Tag: Sergio Garcia

Scott to Defend Honda Classic Title on Tour’s Toughest Course

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Golf has welcomed a new number one player in the world ahead of the Honda Classic beginning Friday. Dustin Johnson has scaled to the summit of golf and confirmed his status as the form player on the globe (along with Justin Thomas and Hideki Matsuyama) with a win last week at the Genesis Open.

And chasing him is a group of accomplished players who next get a chance to catch him in the Honda Classic hosted at PGA National (Champion). That group includes players in the field, like Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler. See who else might contend at this week’s PGA Tour stop below:

The Course

PGA National (Champion) is widely regarded as one of the toughest challenges in golf. The Champion features the infamous Bear Trap, a series of three holes (15,16,17) designs by Jack Nicklaus, and like the entire course often described as one of the toughest stretches in golf. The stretch that Nicklaus once said could stand the test of time even if golf balls were developed that could travel 1000 yards, often makes or breaks the leading pack – “there are no bailouts”, as Tiger Woods also commented.

The original Tom and George Fazio design was re-designed by Nicklaus in 2014, and it hosts the Honda Classic every year. The Champion features generous landing areas and some of the biggest TifEagle Bermuda greens on the circuit, however, there is a premium on accuracy in all areas of the game.

Playing 7140 yards, the course played the toughest during the 2013 PGA Tour season, proving the tremendous challenge golfers will face this week.

The Defending Champion

Last year, Australia’s Adam Scott outlasted Spaniard, Sergio Garcia to win by one stroke, after the pair were tied for the lead after round 3. Scott, one of the best ball strikers in the game, but the poster child for the broomstick putter anchor ban, won with a final round 70. His margin would’ve been significantly bigger had it not been for a quadruple bogey 7 on the par-3 15th during the third round.

Scott’s win was built around his ball striking (1st in greens in regulations and 10th in driving accuracy) as well as a fine performance with the shorter putter (23rd in strokes gained putting), in an indication of the sort of performance needed to win at The Champion course.

Following Garcia was Blayne Barber, Justin Thomas, Graeme McDowell and Rickie Fowler. The defending champion is at $13 to defend his title and coming off a tie for 11th last week.

The Contenders*

Rickie Fowler $17

Rickie led the Honda Classic last year at the halfway stage before drifting badly over the weekend to finish 6th. In addition to his 6th place last year, he also finished 7th here in 2012, proving a liking to the course. Rickie has a tendency to do well on the same courses time and time again. Like Sawgrass and like the Waste Management in Phoenix (where he’s gone 2, 4th over the last two years), so it won’t be a surprise if he features again this week.

Sergio Garcia $17

Sergio was off last week despite being tipped by a lot of analysts to do well. However, despite a disappointing 49th, mainly on the back of an inconsistent putting display, he still struck the ball well and had good GIR stats. Including his win in Dubai, he’s ranked 3rd, 21st, 4th, 1st and seventh for GIR in his last five starts. Ball strikers are rewarded here, so don’t discount.

Justin Thomas $19

After a Hawaiian holiday to remember – wins in the Tournament of Champions and the Sony Open – Thomas has gone cold. He missed the cut at the Waste Management and was 39th last week at Riviera, but we prefer to use his Sony Open success as a guide for a strong performance here rather than recent form. If his putter gets a bit warmer, he could go well here as the rest of the game seems on point.

Ollie Schniederjans $67

The talented youngster is finally starting to deliver the results week in, week out that his amateur career promised. A tie for 8th last week was his third top ten of the season and positions him nicely at 35th on the FedEx Cup standings. The form is attributed to reverting back to a lower ball flight, something that won’t hinder him on The Champion course.

Tyrell Hatton $31

Hatton is a superstar in the making. After picking up his first European Tour win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October, Hatton hasn’t finished outside the Top 25 in any event he’s played. Success in the US won’t come immediately, so he’s still probably an outsider, but a name to keep an eye out on the leaderboard and in the future.

*Odds from Sportsbet.

The Winner

Zach Johnson and Jimmy Walker not featured above are also contenders, but we like Fowler. He’s the freshest in the field after missing last week and very consistent on his favourite courses.

Golf: The Honda Classic Preview

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After the dramatic weather and slippery greens of Riviera, PGA Tour players will be jumping at the chance to get to the warmer conditions of Florida when the Tour moves to The Honda Classic this week. Rory McIlroy has traditionally been the star of The Honda Classic, and he marks his return to the PGA Tour for the first time since the FedEx Cup playoffs with another attempt to conquer PGA National.

Here’s more on The Honda Classic:

The Course

The PGA National (Champion) course in Palm Beach, Florida is a 7,140 yard, par 70 course created by George & Tom Fazio.  The course hosted the 1983 Ryder Cup and has since hosted 19 Senior PGA Championships.  This year sees four greens reshaped and fairway adjustments around the “Bear Trap” (holes 15, 16, 17).

The Sound Bites

“I’ve got more experience at it. I’ve spent well over a year of my career at world No. 1, so I’m pretty used to it by now” – Rory McIlroy sounds an ominous warning to the rest of the field.  He’s comfortable being number one.

“I can putt as great as possible back home, but until you come out on Thursday … it won’t matter. It’s the one area that I was not overly concerned with in the offseason. It was just the one area that let me down the first couple of weeks, but it’s a long season” – Phil Mickelson hopes to improve his putting this week at an event he missed the cut in last season.

The Defending Champion

Last year’s tournament was Rory McIroy’s to lose.  And he did.  Rory made double bogey on 16, bone on 17 to shoot a final round 74 an open the door for Russell Henley to win in a four man playoff.  McIlroy wasn’t playing particularly well at the time so this year will be a much tougher assignment for the field to keep him out of the winners circle.

Henley carded a 72, to get into the playoff and then outlasted Rory, Ryan Plamer and Russell Knox.

The Contenders*

Rory McIlroy – $4.50

Dustin Johnson – $17.00

Justin Rose – $23.00

Sergio Garcia – $26.00

Martin Kaymer – $26.00

Justin Thoms – $51.00

Daniel Berger – $101.00

*The Honda Classic odds courtesy of Sportsbet.

The Winner

Rory McIlroy won here in 2012, lost in a playoff in 2014, won everything last year and is quite simply the best player on the planet.  He’s an overwhelming favourite at just $4.50 which is crazy low for a golf tournament.  But it is his first start in USA since September so we’ve thrown the others in the mix too.

DJ is in a nice space after his self-imposed exile.  He’s playing for the fourth straight week and already has two top 5’s.  Not that handy on the PGA National course though.

Justin Rose has top fives in last three visits here, and Lee Westwood is 5 for 5 in cuts made at the Honda.  Nonetheless, we’re with Rory.

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.

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).