Tag: Adam Scott

Scott to Defend Honda Classic Title on Tour’s Toughest Course

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Golf has welcomed a new number one player in the world ahead of the Honda Classic beginning Friday. Dustin Johnson has scaled to the summit of golf and confirmed his status as the form player on the globe (along with Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama) with a win last week at the Genesis Open.

And chasing him is a group of accomplished players who next get a chance to catch him in the Honda Classic hosted at PGA National (Champion). That group includes players in the field, like Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler. See who else might contend at this week’s PGA Tour stop below:

The Course

PGA National (Champion) is widely regarded as one of the toughest challenges in golf. The Champion features the infamous Bear Trap, a series of three holes (15,16,17) designs by Jack Nicklaus, and like the entire course often described as one of the toughest stretches in golf. The stretch that Nicklaus once said could stand the test of time even if golf balls were developed that could travel 1000 yards, often makes or breaks the leading pack – “there are no bailouts”, as Tiger Woods also commented.

The original Tom and George Fazio design was re-designed by Nicklaus in 2014, and it hosts the Honda Classic every year. The Champion features generous landing areas and some of the biggest TifEagle Bermuda greens on the circuit, however, there is a premium on accuracy in all areas of the game.

Playing 7140 yards, the course played the toughest during the 2013 PGA Tour season, proving the tremendous challenge golfers will face this week.

The Defending Champion

Last year, Australia’s Adam Scott outlasted Spaniard, Sergio Garcia to win by one stroke, after the pair were tied for the lead after round 3. Scott, one of the best ball strikers in the game, but the poster child for the broomstick putter anchor ban, won with a final round 70. His margin would’ve been significantly bigger had it not been for a quadruple bogey 7 on the par-3 15th during the third round.

Scott’s win was built around his ball striking (1st in greens in regulations and 10th in driving accuracy) as well as a fine performance with the shorter putter (23rd in strokes gained putting), in an indication of the sort of performance needed to win at The Champion course.

Following Garcia was Blayne Barber, Justin Thomas, Graeme McDowell and Rickie Fowler. The defending champion is at $13 to defend his title and coming off a tie for 11th last week.

The Contenders*

Rickie Fowler $17

Rickie led the Honda Classic last year at the halfway stage before drifting badly over the weekend to finish 6th. In addition to his 6th place last year, he also finished 7th here in 2012, proving a liking to the course. Rickie has a tendency to do well on the same courses time and time again. Like Sawgrass and like the Waste Management in Phoenix (where he’s gone 2, 4th over the last two years), so it won’t be a surprise if he features again this week.

Sergio Garcia $17

Sergio was off last week despite being tipped by a lot of analysts to do well. However, despite a disappointing 49th, mainly on the back of an inconsistent putting display, he still struck the ball well and had good GIR stats. Including his win in Dubai, he’s ranked 3rd, 21st, 4th, 1st and seventh for GIR in his last five starts. Ball strikers are rewarded here, so don’t discount.

Justin Thomas $19

After a Hawaiian holiday to remember – wins in the Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open – Thomas has gone cold. He missed the cut at the Waste Management and was 39th last week at Riviera, but we prefer to use his Sony Open success as a guide for a strong performance here rather than recent form. If his putter gets a bit warmer, he could go well here as the rest of the game seems on point.

Ollie Schniederjans $67

The talented youngster is finally starting to deliver the results week in, week out that his amateur career promised. A tie for 8th last week was his third top ten of the season and positions him nicely at 35th on the FedEx Cup standings. The form is attributed to reverting back to a lower ball flight, something that won’t hinder him on The Champion course.

Tyrell Hatton $31

Hatton is a superstar in the making. After picking up his first European Tour win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October, Hatton hasn’t finished outside the Top 25 in any event he’s played. Success in the US won’t come immediately, so he’s still probably an outsider, but a name to keep an eye out on the leaderboard and in the future.

*Odds from Sportsbet.

The Winner

Zach Johnson and Jimmy Walker not featured above are also contenders, but we like Fowler. He’s the freshest in the field after missing last week and very consistent on his favourite courses.

Scott the Overwhelming PGA Favourite Despite Being “Just Average”

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Tournament number two in Australia’s prestigious Triple Crown is upon us this week and hosted on the Gold Coast again for the fourth straight year.

