Tag: Golf

BetEasy Masters Preview

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Australia’s action packed golfing summer gets properly underway today with the first round of the BetEasy Masters.  While the Australian Open will also see a quality International field embark upon Australia, the BetEasy Masters filed has a quality look to it, including several strong performing Americans.  Boo Weekley is arguably the most well known, having won three times on the PGA Tour.  He’s making the trip to Australia for the first time and is being heavily backed by the BetEasy Masters punters.  Of the local hopes, the obvious onus falls on World number 2, Adam Scott.  Any Scott rustiness (he hasn’t played for weeks) should evaporate over the four days.  Scott is simply too good a ball striker, too experienced in Australian conditions, and too calm not to feature on the BetEasy Masters leaderboard come the business end of the tournament.

The Course

Despite an impressive list of tournament hosting duties, including the World Matchplay Championship in 2001, Melbourne’s Metropolitan Golf Club hosts the BetEasy Masters for the first time.  The highly regarded sandbelt course is widely recognised as one of the greatest competitive courses in Australia.  This week it aims to test a strong field using its bent grass greens and 96 bunkers to protect itself from scoring that could threaten to match the high temperatures forecasted.

The Dick Wilson and J B MacKenzie co-designed course has, in total, hosted seven Australian Opens, five Australian P.G.As, ten other Professional tournaments and in 2001 hosted the Australian Amateur Championship for the fifth time.

The Sound Bites

“It’s a neat golf course. I never played a golf course that had bunkers that ran off or the green that ran off into the bunker.  It’s one of them ones that’s going to be in the Top 10 of golf courses that I ever played.” – Boo Weekley

“But like I said, there’s 120 odd other guys here who also have that dream, and I’m sure there’s going to be tough competition this week” – Adam Scott

The Defending Champion

Adam Scott – Two time defending champion after wins at Kingston Heath in 2012 and Royal Melbourne in 2013.  BetEasy have him as the $3.25 favourite.

The Field

a. Notable Australians*

Stuart Appleby and Steven Bowditch – $23 Beteasy

Oliver Goss – $67 Beteasy

Geoff Ogilvy – $15 Beteasy

Geoff Ogilvy – $26 Beteasy

 

b. Notable Internations*

Boo Weekley (USA) – $26 Beteasy

Kyle Stanley (USA) – $34 Beteasy

Zac Blair (USA) – $26 Beteasy

 

The Outsiders

Michael Hendry (NZ) – $51 Beteasy 

Bronson La’Cassie (AUS) – $101 Beteasy

Nathan Green (AUS) – $51 Beteasy

 

Experience Prevails at PGA Tour’s OHL Classic

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New Zealand’s Danny Lee was the early star of the final day of the PGA Tour’s OHL Classic.  The 24 year-old scorched around the front nine in 7-under 29 to lead by one at the turn.  His run included 7 straight birdies, but his game eventually fell away under the pressure of a difficult back nine and the thought of winning for the first time.  His round was curtailed with a bogey at 12 (even with a long range putt to save bogey).  Unfortunately, Lee is a streaky player, which means he either makes lots of birdies or lots of bogeys and struggles to plug bad runs.  In what professionals call a dreaded ‘two-way miss’, meaning he was losing shots both left and right in the closing stages, his exciting challenge collapsed and he finished in a tie for 3rd.

His nearest competitor throughout most of the final day was another third year PGA Tour player, Shawn Stefani.  Stefani who went into the final round one behind the leader also went low on his front nine, posting a 3-under 33.  But for Lee’s front nine fireworks, Stefani may have been well clear of the field at the turn.

However, Stefani made errors too, whacking a ball in the hazard on the easy 13th to make bogey and see his momentum fade.

Without a clear winner eventuating, Charley Hoffman took his opportunity (and a fortuitous  break on 13) to take the outright lead after another Danny Lee bogey on 15.  Hoffman’s previous PGA Tour experience including wins in 2007 and 2010 was a critical factor in pulling away from his younger foes.  A birdie on 13 and glorious chances on 14 and 15 should have been enough to break his four year winless drought on the PGA Tour.  In the end, it was a birdie on 15 that clinched the title courtesy of a precision approach, despite only leading by one going into the 18th (and making bogey that included a left handed swing).

Hoffman wins a 2 year PGA Tour exemption, an invitation to the Masters, and jumps up to 6th in the FedEx Cup standings.

Of our predictions, Carlos Ortiz (T9 ) was the best, followed by Billy Hurley III (T23), Robert Streb (T37), and Hudson Swafford (T51).  Although we did pick Danny Lee two weeks ago.

Golf entertainment during the holiday period comes courtesy of a couple of hit and giggle events, but for the main, the PGA Tour takes a break for the rest of the year and returns with the Sony Open in Hawaii on 15 January.

PGA Tour Preview – OHL Classic at Mayakoba

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The intense travel schedules of PGA Tour professionals are again on display this week at the OHL Classic at Mayakoba, Mexico.  Each week, the players move between States, Continents and Countries, all for the lucrative dollars and FedEx Cup points.  The prize money is enough to remove any sympathy on my part, and when they can follow the tournaments with an all-inclusive week in Cancun, the players will be fine.

