Tag: Phil Mickelson

Golf: Waste Management Phoenix Open Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Tiger Woods isn’t the only big name golfer making his first appearance in a while.  While most of the attention will be on Woods – the last time he played was at his own tournament when most onlookers watched on in shock as he flubbed chip after chip, and more recently he’s received publicity for losing a tooth while supporting Lindsey Vonn at a ski event – others including Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth also return to tournament golf.

Woods’ performance at the Waste Management Phoenix Open will help bring the golfing world back to stories of more sporting significance after Robert Allenby’s Hawaiian incident.  Watching Woods compete for tabloid space with Phil Mickelson who is bidding to become the player with the most wins in Arizona will be fascinating over the coming (hopefully) four days.

The Course

TPC Scottsdale (Stadium) is famous for its party atmosphere and for it’s enclosed arena par 3 16th.  Tiger Woods made the hole famous when he aced it as a 22-year-old, and it has held onto it’s raucous reputation ever since.  The par 71 course has undergone $12 million worth of renovations affecting most of the course.

Crowd favourites Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson should expect plenty of support from the huge galleries encompassing the 7,266 yard course.

The Sound Bites

“We wanted to rebunker the golf course, there wasn’t a lot of pressure on the TOUR player from the tee. The equipment outdated the bunkering. They were blowing it way by (the bunkers), very easily past them. So, we took 73 bunkers and pared it down to 66, but their specific locations were relative to ShotLink.” – Course co-designer Tom Weiskopf speaks about the changes.

“It’s going to be a fun year” – Short and sweet from Tiger Woods when discussing his chances on tour this year.

The Defending Champion

Stadler held steady as Watson stumbled, collecting his first PGA TOUR victory when the once-and-future Masters champion couldn’t save par on the 72rd hole. Watson actually bogeyed two of his last three holes, allowing Stadler to draw even at the top when he couldn’t convert a 6-foot par save at the par-3 16th. After both birdied No.17, Watson flew the green with his second shot at No.18 and ran his chip from a spectator mound 5 feet past the hole. After Stadler two-putted from 10 feet for a 68, Watson’s putt to force a playoff slid past on the left. The result allowed Stadler, son of 12-time PGA TOUR winner Craig Stadler, to complete the ninth pair of father/son winners in history.

The Contenders*

Bubba Watson – $15.00

Jordan Spieth – $17.00

Matt Kuchar – $21.00

Phil Mickelson – $21.00

Tiger Woods – $21.00

Rickie Fowler – $21.00

*Waste Management Phoenix Open odds courtesy of Sportsbet Australia.

The Winner

Plenty of reasons to pick one of the guys above: Mickelson has six wins in Arizona;  Watson lost by one last year and has multiple other top 10’s at the course;  Spieth has won his last two, he could make it three;  Kuchar’s coming off a T2 and a T3 in his last two events.  But for desert reasons and some nice golf last week we’re going with Mickelson.

Golf: Haas holds on at Humana

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Bill Haas prevailed in the latest event of the PGA Tour at the Humana Challenge in partnership with the Clinton Foundation.  Breaking a deadlock of six players, when an epic playoff seemed likely, Haas triumphed for the second time in this tournament after a 2010 win.

Haas was one of six players tied at 21-under after he made a par on 15 and finally managed to pull free when he made a composed birdie on 16 to get to 5-under for the day.  Of the six, Haas was probably the most underrated, despite his FedEx Cup win in 2011 and especially with Matt Kuchar in the mix.

But when Kuchar failed to birdie the par 5 18th, Haas took the title by a single shot over him, Charley Hoffman, Brendan Steele, Steve Wheatcroft and Sung Joon Park.  Three others were a shot further back which outlined the strength of the field and the closeness of the final round.

Haas’ four rounds in the 60’s were matched by others, but his second round 63 was bettered only by Ryan Plamer’s 61 in the same round.  The round was ultimately the decisive effort in a low scoring that demanded consistency and fight.  His gritty determination was seen down the final hole when he was forced to play an off balanced bunker shot in a bid to save par and close out his sixth PGA Tour win.

Jimmy Walker retains his lead in the FedEx Cup race over birdie-leader Robert Streb and another 2014/15 season winner, Charley Hoffman.  Because the big names are yet to play much of  a part in the new season, Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson and Tiger Woods are paying the least to land the FedEx Cup.

US Masters 2014 Preview

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The 78th US Masters kicks off the majors’ season in the world of golf at Augusta National this week. There is no Tiger Woods as the American is awaiting surgery on his injured back so Phil Mickelson has the opportunity to draw level with his fourth green jacket.

“Lefty” has not been at his best so far this season and I’ve always managed to catch him at the wrong time in the past. He is a brilliant player when he is in the zone but odds of 14-1 aren’t enough to tempt me. Keep an eye on him though as he may play moderately for a couple of rounds but still mount a late challenge.

Lots of people fancy Jason Day this week but he has also suffered an interrupted preparation. He was testing his peculiar brain theories in this event 12 months ago. I have no idea whether he still employs the same system but whatever he did last year worked wonders. In the end it was Australian Adam Scott who emerged victorious, gaining quick compensation for his collapse at the British Open.

Scott does not look far off his best and prepares himself for the majors rather like a racehorse geared to the biggest races. He can start off our portfolio at 12-1. The US PGA Tour has been throwing up its fair share of shock winners and I’m going to put up Harris English as a long shot. He’s been making his way steadily up the rankings and made a hole-in-one at the 12th in practice this week! How he would love to do that in the tournament proper.

Patrick Reed and Jimmy Walker are others likely to appear on the leaderboard during the week along with Jordan Spieth who appears utterly fearless. With English available at 66-1 and Spieth at 55-1, they are worth a flutter to make the top six. Five of the last six major championships have been won by golfers who had not previously won a major.

Amazingly, Sergio Garcia still comes into that category. He has an unbelievable 18 top ten finishes in majors including three times here, his best being fourth in 2004. He’s certainly playing well enough but the bookmakers aren’t taking too many chances at 20-1.

Henrik Stenson could win his first major this year after a sensational 2013 on both sides of the pond. Understandably he has struggled to pick up the pace so far this season but you wouldn’t want to rule him out. My final selection is going to be Zach Johnson who won here back in 2007. He also had a brilliant season last time and is ticking over nicely ahead of the first major of the season.

Zach Johnson at 35-1 Paddy Power

Adam Scott at 12-1 Paddy Power

Harris English at 66-1 Bet Victor

Jordan Spieth at 55-1 William Hill

Each-way ¼ odds, 1,2,3,4,5,6

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