Let’s take a look at the course, the contenders and the odds for the Australian PGA Championship starting Thursday:

The Course

RACV Royal Pines Resort on the Gold Coast is home to tight fairways, undulating greens and immaculately manicured swales. 27 holes mean the course can be played in three different ways, with all of them having its own distinctive challenges. It will play longish at 6,690 metres, with six par 4s that measure more than 400 metres, four par 5s that are over 500 metres long, and a 201-metre par 3. And will be covered in bunkers (which won’t be new to those that played on the Melbourne sandbelt).

The Defending Champion

Nathan Holman defied the odds to win last year. In doing so, he secured a European Tour card but really struggled to find his footing in the competitive tour. His recent form doesn’t bode that well for a successful defence. In fact, he withdrew from the recent Nedbank Golf Challenge with a bad back. Holman’s at $51 to go back to back.

The Contenders*

Adam Scott $4.50 – The World number 7 is the obvious drawcard for the second premier event of the Australian season, and the clear favourite with the bookies to take out the lion’s share of the $1.5 million purse. Scott’s in okay form; he described himself as “just average” recently. A T14th at the Australian Open was followed up with some decent golf with Marc Leishman in the World Cup of Gold teams format tournament.

Ian Poulter $34 – The Englishman is probably better known for his Twitter exploits than his golf game these days, but could still surprise in a relatively lean field. Once the European’s team clutch man on the greens during Ryder Cups, Poulter has been without a win since 2012.

Marc Leishman $15 – The other half of Australia’s World Cup team, Leishman hits the ball long and could really light up the Royal Ones lay out if at his best. However, he’s probably not near it at the moment and probably has one eye on a break. The PGA will be his last tournament before a long break.

Cameron Smith $15 – The young Australian lost the Australian Open in a playoff to Jordan Spieth. He rocketed into contention with a final round 66. At the same time illustrating the type of form that’s seen him compete regularly in the States in 2016. He’ll contend again here this week and looks at nice odds.

Harold Varner III $34 – Varner’s a little powerhouse. Relatively small but hits it a mile. The Ohio-born 26-year-old hasn’t enjoyed the best of starts in 2016/17 but enjoyed three top tens last season on the PGA Tour. One thing is a certainty, though; he’ll thrive with the boisterous Aussie crowds.

Danny Lee $23 – New Zealand’s number one golfer is making his Australian PGA Championship debut this week. The PGA Tour winner and current world number 58 is backing up after combining with Ryan Fox to finish T11 in the IPSA Hands World Cup of Golf last week. He looks a good prospect because of a previous win in Australia in the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic, achieved as an amateur.

Ryan Fox $23 – The Kiwi’s built more like a rugby player than a golfer – it’s likely due to his genes (his dad Grant played for the All Blacks for a long time). But, he’s still got an incredible touch around the greens and could really challenge here after a good few weeks in Australia. He’ll be better for his experience in the final groups challenging for the Stonehaven and by being surrounded by the quality golfers at the World Cup.

*Odds from Sportsbet.

The Winner

Although I labelled the group above, “contenders” I don’t actually think many of them will challenge for the title. Some of them are just famous names in the field, who are likely to struggle. I like Lee and Smith.

Spieth Faces Scott Challenge in Australian Open

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The Triple Crown is a big deal in Australian golf. A trio of tournaments so difficult to win individually, and nigh on impossible to own all at the same time. The first leg is the Australian Open. Hosted this year by the Royal Sydney Golf Club.

Take a look at our preview of the course, the contenders and the odds below:

The Course

Royal Sydney Golf Club – The Championship Course at Royal Sydney is a traditional golf course without tricks or gimmicks. Heavily bunkering and undulating fairways make it a tricky prospect, especially in strong winds. The set-up favours ball strikers, where fairways and greens are the order of the day. The course doesn’t play overly long, as evidenced by past wins from Tim Clark and John Senden, but the greens will make up for the length and provide an appropriate challenge (having in 2003 undergone an extensive rebuilding phase).

The Defending Champion

Last year, Matt Jones snuck into the clubhouse ahead of the fast finishing Adam Scott and heavily backed favourite Jordan Spieth. Spieth was defending his 2014 title and was poised to go back-to-back before a disappointing even-par final round curtailed his chances. Jones will not defend his title, opting to concentrate on his PGA Tour commitments at the RSM Classic. Jones has actually shown some nice form in the States this year – a tie for 15th at the Shriners giving him much needed early FedEx Cup points – so it’s a shame he won’t defend here.