The OHL Classic at Mayakoba is to be played on the Greg Norman designed, El Camaleón GC.  The course knows how to accommodate PGA Tour players as it has hosted six previous events; it also rolls out the welcome cenote on the first tee.  Wind and heat are the norm here, so look out for players with low trajectories who can control their ball flight to perform well.

The sixth tournament of the fall schedule will see five players back up for a sixth consecutive start.  However, it’s unlikely that any of those will be in contention.  Rather, the FedEx Cup high flyers and previous 2014 PGA Tour winners Ben Martin and Robert Streb will be.  Add to that list defending champion but form slump stuck Harris English, exciting Mexican rookie Carlos Ortiz, and former golfing superstar Charles Howell III.

All will compete for 500 FedEx Cup points and a share of a $6,100,000 purse.   But don’t expect it to be easy, the players (and depending where you put your money this week) are potentially in for another tense finish.  Three of the previous seven editions have been decided in playoffs.  Will we see Bubba Watson type playoff heroics?

Look Out For

Hudson Swafford – $51 – Ladbrokes Australia

Carlos Ortiz – $126 – Sportingbet Australia

Billy Hurley III – $81 – Sportsbet

Winner

Robert Streb – $23 – Luxbet

A win and two top tens on the PGA Tour.  He just keeps getting better.  Is matching Jimmy Walker’s fast start from last season, so I’m picking him to win.  As FedEx Cup front pager though, the win is not paying much.

PGA Tour odds courtesy of Luxbet, Sportingbet Australia, Ladbrokes Australia, and Sportsbet.

PGA Tour Round Up

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Two tournaments to review this week on the PGA Tour.  One featuring a classy field at a difficult Shanghai course, and the other, a rather boring field at a relatively unnoticed second tier event where a 17-year-old (Camden Backel) commanded the biggest gallery.

WGC HSBC Championship

A par five eighteenth makes for a gripping conclusion to golf tournament.  That’s the conclusion from the recently concluded WGC event in Shanghai.  Oh, and Bubba Watson is crazy; we also concluded that.

The 18th was the theatre of an epic ending to a tournament for the most part of the week seemed to be heading the way of Graham McDowell.  However, the leader in all of the first three rounds succumbed to some breathtaking shotmanship from the unorthodox Bubba Watson who made eagle down the 72nd and then birdied the first playoff hole to beat South Africa’s Tim Clark.

In fact Bubba’s last five holes included an eagle, a birdie, a par, a bogey and a double bogey as he did his best to butcher the two shot lead he held on 16.  To avert disaster Watson needed something special.  A 60 yard downhill bunker shot for eagle was exactly the tonic.  The eagle helped him tie Tim Clark, and when Martin Kaymer (73); Rickie Fowler (70); and Hiroshi Iwata (72) all failed to make an equalling birdie the field became two.

Watson birdied again after Clark had left his 25ft birdie putt short to win his seventh PGA Tour title.  In doing so he became the 14th player to win a major and a WGC event.  The winnings also included 500 FedEx Cup points and $1.4 million.  The Watson win means he becomes the highest ranked American golfer.

Watson joked with his caddie before holing the final bunker shot; his caddie is quoted as saying “It’s been a miserable couple holes here, but this will change everything if it goes in,” an approach that is likely to be adopted by amateur hacks in their weekend games.

Sanderson Farms Championship

The regular PGA Tour event was far more sedate.  A quiet two shot victory to Canadian Nick Taylor failed to match the golfing pyrotechnics that the best in the World were putting on in Asia.

However, for web.com graduate Taylor, the manner of the victory won’t matter in the slightest.  His low final round was the catalyst for a three shot lead heading down the 18th.  He would make bogey, sign on a 66, and win his first PGA Tour event.  Taylor’s putting was the star of the show on Sunday; his birdie putts either dropped or burned the cup, and was in stark contrast to the efforts from pre-round favourites John Rollins (73) and William McGirt (72).

FedEx Cup leader Robert Streb had a decent week too.  He finished eight to solid his position at the top of the

Of our predictions over both events, none came through for the win but we did have a top five from Rickie Fowler.  Of the other picks William McGirt looked good throughout but faltered, finishing 7th.  Danny Lee was T51 , and Nicholas Thompson T35.  At the WGC HSBC, we chose Rickie Fowler (T3), Jordan Speith (T35), and Thorbjorn Olesen (T6).

Check back in later in the week for the PGA Tour Preview focusing on the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in Mexico.

Ryan Repeats at PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic

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Ryan Moore successfully defended his CIMB Classic title in the PGA Tour’s Malaysia stopover last week, shooting a final round five under 67 to win by three from Gary Woodland, and the highest ranked player in the field, Sergio Garcia.

Moore’s fourth PGA Tour win makes him the first player to successfully defend a title since Tiger Woods achieved it at the Arnold Palmer Invitation in 2012/13.

