Take on Tiger and co in Disney putting contest
With the European Tour staying in Spain this week for the Mallorca Classic, Sergio Garcia makes a rare appearance this side of the Atlantic to defend his title and is a clear 4/1 favourite to do so. There a few bigger fans of Sergio than me and last year I was left to regret ignoring him purely because of the odds but I'm going to do so again for two reasons. Firstly, the field is considerably stronger than last year and secondly, though Sergio retains a long game that is in my opinion probably the best in the world, his putting is nothing short of atrocious and from what I've seen getting worse. Fellow Spaniards Miguel Angel Jiminez and Jose Maria Olazabal also hold big chances here but again make little appeal at the odds on offer. Jiminez won here on his last visit but just hasn't looked at his best since winning in Wales earlier in the summer. Olly holds a more obvious chance and it would be typical if he were to win this week after I've backed him so many times this year but he's not exactly outstanding value at a best priced 12/1.
Accuracy is the name of the game on this short track so I'm going for a trio of players whose long game is in peak form to upset the home contingent. Firstly, PAUL BROADHURST stands out at 33/1 despite last week's surprise missed cut. A winner in Portugal earlier in the year, 2005 has seen a resurgence in form for this English veteran. Prior to last week, Broady had been in fine form with three consecutive top-16 finishes in much more competitive fields than this. This course takes some knowing so the fact he's finished in 5th and 7th in the last two years bodes well, as does his penchance for windy conditions which can be expected. Its very hard to see Paul out of the top-15 here so as well as backing him in the outright market, he looks a must for spread bets.
Another player whose recent stats for both driving accuracy and greens in regulation make very promising reading is MAARTEN LAFEBER, who looks overpriced at 50/1. Maarten has had another consistent year without winning despite going close in Scotland and his native Holland. On his sole visit to Pula in 2003, he made a very solid start before finishing tenth and has almost certainly improved since then. If he can retain his recent accuracy from the tee, again it seems highly unlikely that Lafeber will be too far away on Sunday.
For my final selection in Spain, I'm going to have a small punt on STEPHEN O'HARA at the huge odds of 150/1. The former Walker Cup star remains a player of fair potential who seems to struggle for consistency. Despite some disappointing efforts lately, there have been several decent finishes this year with four top-10 finishes and his recent long game stats are outstanding. The other factor that brings the Scot into contention here is that he is another player who often prospers in wet and windy conditions.
In the States, we've got yet another pro-am with the Funai Classic at the Walt Disney resort in Florida. As with last week, there is every chance of another huge-priced unfathomable winner despite the presence of dual champion Tiger Woods and fellow superstars Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen. Vijay makes no appeal at all on his 2005 putting form while Tiger's long game is clearly not in the sort of peak form that would justify a bet at 5/2. Goosen was nothing short of outstanding recently in Europe and in the Presidents Cup and is worth a second look at twice Vijay's odds but in a putting contest as wide open as this, I think its better to go for bigger prices.
One player who definitely owes me a few quid is GEOFF OGILVY, who I must have backed twenty times to win his first PGA tournament before missing out on his triumph at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson. This talented Aussie has been playing eye-catchingly consistent golf in the States for the last couple of years, not least with top 10 finishes here over the past couple of years, and has progressed further this year with that victory and 5th place at the Open. He had a winning opportunity going into the final round of Sunday's pro-am and looks set to be there or thereabouts again.
I have absolutely no explanation for the huge price of 125/1 available for JOEY SINDELAR. Though this veteran doesn't immediately stand out as an obvious winner against Tiger and co, he is exactly the kind of consistent, accurate player who prospers on such easy tracks. Joey was 4th here last year, his fourth top-20 finish in the last six runnings of this event. And more to the point, this has been his best year for ages, with three top-10s and five top-20s from his last eight starts. Again, Joey looks a very obvious player to side with in spread markets too.
I'm also going for two of the best prospects in the US this week. As I said last week, we have just got to stick with the mightily impressive JASON GORE while he remains backable at big odds. A multiple winner on the Nationwide Tour, Gore has won an army of admirers with his bold style of play at the US Open and in Pennsylvania when winning his first PGA event last month. At the weekend, I got excited about another bumper pay day a couple of times as Jason surged on to the leaderboard only to see him throw away his chance with some reckless disaster holes. Nevertheless, this birdie machine is capable of demolishing these easy pro-am courses.
Finally, VAUGHAN TAYLOR looks to have a decent chance of landing his second win of the year. I wouldn't put Taylor in quite the same class as Gore as far as long term potential is concerned, but make no mistake he is an excellent player coming on leaps and bounds. Since running away with the Reno Tahoe Open for his maiden triumph, he has followed up with five solid efforts including a fine third in top company at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Back on a course where he finished an impressive tenth on his course debut, Vaughan could well go close considering his improvement in the interim.
Good Luck!