The Contenders*

Jordan Spieth $4 – The winner of the Australian Open in 2014, and along with the man below, one of the overwhelming favourites for this year’s tournament. Despite a minor lull in his output ever since the Masters meltdown, Spieth is still an unbelievably good golfer and one of the best mid-range putters in the game. He’s a certainty to be near the top of the leaderboard come Sunday even though he hasn’t played since the Ryder Cup.

Adam Scott $4.5 – The best ball striker in the business is expected to do well on a course well suited to pure ball strikers. A winner here in 2009, just down the road at the NSW Golf Club and runner-up last year. Scott performed well on the PGA Tour in 2015, putting together a season that featured: two wins, two seconds and a fourth place finish in the FedEx Cup. The odds on a Scott win look very attractive.

John Senden $23 – Sendo’s been grinding for the past few years, but should still be competitive back on home soil. A previous winner of the tournament – Royal Sydney in 2006 – Senden’s strengths include a creative short game and an accurate long game. While on paper that sounds ideal this week, there are question marks over his ability to close out a tournament, given he hasn’t competed in tournaments for some time.

Geoff Ogilvy $26 – The evergreen Ogilvy is possibly the nicest man in golf. Humble, intelligent and spiritual too. Having enjoyed success the world over, including major titles, Ogilvy still has the drive to succeed. Matching that drive is a game that’s holding up to the younger generation too; Ogilvy finished tied for 4th at the recent Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. A former champion, Ogilvy is a good chance this week.

Cameron Smith $26 – The young Australian has made an excellent start to the 2016/17 PGA Tour season. After four events, he’s ranked 37th in the FedEx Cup, with a scoring average of 70.

Curtis Luck $41 – An outsider, but one with real promise. The US Amateur Champion and recent Eisenhower Trophy winner with the Australian team makes his Australian Open debut at Royal Sydney.

Adam Blyth $67 – The Queenslander won the recent NSW Open despite a horrible stumble midway through his round that featured six dropped shots in six holes. If form is an indication as to success in Sydney, Blyth’s an attractive prospect.

*Odds from Bet365

The Winner

There’s a lot of talent in the list above, and we didn’t even get to recent PGA Tour winner Rod Pampling. Picking one is like choosing what to watch on Netflix – far too hard to narrow. However, we like Adam Scott. The course suits him, and he’ll have fond memories of his 62 (achieved in 2014).

Golf: Spieth conquers The Australian, wins Open

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How good is Jordan Spieth going to be?

Well, if Sunday’s final round of golf in the Australian Open is anything to go by, then damn good.  The 21-year-old American shot a course record 63 to completely dominate the local challengers and seal victory by a mammoth 6 shots.  His bogey-free final round at the otherwise difficult course separated him from a host of well known local players including Rod Pampling, Brett Rumford, Adam Scott, Robert Allenby and Greg Chalmers.

The Australian course proved too much for most of the field, bar Spieth who made it look tremendously easy with three consecutive birdies between 5 and 7, and back to back birdies twice on the back nine.  Spieth’s impeccable putting within ten feet and his unflappable scrambling were the standout features of his golf.  Inevitably the unflappable nature of the Titleist player’s closing issued a seriously strong statement to other top ranked golfers.

Golf’s best player issued a remarkable complement on Twitter saying, “you could give me another 100 rounds today at The Australian and I wouldn’t sniff 63…. Well done @JordanSpieth very impressive!”  Illustrating the difficulty that he and others faced on the wind swept course.  His weekend scores of 76 and 72 further highlighted his struggles, yet he still finished in a tie for 15 with other notables Boo Weekley and Steven Bowditch.

Pre-tournament favourite Adam Scott couldn’t quite build the momentum that is necessary to win golf tournaments.  His 4-under total was never going to be enough, and he will understandably rue his horror opening nine of 40 for curtailing his chances.

Spieth though; moves to 11th in the World Rankings; records his second win of his career; proves that he can go really low under pressure and in difficult conditions; and emphatically answers the writer’s first question – he’s as good as anyone and along with Lydia Ko and Rory McIlroy one of the most exciting youngsters in the game.

