Tag: Golf

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

The Open Championship 2013 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The British Open is the Wimbledon of Golf. For a few days of the year we are all suddenly fascinated by the game and cheer on the Brits with great enthusiasm. If the Brits fall by the wayside, we are happy to switch our allegiance to any European golfer in the true spirit of the Ryder Cup. And even if a non-European wins it doesn’t matter because golf is one of those rare sports where you can conveniently forget about nationality altogether.

I have covered the event and the overall winner market on golfbettingtip.com so I thought I’d take a look at the plethora of alternative markets available this week. I have selected just a few that may be worth a small investment.

Top American (without Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson)

Skybet are offering a generous 8-1 an upwards on this market. Considering that you can only get 25-1 or 33-1 about some of the US golfers to win outright, this has to be a tempting proposition. I’ve been covering the USPGA Tour this season and the players that have impressed me most are Matt Kuchar and Billy Horschel. Of the two, I just favour Kuchar to make the better bid for the championship itself but they are both worthy of support in this market.

Matt Kuchar 10-1
Billy Horschel 25-1

Top Englishman

This could be an interesting market because Rose and Westwood are the obvious favourites at rather cramped prices. Luke Donald is one of my each-way selections for the tournament outright and I can see both he and Ian Poulter getting involved this week. With Rose still basking in his US Open success and Westwood under the media spotlight yet again this week, I’ll take Donald and Poulter in this market.

Luke Donald 4-1 Coral
Ian Poulter 7-1 Coral

Top Senior

Only four years ago Tom Watson had a fantastic opportunity to win the Open at the age of 59. He dropped a shot on the final green and lost the playoff to Stewart Cink. It would be great to think that he can get amongst the leaders at 63 but that may be a touch ambitious. However, backing him to be top senior is far from ridiculous.

Fred Couples if favourite in this particular market but the languid one has admitted that he already has his mind on defending the senior title at Royal Birkdale. Take the 15-2 with Ladbrokes and cheer Old Tom once again.

Tom Watson 15-2 Ladbrokes

Each-way ¼ odds first eight

Finally, the bookmakers are bending over backwards to take more each-way bets this year with VCBet offering ¼ odds first eight! I’ve gone through their prices and a couple remain competitive with those offered elsewhere but paying down to only 5th or 6th. Jim Furyk is getting a bit long in the tooth but has a decent Open record including five top ten finishes. It isn’t beyond him to do it again. Jordan Spieth won last week and 150-1 is a big price about a golfer in form.

Jim Furyk 100-1
Jordan Spieth 150-1

Preview – Will Tiger Woods Win The Masters?

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The first major golf championship of the year is staged this week with the US Masters at Augusta (April 11th – 14th). World Number one Tiger Woods has won the tournament on four occasions and Phil Mickelson has three victories to his credit. Not surprisingly the two Americans feature strongly at the top of the betting lists along with Rory McIlroy.

Woods is hot favourite at 7-2 following his recent return to the top of the world rankings. His victory in the Arnold Palmer Invitational gave him a third tour win of the season and enabled him to leapfrog McIlroy. Woods has a phenomenal record here and won by a stunning twelve-shot margin in 1997. He has finished in the top six in eleven of the last sixteen Masters and the bookies aren’t taking any risks, pricing him as 7-2 clear favourite. Most bookmakers are offering ¼ odds the first five this week and that offers a fair place payout with Woods such a short-priced favourite.

The European challenge will be led by McIlroy this week. The late Seve Ballesteros became the first European to win the Masters in 1980, starting a golden era for European golfers at Augusta. The Spaniard recorded his second victory in 1983 and was followed by Bernhard Langer 1985, Sandy Lyle (1988), Nick Faldo (1989, 1990 and 1996) and Ian Woosnam (1991). Langer won a second Masters tournament in 1993 with Jose Maria Olazabal winning in 1994 and 1999. That was the last victory for Europe and seems a long time ago now.

McIlroy looked certain to claim victory here in 2011 but the wheels came off in spectacular style with a final round of 80. McIlroy has been under a cloud following his controversial switch of manufacturer but he showed that he is on his way back at the Texas Open and is a top priced 10-1 this week. If McIlroy can recapture his form of last season, he won’t be starting at double-figure prices in too many tournaments this year. I am also preparted to take a chance on Luke Donald gaining a first major victory. The Englishman has almost been forgotten as Woods and McIlroy make the golfing headlines but he has vowed to concentrate on the majors this season. He finished tied for third in 2005 and finished fourth here in 2011 so he has the game to make his presence felt.

The biggest threat to Woods may come from his compatriot Phil Mickelson. The left-hander’s record at Augusta is almost as impressive as that of Woods, having only finished out of the top six four times in fourteen years. He has already gained a tour victory this season and looks a good bet to finish in the money this week.

I am also keen on the chances of South African Louis Oosthuizen. A final round albatross on the second hole ignited his challenge last year and he was only denied in a playoff by Bubba Watson. He also recorded an early tour victory and looks overpriced at 28-1.

Rory McIlroy 10-1 Ladbrokes
Phil Mickelson 11-1 Skybet, William Hill
Louis Oosthuizen 28-1 Bet365, Paddy Power
Luke Donald 33-1 Coral, William Hill