Tag: Golf betting

Noren Leads After Day 1 in Alfred Dunhill Links Golf Championship

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Alfred Dunhill Links Golf Championship is not only one of the richest events on the European Tour but also one of the most demanding and unique. In competitive golf, it is normal for a tournament to be played on the same course but not this one.

Despite its high prize money, this is a pro-am event. That means that amateurs, as well as professionals, can take part. Down the years some of the biggest names in sport and entertainment have featured here. Despite the event being played over several different courses, they all centre around St Andrews.

Underdogs Shine

It also happens to be an event where the underdog tends to do rather well. A quick look at the recent past winners shows this. For example, Thorbjorn Olesen of Denmark triumphed last year. Prior to that, we had players like Branden Grace, David Howell, Oliver Wilson and Michael Hoey winning the title.

So, if you are searching for a winner in this year’s event, then it may pay to stay clear of the favourites. Despite the recent Ryder Cup schedule being a hectic one, that hasn’t stopped half of the European team making it to St Andrews.

Players like Danny Willett, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer will be taking part. If the wind blows then these courses can be a real test, and local knowledge will pay big dividends. Sometimes it isn’t about the big named players but who can get here early and do the most preparation.

Seek out Local Experts

There are always local professionals around that know any course like the back of their hand. Club pros and local amateurs are always good to work with, and picking their brains can often lead to a pot of gold. The nuances of links golf mean that courses can change dramatically. This is especially the case in the autumn.

So where is the value this year? Where should your money be? Can we even predict a winner given recent results? It is certainly a tricky tournament to analyse for sure. Seeing that we now have part of the puzzle solved with play into day two then life should get easier.

Can Noren be Stopped?

Alex Noren from Sweden currently leads after shooting a stunning opening round of 64. He goes into Friday’s second round one shot clear and is 2/1 with Stan James and Ladbrokes to be the overall winner. However, there has to be better value than that around! You can get a much better 10/1 on current second placed player Ross Fisher coming up trumps come Sunday. You can get those odds with Coral and Betfred.

If you want to go further down the field, then a possible long shot or two begin to stand out. Like Raphael Jacquelin at 66/1 with Bet365 and Ladbrokes. He was only three shots off the lead after an opening round of 67. As a rule, it is tough to make golf betting pay unless you land the big priced winners.

The world of golf is a highly competitive one. There is nothing much to choose between the top 50 in any event, including the Alfred Dunhill Links Golf Championship. If you can swing one big priced winner per year then this could be all it takes to be a profitable golf bettor.

 

Europe’s Rookies Give USA the Edge in 2016 Ryder Cup

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The Ryder Cup is without a doubt the greatest team event in world golf, and one of the greatest team events in international sport. It pits the entire continent of Europe against the USA. This year’s event will be staged at the Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota from September 30th to October 2nd, 2016.

Europe has been dominant in this golf event in recent years winning the past three tournaments; in fact, it has taken home the Cup in six out of the last seven meetings against rival USA.

So, you could be mistaken for thinking that team Europe would start as a huge favourite at Hazeltine. However, Sun Bets have the USA as short as 4/7 with Darren Clarke’s European side at 15/8 to win the matchup outright and 11/8 to retain it; the defending champions keep the Cup in the event of a tied match.

The Year of the Rookie

Lending the US team the edge is how many well established European stars have either struggled this year, or have just missed the team. Stalwarts like Ian Poulter will be sorely missed, and past greats like Jose Maria Olazabal and Colin Montgomerie have not been easy to replace.

Europe has no fewer than six first time rookies this year in Danny Willett, Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan, Thomas Pieters, Matt Fitzpatrick and Rafa Cabrera Bello. The atmosphere will be white hot at Hazeltine, and big names like Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson will have a lot riding on their shoulders.

Should these guys underperform, the USA could win this event comfortably buoyed by a passionate homegrown crowd. So what of the USA team, and why do the betting firms favour them so heavily?

Big Tournament Experience

The top end of the order for the USA is looking formidable and even at 46 years of age, Phil Mickelson can still cut it with the young guns just missing out on this year’s Open Championship. Plus, we have Jordan Spieth who is a double major winner and currently ranked top five in the world.

Add to the equation major winners like Dustin Johnson, Zach Johnson and recent USPGA Champion Jimmy Walker all bringing big tournament experience to the fray. Plus, this year the US team has the celebrated Tiger Woods as Vice-Captain, along with Steve Stricker, Tom Lehman and Jim Furyk.

The Value Bet

If you don’t much relish the thought of backing the USA and fancy Europe to win the Ryder Cup yet again, then you can get various odds from numerous betting firms like SkyBet, William Hill and Coral, but the consensus is that the USA will emerge with the trophy in hand this year.

You can also take a wager on other markets, such as the leading European player and points scorer. In this market your best bet is to go with the in-form players, who will be expected to tee off in at least four if not all five matches across the three-day event. So, Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Sergio Garcia should factor in your thought process before you throw your money down.

