Tag: Rickie Fowler

PGA Tour: Valspar Championship Preview

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Betcirca enjoyed a returned to tipping form last week when we successfully predicted DJ would clean up at Cadillac. While, Johnson is only the second winner we’ve picked all year, we’re proud because it should have been wrapped up by J.B Holmes.

Nevertheless, another week, another chance, and this week its the Valspar Championship in Florida.

Golf’s unofficial road to the Masters, the Florida Swing is in full…well, swing, and the Valspar Championship, much like Augusta will suit crisp ball strikers and creative short game exponents.

The Course

Innisbrook Resort (known as Copperhead) is unlike other stops on the swing.  It’s significantly tighter than most, and features plenty of undulation – a trait not always seen on Resort style courses.  Players who position the ball well of the tee, or alternatively, can shape it either way will flourish at Innisbrook, as the course features plenty of double dog legs.  It is 7,340 yards, par 71.

The Sound Bites

“I don’t mind taking a drug test at all. When I’m sitting out here Thursday and Friday thinking I’m going to get drug tested, holding my (urine) for two hours, it affects your golf game.” – The issue of drug testing has been swirling and John Daly is clearly irked.

“John Daly has never been targeted for testing and his claim that players know when they will be tested is simply not true” – The PGA Tour responded.

The Defending Champion

John Senden was one of six Australians to win on the PGA Tour last season.  He took out the Valspar Championship by a single shot over Kevin Na.  Interestingly, Na has been tipped heavily to feature again this year.  Sender roared into contention last year with a third round 64, for his first win anywhere in eight years.

The Contenders*

Adam Scott – $15.00

Jordan Spieth – $16.50

Henrik Stenson – $17.50

Justin Rose – $36.00

Ryan Moore – $44.00

Will MacKenzie – $130.00

*Valspa Championship odds courtesy of Betfair Australia.

The Winner

Adam Scott showed enough with the short putter last week to suggest he’ll still compete and this course suits ball-strikers; Spieth has bounced back from a missed cut with two top 10’s and a top 20 in his last three events;  Stenson enjoyed a T4 last week despite obvious rust; MacKenzie is the outsider after a strong week in Peurto Rico.  We like Stenson the most.

Golf: Farmers Insurance Open Preview

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The name of the tournament suggests big pastures, long grass and lush greenery.  That’s the way the Farmers Insurance Open is shaping up too, with reports the rough has grown to unmanageable levels.  It was difficult to play from last year and 2015 could be worse for the erratic hitters who miss fairways regularly.

The green nature of the course might also mask the true speed of the greens, which are also reportedly playing trickier than last year.  A score of 9-under took it out last year (Stallings won and denied the masses a six player playoff); that score probably won’t hold this year with predictions the winner will shoot around 13-under.

Tiger Woods is having another hit out.  He practiced (poorly) on Wednesday, and as he’d admitted needs a lot of rounds if he’s to compete at the Masters.

The Course

Torrey Pines is most famous for the 2008 US Open showdown between Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate.  The two played an extended playoff that went right down to the wire.  The Farmers Insurance Open will be play on both the North and South Torrey Pines course.  Torrey Pines GC (South) is a 7,698 yard, par 72, William Bell layout.  Players will play one of their first two rounds on Torrey Pines’ North course, a much shorter (7,052) par 72.

The Sound Bites

“You can swing like Jim Furyk or Adam Scott, and still be effective” – Phil Mickelson talking about the confidence and swing battles Tiger is facing.

“My phone’s been off the last couple days, I’ve just been working on my game. Just Chris and I” – Tiger’s not taking advice from anyone other thing swing consultant Chris Como.

The Defending Champion

Scott Stallings prevailed last year, beating K.J. Choi, Jason Day, Pat Perez, Marc Leishman and Graeme DeLaet who all tied for second.  Stallings birdied the 18th when few others were able to.  He’s back again to defend his title this week amongst another quality field.  The filed includes Woods and Mickelson who failed to make it to the final day last year.  Woods missed the Saturday cut and Mickelson withdrew.

The Contenders*

Jordan Spieth – $9.00

Brooks Koepka – $10.00

Rickie Fowler – $15.00

Dustin Johnson – $15.00

Keegan Bradley – $46.00

Tiger Woods – $81.00**

*Waste Management Phoenix Open odds courtesy of Sportsbet Australia.

**Update: Tiger Woods withdrew midway through the first round.

The Winner

We’ve had a rough time picking winners in 2015.  So without any confidence whatsoever, we’re backing Koepka and Spieth to be battling it out on the final day.

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.

Ryder Cup Preview and Predictions

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Ryder Cup Preview

With no Tour golf to focus on the golfing World shifts its attention to the three day masterpiece that is The Ryder Cup.  The 2014 addition will be held at Gleneagles in Scotland, with many pundits asking whether the Americans can win their first Ryder Cup since 2008.  The answer to that question is, much like the result of the recent Scottish referendum on independence, likely to be ‘no’.

The Americans simply do not play good team golf. Phil Mickelson is an exceptional golfer but his Ryder Cup record is a poor 14 wins from 38 matches. Tiger’s record is similarly average – he’s won 13 of 33.  On the other hand the Europeans thrive in the pressure cooker.  Ian Poulter is the perfect example of passion.  His Ryder Cup record is impeccable – never having lost a point a singles match (12 wins and three losses in total).

