Category: Golf

Golf: Walker improves his closing to win Sony Open

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

One week after letting a final round lead slip, Jimmy Walker proved he had learnt his lesson by expertly closing out the Sony Open.  The 36-year-old Oklahoma native won the Waialae hosted Sony Open for the second consecutive year; this time empathically.

Setting the record for the largest victory margin in the tournaments history – a whopping 9 shots – Walker made seven birdies on the closing 11 holes to win at 23-under, and jump into the familiar position of FedEx Cup leader, a position he held for the bulk of last season.

Walker’s repeat win is undoubtedly a big confidence boost after he was rundown by Patrick Reed last week at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions, but it’s also an excellent example of the best response to a narrow defeat, and a testament to his steely determination.  Rather than overthink the finish at Kapalua, Walker just shot 62-63 over the weekend to round of his 257 total.  In the process he became the first repeat winner at the Sony Open since Ernie Els won in 2003/2004.

He did however admit that he used last week as motivation.  “I really wanted to finish out the day like I didn’t do last week,” Walker said.

He started the final day two clear; where it was expected that Matt Kuchar would provide the sternest challenge.  However, their contrasting rounds – Walker without a bogey in his 63; Kuchar without a birdie in his 71 – meant the challenge never eventuated.  Kuchar’s disappointing effort meant he finished in a tie for third with Harris English and Gary Woodland, who both had 67’s.

Scott Piercy was alone in second thanks to a 66.

The result of Walker’s two stop Hawaiian excursion was a scoring average of 66, just under $1.7 million cash, and an expected leap to number 13 in golf’s official word rankings.  His opinion of Hawaii will be vastly different to the unlucky Robert Allenby.  The Australia golfer was on the receiving end of a scary robbing and kidnapping after missing the cut.

Of the tips we dished out last week, we had Walker (1st), Day (17), Kirk and Howell III (26), Johnson (64) and Matsuyama (MDF).  So we probably didn’t get you too much money unless you picked Walker and nobody else.  See how we do later in the week when we preview the Humana Challenge.

Golf: Sony Open Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

For many of the PGA Tour professionals making the trip to Waialae Country Club for the Sony Open it will be their first golf of 2015.  After a reasonable break, once the wraparound had got underway, players have the luxury of travelling to a place of known luxury.  With scorching temperatures and unbelievable hospitality it’s understandable players would want to make themselves available for this one.

That said, the field is not the strongest that will compete in 2015.  World number 8 Jason Day is the highest ranked player, Matt Kuchar at 11 is next, and then four others in the top 25 make up the main contenders.  Whether the winner comes from that list will be dependent on who handles the heat and the narrow setup of the course the best over the challenging four days.

The Course

Waialae Country Club has been associated with the PGA Tour for 50 years.  It’s no surprise either, for Waialae is a beautifully designed golf course which references plenty of international courses in its 7,044 yards.  The par 70 venue from designers Seth Raynor and Charles Banks may be familiar to a lot of observers because it features in a large number of golfing video games

The Sound Bites

“I think (instructor Butch Harmon) was texting my wife with about four holes to go, and he said, four fairways, four greens, and we’re home…and that’s what we did.” – Jimmy Walker thought he ha done another to win in his final round at Kapalua before he was pipped by Patrick Reed.

“No. I do it myself.” – Japanese superstar Hideki Matsuyama’s quick response when asked if he had a swing coach to help him prepare for the Sony Open.

The Defending Champion

Jimmy Walker was in the middle of a ridiculously good stretch of golf when the tournament was here in 2014.  Walker won for the second time in six starts and perched himself atop of the FedEx Cup points for some time thereafter.

The Contenders*

Jason Day – $14.50

Jimmy Walker – $19.00

Chris Kirk – $21.00

Zach Johnson – $27.00

Hideki Matsuyama – $28.00

Charles Howell III – $50.00

*Sony Open odds courtesy of Betfair Australia.

The Winner

Charles Howell III is attractive.  In thirteen appearances in this event he has an incredible eight top-10’s.  Zach Johnson, who we predicted would win last week but just missed out, is also a popular pick after winning at the course previously.  His accurate game is well-suited to the small greens of Waialae.  However, where going to pick Jason Day.  He’s due a win and will be full of confidence after his final round 62 at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

Golf: Reed champion of champions at Kapalua

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Patrick Reed rallied to play his last four holes in three under par before making another birdie on the first playoff hole to capture the Hyundai Champion of Champions title ahead of Jimmy Walker.