If you fancy a long shot and bigger odds SkyBet have some juicy ones on offer with their hole-in-one odds. For example, Ryder Cup rookie Thomas Pieters is 200/1 to make a hole-in-one along with Andy Sullivan, Chris Wood and Rafael Cabrera Bello. Contrast that with the 80/1 for Rory McIlroy to do the same thing, and it’s clear where the value lies.

US PGA Championship Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The US PGA Championship is not only the last major of the season; it is also last in terms of importance. A major is a major and that’s not to decry any golfer who has won it in the past. I’m sure that Lee Westwood or Luke Donald would happily put their name to it right now! The Masters has its own special brand of golf on the manicured greens with the flowery backdrop, the British Open is the oldest and best and the Americans are entitled to their own US Open…but the PGA?

If I were to ask anyone but a complete golfing anorak who won the PGA in 2002 and 2009 I very much doubt many of you would know? The answers are Rich Beem and YE Yang. Enough said.

Of course, such scepticism carries little weight with the bookmakers who have all the usual suspects priced up at the top of the market. Tiger Woods is entrenched in his role as automatic favourite and is even shorter after strolling around Firestone at the weekend. Phil Mickelson is second favourite after scooping the Scottish and British Opens on a profitable little stopover in the UK. By the way, his tax bill was a cool £900,000 for that weekend alone!

I have already previewed the event in some depth at golfbettingtip.com and have selected five against the field. With the bookies paying ¼ the odds down to sixth place and Woods very short at 4-1 there could still be some each-way value in the long shots.

The last winner at this year’s venue of Oak Hill was Shaun Micheel in 2003. He was 169th in the rankings at the time. That victory elevated him into the top 50 but where is he ten years on? Well, think of a number and double it…337! With that in mind, I’m going to have a bit of fun with some long shots and hope that one of them can sneak into the frame.

First up is last year’ Open champion Ernie Els. He didn’t do too badly defending his title but 26th place never really raised any hopes of victory. The reason he is worth a flutter here is that he finished 5th at Oak Hill in 2003 so he knows better than most what to expect this week. He is surely overpriced at 90-1.

My second choice is AT & T winner Bill Haas. He played well at Firestone last week to finish tied for seventh place. His form is slightly erratic with a mixture of top ten finishes and missed cuts but it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise to see his name on the leaderboard at some stage.

My third selection is less of a long shot having put together a sequence of tied 2nd, tied 6th (Open) and tied 4th. Zach Johnson had his moments at Muirfield and is clearly in fine form. He is playing like one of the top six golfers in the world and 55-1 is surely on the generous side.

Finally, Australian Jason Day has yet to win this year but has hauled in $2.7million! Nice work if you can get it! At the Masters he was trying some kind of weird brain gadget but I’m not sure what his state of mind is at the moment. If he’s tuned it into the most valuable tournaments of the year he’s not doing a bad job.

Ernie Els 90-1 Paddy Power, 112-1 Betfair
Bill Haas 66-1 Paddy Power
Zach Johnson 55-1 Youwin
Jason Day 50-1 Paddy Power, 55-1 Betfair

The Open Championship 2013 Update

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

With two rounds almost complete, many of the big names have already fallen by the wayside. There has been some shocking golf from the likes of McIlroy and Donald and the bookies are battening down the hatches for a Tiger Woods gamble this weekend.

Two steady rounds have left him only a couple of shots off the lead and his price has been slashed to 3-1. Lee Westwood put in a fine second round performance and is now a best priced 7-1. They will be the two names that the bookmakers will be hoping to get beaten this weekend.

Of the rum crew that I selected at the start of the tournament, only Ian Poulter and Jordan Spieth hold any lingering hopes of getting involved at the business end of the tournament. Neither are currently in pole position to claim top spot from England or the States in their respective markets but a good round on Saturday could give them a squeak.

The third round is the last chance for those on the edge of affairs to put themselves in with a chance of lifting the claret jug on Sunday evening and I expect there to be some strong forward moves. If you’ve got a decent bet on one of the early leaders you will probably be wanting to sit tight but I sometimes like to top up my bets at this stage of the tournament. At least it prolongs the interest in the tournament a little longer!

Adam Scott is on the periphery at the moment at +1 so I think he is good value to creep into contention tomorrow at 22-1. I did wonder if the shine might have gone off his game since his epic Masters victory but he seems to be back in the zone. He has played steadily so far and he only need shoot something like a 69 or a 68 tomorrow to be right in the thick of it.

My second selection is Charl Shwartzel who is on the same score after shooting 68 today. My first glimpse of him yesterday was seeing him smash his club but I take it things have picked up since then! He has a confident air about him and his confidence will be up after today’s exploits. He is currently 31-1 on Betfair.

My third new recruit is American Ryan Moore (not to be confused with the jockey of the same name!). I have been following his progress on the PGA Tour and almost included him in my bet on the top American this week. He is nicely placed at –1 and only needs to keep chipping away to be near the top on Sunday night. The bookies evidently don’t think he will last as he’s still available at 59-1.

It’s getting far too hot outside to do anything so a couple of hours watching the golf doesn’t sound so bad, particularly if we can finish up with a winner!

Adam Scott 22-1 Coral
Charl Shwartzel 31-1 Betfair
Ryan Moore 59-1 32Red