or poorly in previous years. Interestingly favourite LEE WESTWOOD ($12.00) has not enjoyed playing at this course in recent times with finishes of 149^th and 134^th in his last 2 attempts here. RORY McILROY ($13.00) is the 2^nd favourite and has had an interesting history at this course and this year. McIlroy started the year will with 2 top 10 finishes in his first 2 tournaments on the European Tour before taking on the PGA Tour where he missed 3 cuts and had a win in his 4 starts there. Likewise he finished very high up the leaderboard with a 5^th here last year which kick started a strong stretch that saw plenty of top10 finishes including the US Open (10^th) and US PGA (3^rd). However, in 2008 he was playing well prior to a dreadful 116^th. PAUL CASEY ($18.00) won here last year and has finishes of 9^th,10^th,11^th and 12^th in the past 10 years to his resume. I’ve never regarded him as a great putter so these greens should help him out here and I would think he is in this up to his eyeballs. Before his dreadful 80^th at the Masters he did finish 6^th,2^nd, 11^th and 5^th in his prior European Tour events and 4^th and 6^th on the PGA Tour at the same time suggesting his swing in 2010 is where it should be. CHARL SCWARTZEL ($30.00) has been a long time favourite of the TopPunter crew and he will love the layout here at Wentworth. Interestingly it is since the last revamp of the course that he started to enjoy it more as his early starts here were woeful. In recent times though he has recorded a couple of top 20’s and although I think his overall price is a little skinny I think he could really shine here this year. PADRAIG HARRINGTON ($26.00) has always played well here but never threatened for a title with 4 top 25 finishes. The past 2 years he seems to still be battling his driver and will produce moments of brilliance before dropping 3 or 4 shots in a couple of holes. He needs to keep that together to be a contender here. MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ ($44.00) is the first of the value golfers with a brilliant record here and another who will love the decreasing emphasis on putting. His past 3 attempts here have resulted in a win, 5^th and 3^rd which proves that point. ROBERT KARLSSON ($65.00) could be one to follow for the head to head with regular appearances here giving him good knowledge of the course. He has also has 6 finishes inside the top 50 including a 3^rd here a few years ago. This has been a regular stop for veteran Aussie RICHARD GREEN ($160.00) with 8 visits here in the past 10 years. Of those 8 visits he hasn’t finished worse than 33^rd and has 3 top 10’s to add to that. He is a real contender and worth backing at the each way price (For a top 10 or 20 finish). NICLAS FASTH ($250.00) is the last golfer I will focus on but not because he is the worst chance here. At a huge price Fasth could really be one to follow as like Green he has spent alot of time here (7 attempts in the past 10 years). In that time the worst finish he has had is 35^th. Another really good long shot.

Meanwhile the PGA Tour hosts the Byron Nelson Classic which has seen some of the best golfers take the title in the past. Unfortunately for some reason most of the top line golfers on the PGA Tour have avoided it this week. For that reason I am a little less excited about delving deep into the form of these golfers but maybe just look a few of the golfers who have finished high here in the past. RORY SABBATINI ($46.00) is the defending champion but hasn’t been in great form but that’s nothing new for Sabbatini. He is definitely a golfer you take on trust as form means nothing to him. He missed the cut in 2008 but then finished 3^rd here in 2007. A couple more Top 25 finishes are surrounded by some over 50’s so it’s definitely more a feel thing than a love for the course. Maybe look at him if he starts to fire in the first round. VIJAY SINGH ($80.00) is a prior winner here in 2004 and then backed it up with a 3^rd in 2005. He had a couple more top 20 finishes in recent times but you’d be game to stick your money on him the way he is playing at the moment. SCOTT VERPLANK ($44.00) seems a better choice than the others with a win here in 2008. He has also had 3 more top 10 finishes in the past 10 years and is in reasonable form in 2010 with a 13^th at the Players Championship his last result. A very consistent golfer who is often there or there abouts on courses that suit him. The golfer I’ll feature was a contender last weekend in Texas before fading away in the final round. BRETT WETTERICH ($75.00) is a former winner here and obviously is hitting the ball well. In 2005, 2006 and 2007 he hit a purple patch at the Byron Nelson with finishes of 18^th, 1^st and 10^th respectively. Might be one to consider for the long shot punters.

**Note: Prices quoted above are courtesy of Betfair, however, all bets below are placed with SportsBet.

Our Bets this week are:

RICHARD GREEN to finish in the Top 25 in the BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP at $4.50 (Sports Managed Fund 5% Bet)

NICLAS FASTH to finish in the Top 25 at the BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP at $5.00 (Sports Managed Fund 5% Bet)

CHARL SCWARTZEL to beat Francesco Molinari at $1.90 (Sports Managed Fund 5% Bet)

MIGUEL ANGEL JIMENEZ to beat Justin Rose at $1.85 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet)

RICHARD GREEN to beat Wen-Chong Liang at $1.80 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet)

SCOTT VERPLANK to finish in the Top 25 at the Byron Nelson Classic at $2.50 (Sports Managed Fund 10% Bet)

Golf
18 May 2010 comment

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Read more

« May 14th – NRL Round 10 Preview
May 25th – European and PGA Tour Review »