Reed’s final round 67 meant he grabbed the headlines for the Hawaiian trip despite strong challenges from his own forehead, and a pair of scorching 62’s shot in the final round.  His forehead initially stole the show after images emerged of him without his cap on, revealing an extremely pale brow (check Google images) that raised plenty of eyebrows amongst Twitter uses.  But golfers also contributed; Jason Day and Chris Kirk fired 11-under final rounds that tied the course record.  Kirk’s round propelled him from last place to a tie for 14th.

Despite the excitement all around the golf course, and the obvious burning his skin was enduring, Reed managed to charge back from four behind with four to play to win for the first time since the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Dora.  It’s a fourth PGA Tour win for the 24-year old who once proclaimed he was one of the top 5 players in the game.  The win might help justify the tag considering it was against pretty good opposition who had all experienced the winners circle in the past season.

The closest challenger throughout the final round was Jimmy Walker (69).  Walker held the lead for much of the final day, and regrettably expressed afterwards that the tournament “was there for me to win, it was a bummer I didn’t close the door on it.”

Before Reed’s heroics down 16 and 18, Walker held the ascendancy.  A position he also maintained during the playoff as Reed struggled to get near the green in two.  He would find rough however, and never even get to putt for par as Reed drained an 18ft birdie putt to clinch it.

Walker will look to holes 10 and 14 as the root cause of his second place.  He failed to birdie 10 and made a first bogey for 33 holes on the short 14th.  Those two holes, and Reed’s hole out on 16 were the key turning points.

Jason Day (62), Russell Henley (67) and Hideki Matsuyama (70) all mounted challenges at various times but couldn’t quite get themselves into the playoff.  They will receive FedEx Cup points as consolation, which in Day’s case skyrockets him up 160 places in the standings.

Of the players who featured heavily at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions several have seen their odds to win the money list at BetEasy improve.  Notably:

Jason Day – $26.00

Patrick Reed – $67.00

Chris Kirk – $67.00

Hideki Matsuyama – $67.00

Jimmy Walker – $51.00

Golf: Hyundai Tournament of Champions Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

It’s great to see tournament golf in Hawaii. It’s even better when the tournament is sanctioned by the PGA Tour and features only those players that have had a win in the previous season. Marking its 13th consecutive PGA Tour stop the Hyundai Tournament of Champions (TOC) is a nice way for golf to begin in 2015. Part of the wraparound 14/15 season the Hawaii stop still gifts 500 FedEx Cup points to the winner, but for most of the players it’s a chance to blow out the cobwebs after a holiday break.

Although some notable players are missing out – Rory, Rose, Scott, and Kaymer – to name but a few, the field still features a strong list of (obviously winners) but also seven of the top twenty ranked players.

The Course

The Plantation Course at Kapalua measures 7,452 yards, with just three Par 3’s. The course has views of sea and mountain in West Maui. The wind can get up on the exposed course but more often than not it’s hot for all four days. The course is one of the first Bill Coore/Ben Crenshaw collaborations.

The Sound Bites

“I know you can count on the weather being perfect out there,” he said. “Plus, coming from the East Coast, it gets me a little more acclimated to West Coast time and closer to Hawaii time.” – Matt Kuchar explaining why he’s making the trip

“I feel like the only thing I did was work out. I was really focused on trying to get in good shape and get this year off to a good start.” – Jason Day leaving out his anniversary when outlining his holiday period.

The Defending Champion

Zach Johnson was the defending champion when we last previewed a PGA Tour event, and he’s also the defending champion of the Hyundai Tournament of Champions.

The Contenders*

Matt Kuchar – $8.00

Russell Henley – $9.00

Jimmy Walker – $9.00

Zach Johnson – $13

Sang-Moon Bae – $15.00

Geoff Ogilvy – $126.00

*Hyundai Tournament of Champions odds courtesy of Sportsbet Australia.

The Winner

It’s likely to be a very low score that wins this week so look for guys that are consistent in all facets of their game. Games that can’t gather too much rust. That’s why we’re picking Zach Johnson to go back to back. We’ll also throw some money at two time winner and Aussie favourite Geoff Ogilvy.

 

 

Golf: Spieth wins by ten, Woods last

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Jordan Spieth capped off a remarkable fortnight by winning his second consecutive golf tournament at the Hero World Challenge.  Against an elite field featuring 18 of the World’s top ranked golfers, Spieth pulled away on day 3 and strolled home to win by a massive ten shots.