The 31 year old mixed eight birdies and three bogeys on route to the win, withstanding a final round challenge from familiar foe Gary Woodland.  Woodland finished runner up here last year (losing in a playoff to Moore) and again mounted a strong late challenge, but missed puts on 16 and 18 prevented him from putting serious pressure on Moore.

Third round leader Kevin Na saw his challenge fade at the 17th, after burning chances throughout the final round after a rapid start, Na put his tee shot on the 17th into a plan tree and couldn’t recover.  South Korea’s Bae Sang-moon (69) was tied for fifth with 21-year-old Australian Cameron Smith (68).  Smith has huge raps on him as a young player to watch; his week proved the undoubted potential.

FedEx Cup winner, Billy Horschel, finished tied for 37th.

Two events this week, one PGA Tour, one WGC.

Sanderson Farms Championship

The PGA Tour takes a reduced field to the Country Club of Jackson, a 7,354 yards, par 72 course founded in 1914.  Missing the top 50 in the Official World Golf Rankings (they’ll play in Shanghai) the event offers up a lower than norm 300 FedEx Cut points.  Without the big names the tournament again becomes one of FedEx Cup priority.  Players will be chasing cheap points and this season’s winners Robert Streb and Ben Martin will be looking to pull away from the pack.

The field is a true lucky dip of players.  Aside from the two above (Martin is the highest ranked player at 57), Padraig Harrington, Woody Austin (as last years winner), and John Daly are the main draw cards.  That’s quite saddening.

Predictions

Stay clear of this one.  It’s too tough to pick a PGA Tour winner at the best of times, let alone a limited field.  It might be quite tricky to find a bookie taking it on too.  But if you have to, consider:

Nicholas Thompson ($101), Danny Lee ($61), William McGirt ($56) or Charles Howell III ($36) all at bet365.

WGC HSBC Championship

The spotlight on Asia continues during the Sheshan International GC (West) hosted World Golf Championship event starting on the 6th of November.  Tiger Woods once called the course “the crowning jewel of all of Asian golf”, so it’s only fitting that only the top 50 players in the World make the trip.  Some will use the tournament to mark their returns to competitive golf for the first time since the FedEx Cup concluded.  Four of the top six golfers, and 12 of the top 20 join the field in competing for 550 FedEx Cup points and a ton of money.

Picking a winner here is equally tough given the quality in the field.  In fact, most of the odds I’ve seen simply list the world rankings and odds in descending order.  For example, Adam Scott, Sergio Garcia, and Justin Rose are the favourites; matching their World rankings.

Others to Watch

Jordan Speith – $29 – Unibet

Rickie Fowler – $21 – Luxbet

Thorbjorn Olesen – $71 – bet365

Playoff Poise Enough For PGA Tour Win

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The McGladrey Classic

Robert Streb became yet another surprise winner on the PGA Tour in the recently concluded McGladrey Classic.  Streb needed two extra holes to see off Brendon de Jonge and Will MacKenzie in a tight final day; Streb’s approach to four feet on the second playoff hole delivering him his first PGA Tour victory.

Much like Ben Martin’s debut win last week, Streb’s fast finishing final round 63 was the catalyst for a win that comes with a two year exemption on the PGA Tour and a likely invite to Augusta in April.  The win betters Streb’s previous best result of a runner-up finish at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans last season.  It also once again proves how difficult golf tipping can be; my predicted winner failed to make the cut for the second week in a row.

Of the others in last week’s field Brendon de Jonge had the best chance to overtake Streb’s clubhouse 14-under; de Jonge had four birdie putts inside 25 feet to take the lead but wasn’t able to capitalise.  Ken Duke also had his chances until settling in a share of fourth with Russell Henley, Kevin Kisner and 2013 McGladrey winner Chris Kirk.

Streb’s win comes after making a double bogey on his first hole of the tournament, proving even the pro’s get the first tee woes.

CIMB Classic

Globetrotting golfers now travel to Malaysia to participate in the CIMB Classic; the PGA Tour’s fourth event of the wrap-around schedule.  Hosting the event is the Kuala Lumpur G&CC (West), home of the European Tour’s Malaysian Open in 2006 for the past five years.  The CIMB Classic sees a further 500 FedEx Cup points on offer to anyone that can withstand the heat (genuine atmospheric heat and leaderboard pressure heat).  The field features a return to top golf for Sergio Garcia.  He tends to travel very well and plays a lot of his best golf outside of America; whack him down as a favourite.  Billy Horschel will give it a nudge; a slimmer Jason Dufner will look to soak it up; and similarly shaped Patrick Reed will be a force too.

Interestingly, Guan Tianlang is making his seventh PGA TOUR start this week.  You may remember Guan as the 14 year old who made the at the Masters at age 14.

Top Predictions

Gary Woodland – $21 – bet365

Sergio Garcia – $10 – Sportsbet

Patrick Reed – $26 Ladbrokes

Lee Westwood – $17 – Tom Waterhouse

Charl Schwartzel – $17 – Unibet

Winner

I’ll play it safe and choose the best player in the field;  Sergio to win.