Australian Open Preview

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The duel between the World’s best golfers is the obvious talking point of the Emirates Australian Open starting Thursday.  The pair meet again at the Australian Open after an enthralling final round in the same tournament a year ago, and despite not being paired together for the first two rounds are destined to be the focal points of much of the tournament coverage.  Competing for attention are a host of local journeymen (Allenby, Appleby, Ogilvy), some younger starlets (Oliver Goss, Cameron Smith), and overseas visitors (Jordan Speith).  The result of which should be an epic Australian Open.

The Course

The patriotically named host of the Australian Open is one of Australia’s most exclusive golf clubs.  The Australian is old too; potentially the oldest in Australia, just beating out Royal Melbourne and Royal Sydney.  The private members course, that is only available to join by invitation only, has hosted countless Australian Open’s, including the first tournament in 1904.  In doing so, the course has seen the best players in the World vie for the Stonehaven Cup, in what many pros think should be the fifth major.  The likes of Nick Faldo, Raymond Floyd and Jack Nicklaus have all visited and rated the course highly; Niklaus even etching his name on the silverware in the process.  The most recent Australian Open winner at the 6610m, Par 72 course was current joint course record holder, Craig Parry.

The Sound Bites

“I just remember it as a long, tough, demanding golf course and that suits me” – Adam Scott

“I’ve spent more than a year of my career at number one, so if I’m not used to it by now, then there’s something wrong. I enjoy it. It’s where I want to be. I want to be the best in the world and I want to keep it for as long as I can” – Rory McIlroy

The Defending Champion

Rory McIlroy – Last year Rory McIlroy made a birdie at the final hole to stop Australia’s Adam Scott from completing a rare triple crown of Australian wins.  McIlroy put a torrid year of management and equipment issues behind him to record his only win of the year at the Royal Sydney Golf Club.  Rory is paying just $3.50 at Luxbet to repeat his Australian Open win.

The Field

Notable Australians*

Adam Scott – $5

John Senden – $23

Geoff Ogilvy – $26

*Australian Open odds for local picks courtesy of Tom Waterhouse.

 

Notable Internationals*

Jordan Speith $12

Brendon de Jonge $34

Kyle Stanley $61

*Australian Open odds for International picks courtesy of Centrebet.

The Outsider

Rhein Gibson (Aus) – $51 – BetEasy

Nick Cullen Surprises Scott to Win BetEasy Masters

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Adam Scott’s stranglehold on the BetEasy Masters trophy was wrestled away by Adelaide’s unheralded Nick Cullen on Sunday.  The 30 year-old leftie was sitting just inside the World’s top 600 in the Official World Golf Rankings prior to the final round; a stark contrast to closest rival Adam Scott (T2) who as the second best player in the World was a $3.25 favourite to take the title last week. However, as the final round progressed, Cullen was looking the more composed,and the more likely of the many Australians on the first page of the leaderboard to win the BetEasy Masters title.

His 69, including a fine bunker shot on the 18th, which he later described as the best shot of his life, was enough for a one shot victory over Scott, James Nitties, and Josh Younger, with four others a further shot back at -7.   Scott needed a strong final round to contend and his 68 was just shy of being the perfect tonic.  He was slightly unfortunate to kiss the edge of the cup with a birdie try on the last that may have sent it to a playoff hole, but even the staunchest Scott fans couldn’t deny the former One-Asia Tour player a deserving title, even though he was denying Scott a BetEasy Masters three peat.

Interesting, Nick Cullen’s twin brother Dan Cullen played one test and five one day internationals for the Australian cricket team.  Now the family will be arguing which is the more prestigious achievement and finding room in the pool room for the BetEasy Masters trophy and the coveted gold jacket.

We imagine Cullen will put his BetEasy Masters $180,000 winners cheque to good use by having the gold jacket better tailored.  The diminutive Cullen looked like Paddington Bear playing dress up in an old mans wardrobe as he collected his oversized prize.

Of our predictions, Scott was quite predictably the best finishing.  Although, in our preview post we pretty much covered the entire field, so we don’t deserve too much credit there.

Adam Scott moves on to an Australian Open showdown against Rory McIlroy starting on Thursday.  We’ll preview the odds for that event later in the week.