STAKING PLAN
MALLORCA CLASSIC
3pts ew PAUL BROADHURST @ 33/1 (GENERALLY AVAILABLE)
1pt ew MAARTEN LAFEBER @ 50/1 (HILLS, TOTE)
0.5pts ew STEPHEN O'HARA @ 150/1 (HILLS, SKYBET, LADBROKES)
FUNAI CLASSIC
1pt ew GEOFF OGILVY @ 50/1 (VCBET, BET DIRECT, BETFRED)
1pt ew JOEY SINDELAR @ 125/1 (SPORTING ODDS, BETFRED)
1pt ew JASON GORE @ 80/1 (GENERALLY AVAILABLE)
1pt ew VAUGHAN TAYLOR @ 80/1 (GENERALLY AVAILABLE)
Accuracy is the name of the game on this short track so I'm going for a trio of players whose long game is in peak form to upset the home contingent. Firstly, PAUL BROADHURST stands out at 33/1 despite last week's surprise missed cut. A winner in Portugal earlier in the year, 2005 has seen a resurgence in form for this English veteran. Prior to last week, Broady had been in fine form with three consecutive top-16 finishes in much more competitive fields than this. This course takes some knowing so the fact he's finished in 5th and 7th in the last two years bodes well, as does his penchance for windy conditions which can be expected. Its very hard to see Paul out of the top-15 here so as well as backing him in the outright market, he looks a must for spread bets.
Another player whose recent stats for both driving accuracy and greens in regulation make very promising reading is MAARTEN LAFEBER, who looks overpriced at 50/1. Maarten has had another consistent year without winning despite going close in Scotland and his native Holland. On his sole visit to Pula in 2003, he made a very solid start before finishing tenth and has almost certainly improved since then. If he can retain his recent accuracy from the tee, again it seems highly unlikely that Lafeber will be too far away on Sunday.
For my final selection in Spain, I'm going to have a small punt on STEPHEN O'HARA at the huge odds of 150/1. The former Walker Cup star remains a player of fair potential who seems to struggle for consistency. Despite some disappointing efforts lately, there have been several decent finishes this year with four top-10 finishes and his recent long game stats are outstanding. The other factor that brings the Scot into contention here is that he is another player who often prospers in wet and windy conditions.
In the States, we've got yet another pro-am with the Funai Classic at the Walt Disney resort in Florida. As with last week, there is every chance of another huge-priced unfathomable winner despite the presence of dual champion Tiger Woods and fellow superstars Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen. Vijay makes no appeal at all on his 2005 putting form while Tiger's long game is clearly not in the sort of peak form that would justify a bet at 5/2. Goosen was nothing short of outstanding recently in Europe and in the Presidents Cup and is worth a second look at twice Vijay's odds but in a putting contest as wide open as this, I think its better to go for bigger prices.
One player who definitely owes me a few quid is GEOFF OGILVY, who I must have backed twenty times to win his first PGA tournament before missing out on his triumph at the Chrysler Classic of Tucson. This talented Aussie has been playing eye-catchingly consistent golf in the States for the last couple of years, not least with top 10 finishes here over the past couple of years, and has progressed further this year with that victory and 5th place at the Open. He had a winning opportunity going into the final round of Sunday's pro-am and looks set to be there or thereabouts again.
I have absolutely no explanation for the huge price of 125/1 available for JOEY SINDELAR. Though this veteran doesn't immediately stand out as an obvious winner against Tiger and co, he is exactly the kind of consistent, accurate player who prospers on such easy tracks. Joey was 4th here last year, his fourth top-20 finish in the last six runnings of this event. And more to the point, this has been his best year for ages, with three top-10s and five top-20s from his last eight starts. Again, Joey looks a very obvious player to side with in spread markets too.
I'm also going for two of the best prospects in the US this week. As I said last week, we have just got to stick with the mightily impressive JASON GORE while he remains backable at big odds. A multiple winner on the Nationwide Tour, Gore has won an army of admirers with his bold style of play at the US Open and in Pennsylvania when winning his first PGA event last month. At the weekend, I got excited about another bumper pay day a couple of times as Jason surged on to the leaderboard only to see him throw away his chance with some reckless disaster holes. Nevertheless, this birdie machine is capable of demolishing these easy pro-am courses.
Finally, VAUGHAN TAYLOR looks to have a decent chance of landing his second win of the year. I wouldn't put Taylor in quite the same class as Gore as far as long term potential is concerned, but make no mistake he is an excellent player coming on leaps and bounds. Since running away with the Reno Tahoe Open for his maiden triumph, he has followed up with five solid efforts including a fine third in top company at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Back on a course where he finished an impressive tenth on his course debut, Vaughan could well go close considering his improvement in the interim.
Good Luck!
STAKING PLAN
MALLORCA CLASSIC
3pts ew PAUL BROADHURST @ 33/1 (GENERALLY AVAILABLE)
1pt ew MAARTEN LAFEBER @ 50/1 (HILLS, TOTE)
0.5pts ew STEPHEN O'HARA @ 150/1 (HILLS, SKYBET, LADBROKES)
FUNAI CLASSIC
1pt ew GEOFF OGILVY @ 50/1 (VCBET, BET DIRECT, BETFRED)
1pt ew JOEY SINDELAR @ 125/1 (SPORTING ODDS, BETFRED)
1pt ew JASON GORE @ 80/1 (GENERALLY AVAILABLE)
1pt ew VAUGHAN TAYLOR @ 80/1 (GENERALLY AVAILABLE)
posted by Paul Krishnamurty at 5:21 PM
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