Both of Spieth’s wins (the other came at the Australian open) featured a display of control around the greens that had to be seen to be believed, especially around such tight lies and slippery putting surfaces.  The Hero World Challenge win featured rounds of 66, 67, 63 and 66, and reinforces Spieth position as a star of the future.  At just 21, Spieth has already chalked up three professional wins to go with his celebrated amateur career.  His future looks set to include a plethora of further wins, probably in golf tournaments he has had to go toe-to-toe with Rory McIlroy in.

Spieth was ten shots better than Henrik Stenson (69), with Keegan Bradley (70) and Patrick Red (68) a shot further back.

The win was record breaking for a number of reasons:

– Spieth’s 26-under broke the tournament record of 266 set by Woods in 2007 and Davis Love III in 2000, both at Sherwood Country Club in California;

– The victory margin of ten shots broke Tiger Woods’ tournament record of seven shots that Woods had in 2007; and

– His victory is the biggest margin in golf in 2014.

At the other end of the tournament leaderboard was Tiger Woods, returning to golf for the first time since the PGA Championship at Valhalla in August.  Tiger battled an opening 77, a fever, and a horrific short game to record two sub-par scores on his former home course.  He mixed some decent golf with some expected rustiness in a tournament where he only briefly left last position.  The silver lining for him was the ability to make aggressive swings pain free.

Spieth though got his 2014 wish of two wins.  What look improbable only a few weeks ago became a reality; a familiar one too as he strode down the 18th hole at Isleworth with a big lead, just as he had done in his amateur career.

Golf: Woods’ return the Hero of World Challenge

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The obvious talking point of the Hero World Challenge is the return of Tiger Woods.  The highest profile player in the history of golf marks his return to professional golf with a new swing coach and a remodelled golf swing.  Woods has been absent from all golf since August, so it’s fitting he returns at the tournament that supports his charitable foundation and that he has won five times.

The event features a field of only 18, hand-picked by Woods himself.  However, the field is still full of high quality players including Jordan Spieth who won in Australia last week, Bubba Watson, and Jason Day, who is also returning from a back injury and paired with Woods for the first two rounds.

The quality of the field is evidenced by the spreading on offer at Ladbrokes Australia.  Only $34 separates the best and worst odds offered for the tournament winner, and while the competitiveness will be interesting to watch, most eyes will be on Tiger as they always are when he plays in golf tournaments.

Can he find a swing that fits his ageing body?  Can he return to a more fluid and comfortable swing?  Can he go low?

All will be answered at the Hero World Challenge Golf tournament starting today.

The Course

Moving away from the famous Sherwood Country Club, the Hero World Challenge is now being hosted at the Isleworth Golf & Country Club.  Isleworth’s signature 18-hole championship course, was originally designed by Arnold Palmer before being enhanced by Steve Smyers in 2003.  The course is built on rolling terrain and features greens that are generous, undulating and fast, earning its title as the toughest and longest course in the state by the Florida State Golf Association.

The Sound Bites

“We looked at a lot of video from when I was a junior – even when I came out there and had some really nice years where I hit the ball really well. We went back to some of those old videos and really looked at it.” – Tiger Woods on his new swing under coach Chris Como.

“It looked a lot freer, didn’t look like he was getting in his way. It looked like it was on a better path.” – Steve Stricker on Woods’ new swing.

“It looked great to me, I’m glad he’s playing.” – Zach Johnson on Woods.

The Defending Champion

Zach Johnson won last year in a bizarre playoff finish. Johnson holed out for an unlikely par to get there and then Tiger Woods missed a clutch putt (you don’t say that often) to hand him the title.

The Field*

Henrik Stenson – $7.00

Justin Rose – $7.50

Bubba Watson – $8.50

Rickie Fowler – $10.00

Jordan Spieth – $10.00

Tiger Woods – $13.00

Jason Day – $15.00

Matt Kuchar – $15.00

Hideki Matsuyama – $15.00

Graeme McDowell – $15.00

Chris Kirk – $23.00

Jimmy Walker – $23.00

Billy Horschel – $26.00

Hunter Mahan – $26.00

Keegan Bradley – $29.00

Zach Johnson – $34.00

Patrick Reed – $34.00

Steve Stricker – $41.00

*Hero World Challenge Golf odds courtesy of Tom Waterhouse

The Winner

Hard to go past Speith, Watson or Stenson.  But don’t discount McDowell – he’s won the event twice.