Let’s look at both of The Ryder Cup teams:

Team USA

Captained by Tom Watson the team features a nice mix of Ryder Cup veterans (Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson) and up and coming youngsters.  The youngsters in this group who have featured prominently in majors and tour golf this year may well provide the impetus the dour Americans desperately need.  Keegan Bradley, Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed and Jordan Spieth, and Rickie Fowler are all under 30 and should have the requisite enthusiasm based on their solid years and the fact that most of them have played recent golf in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

The one positive of the US side is that without home advantage viewers won’t have to put up with the aggressive chants of USA after every shot.

Team Europe

Paul McGinley leads a European team that is littered with top 20 golfers.  Rory McIlroy who is rightly the first player mentioned when it comes to discussing the European team is joined by Garcia, Stenson, Rose and Kaymer.  All of whom have played some exceptional golf at times this year.  Add to the mix Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Rookie of the year nominee Victor Dubuisson and the European team will again be hard to topple.

On paper the Europeans look to have the advantage.  They ooze confidence and have historically found a way to use the home advantage and momentum to their benefit.

Predictions

Bet365 are offering a number of options on this weeks play.  Here’s where I would be focusing my attention.

Top Debutant – Debutants don’t always see a lot of action and Jordan Spieth is attracting the bulk of the money, but I wouldn’t look past Victor Dubuisson (9/2).  Three top 10s in the Match Play Championship, The Open and The PGA highlights his incredible season.

Top Combined Points Scorer – Picking one player from 24 when they’re effectively the best players in the World this year is no easy feat. Poulter’s record is incredible.  Rory is in fine form and has been driving the ball beautifully.  Furyk and Kuchar are incredibly solid and would make highly sought after teammates. Interesting I’m picking Sergio (8/1).  Although short odds, Sergio’s team record is strong he just plays singles poorly.  I’m backing him to turn it around.

Correct Points Score – Like predicting how many women Shane Warne has bedded, but lets’ try Europe to win the Ryder Cup 15-13 (15/2).

The Tour Championship and PGA Tour Review

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The culmination to the PGA Tour season is always a confusing affair. With all the talk about bubbles and projected standings it can get a little tricky working out whether your favourite player has the opportunity to win the coveted FedEx Cup, not to mention if they’ll even make it through to the next event.

Luckily, with Billy Horschel’s win in the season ending Tour Championship we don’t need to worry anymore. Instead we can look forward to the passion and prestige of the Ryder Cup, set to begin at Gleneagles on the 23rd of September.

But before we start predicting whether the USA can prevent a Europe three peat, let’s take a look at the Tour Championship and review the 2013-14 PGA Tour season. 

The Tour Championship 

Held at Eastlake in Georgia the final event of the season is played by only the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings and comes with an excellent purse of $8 million. (The FedEx Cup too comes with a $10 million bonus.)

The Eastlake course was the home of the legendary golfer Bobby Jones, and while none of the current field have reached his lofty heights (seven majors), two players playing pretty great golf of late were locked in a gripping final round battle.

Coming in to the final event at number 2 and number 4 in the FedEx Cup standings, Billy Horschel and Rory McIlroy could both get their hands on the FedEx Cup with a win. Paired together for the final day the two were expected to buck the trend of 4th round conservatism. However, with only Jim Furyk (and he hasn’t had a win since 2010) offering any real challenge the two could play match play of sorts – winner takes all. Rory’s challenged was effectively over on the sixth when he found water and when Horschel signed for a 12th consecutive round in the 60’s the double was his.

It was, on reflection, a wonderful achievement from a guy who started the playoffs in 69th position and before today was best known for being a bit of a hot head. Today’s win makes him a good pick for next year’s events and a sleeper for the majors.

The PGA Tour Season

It’s admittedly hard to think back to October 2013 when the season started, not because of too many gold rum and cokes, simply because of the sheer number of tournaments and the musical chair winner’s circle that the PGA Tour entails. Having said that there were some players and some moments that stood out.

Jimmy Walker dominated the early stages thanks to thee wins (at the Frys.com Open, the Sony Open, and the AT&T at Pebble Beach) and sat in pole position for the post-season events. Bubba Watson won twice including his second Masters title. Lots of Aussies enjoyed wins (Adam Scott, John Senden, Matt Jones, Jason Day, Steven Bowditch, Geoff Ogilvy, and as a nation they won the World Cup of Golf). Tiger spent most of season on the operating title, and Rory dominated every golf story in the latter part of the season, both for his golf and for the abrupt halt to his engagement.

Outside of the golf, Dustin Johnson had his ‘issues’. Adam Scott got married in secret and broke the hearts of a host of female fans. McIlroy’s dad, Gerry, got in on the action too by netting a huge payout from a ten-year-old bet, predicting his son would win an Open Championship.

Looking ahead to 2014-15 here are a few predictions:

  • Tiger won’t win a major. Rickie Fowler will.
  • Anthony Kim (remember him) will return to the game. But will be terrible.
  • More pros will throw away their anchored putters in preparation for the 2016 ban.