The Open 2016

The third golfing Major of the year will take place this week at Royal Troon in Glasgow. Therefore because it is in the cold and barren land that has produced the likes of Andy Murray and Nicola Sturgeon it is bound to be a gloomy, damp and depressing setting, lets hope the golf lights up the stage and throws up an exciting back nine come Sunday.

As ever the betting companies are going all out to get your dosh so make sure you look out for the best price, the most places and any enhanced offers for new customers.

I have drawn up a little list of qualities I think the winner should possess -

• Those with Links golf experience.
• Anyone who is used to playing in adverse conditions. Rain, Sleet, Snow, Hurricanes etc the forecast is wet, wet, wet.
• The few who have shown confidence and a little bit of bottle when faced with a big stage.
• Not the favourite. Last year The Open was won by Zach Johnson, who was sent off at 100-1, maybe this is what gave Leicester hope in the Premier League?! In fact you need to go back to the Tiger Woods era ten years ago to find a winning favourite of this tournament.
• Anyone without an EU Passport  So despite this Major being on European soil, with the home team slightly improving their record here in recent years, it is two Americans and Aussie who currently head the field, and rightly so. The American army unfortunately has a great record at this event, taking 13 of the last 21 Claret Jugs. This, coupled with the fact that the last six winners at Royal Troon were all from across the Atlantic, you do have to wonder why the Europeans are even bothering to turn up.

So onto who will I be placing my pennies on:

Firstly I am going to ignore all of my advice and forget all three of the foreign favourites and back Rory McIlroy. 10-1 is a fair price, his game is heading in the right direction, the course and conditions should suit, and he will have the crowd (bar myself) behind him. Plus he is basically a Yank now anyway as he spends more time there than in Ireland.

N.B. **He did take NINE shots to get out of a bunker earlier this week... http://bit.ly/29y2Oh3**

A name who has crept up the betting to land a short price is Branden Grace. The South African has been very active on the European Tour this season and from his last five Major starts he has three top five finishes. He is 22-1 but I think there may be value elsewhere… Step forward Shane Lowry. He finished second in the US Open last month, has many of the credentials to fill the bullet points above (although he is another Guinness Swigger from Ireland) and he is great value at 35-1.

For some bigger priced players I am going to turn to last weekend’s Scottish Open. The Scottish Open is a good indicator of things to come. Phil Mickelson was the last winner of the event to go on and take the Major, therefore Alex Noren will be hoping to follow those footsteps. Two other players caught the eye last weekend, the New Zealander Danny Lee and the Scottish-native Russell Knox. Lee has made the cut in the first two Majors of the year, although he did miss it as last year’s Open, and is clearly on the upward curve. He recorded a Scottish Open top ten and is 125-1. Definitely worth an outside punt. Russell Knox, who lies at 80-1 in the betting, is another making some 2016 headway. He won the HSBC Championship at the end of last year and has a couple of top 20 finishes on the PGA Tour to his name.

I suppose now I best try and find some Americans to back. It is proving tricky to find some with some good Open form, other than those at the short end of the betting, and the first name that springs to mind is of course the 2013 Champion Phil Mickelson, who is 35-1. After that we are pushed; Bubba Watson has a dire Open record, Patrick Reed has played twice and managed 20th place last year whilst Brandt Snedeker and Matt Kuchar have one top ten to their name so... Lets head to Jim Furyk. We are getting a bit desperate but he has finished in the top ten six times and was second in the US Open last month. He did not make the cut when the Open last visited Troon in 2004 but he was fourth in 1997. At 70-1 he stands in better stead than his compatriots listed above.

PS I am obviously backing Rickie Fowler too. He actually made the cut on his last start, Links golf suits his game, he is 28-1 and I like looking at him when he wears orange.

Players Championship 2016

After a break post-Masters, where some of the younger crew enjoyed Spring Break, all the big names are back for this week’s Players Championship. Last year this provided a spectacular finish, with Rickie Fowler scoring at 55-1 despite being at least five shots behind before hitting the final 12 holes and then winning the three-way playoff. Obviously I backed Fowler at such a silly price but then I decided on the Saturday evening to swap half of my bet for half a bet on Billy Horschel, twat. Anyway this week should be exciting and I will be not making the same mistake, below are my thoughts on who should play well…

The big four are the favourites for this tournament and I can see justification that all four could claim victory come Sunday. Favourite Rory McIlroy played well at last week’s Wells Fargo and is a previous tournament winner. Rickie Fowler also ticks both of those boxes and is available at 18-1 as opposed to 8-1 for Rory so I would go with the former. Jordan Spieth looks to have put his Masters disappointment behind him and has been showcasing a relaxed approach to his game, however 11-1 is not a big enough price come Sunday if he has another bout of impatience. Finally comes Jason Day at 12-1, his best finish here was a sixth place in 2011 so he may need to pull his best game out of the bag to score this weekend. From this group I will go for Rickie, who was leading the Wells Fargo last week going into the final round.

Two other players caught the eye during last week’s tournament, Hideki Matsuyama and Phil Mickelson. Hideki is definitely in the midst of a purple patch of form but 22-1 may be a bit stiff with no real previous form at this course. Therefore I will back Phil Mickelson, who seems to have put a dismal Masters performance behind him, at 35-1. Phil won this in 2007, let’s hope he can do it again.

Other players who are worthy of a mention are last year’s runner-ups, Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia, who are 80-1 and 28-1 respectively. Kisner missed the cut at the Wells Fargo but managed a top 40 finish in the Masters while a former winner of this tournament, Sergio, has not played since his Augusta top 40 finish. I would go for Garcia, he clearly loves this course, finishing in the top ten for the last three years.

Finally let’s go for Kevin Na at 70-1. He managed to gain two low scoring rounds in this tournament last year, he has not missed the cut in his last five starts, and with many firms playing each way to seventh place, he is a definite each-way shot for me.

Masters Preview 2016

What a weekend of sport! Grand National and Masters, absolutely no need to leave the house for four whole days, make sure you get comfortable, have a number of snacks to hand and refuse all social invitations, it's time to get serious!

This year’s first golfing Major competition looks to be one of the most open yet, with stakes claimed for at least ten golfers who could easily be wearing green come Sunday evening. I am hoping the broadcasters rope in Tiger Woods for some commentating, his perspective at other tournaments has been unique and insightful, making everything more enjoyable for the viewer, lots of Tigger please!

The Masters is like the Cheltenham Festival, you either relish the prospect of Augusta and that Great Big Hill or you hate it. Make sure you back players who have had some success playing at Augusta before. Secondly go for someone who has a bit of recent form. Thirdly bet with Sky Bet, who will be offering a quarter of the odds for the first EIGHT! Then watch the ££ roll in… Below are my thoughts and who I think it best placed to claim victory, any feedback or ideas welcome!

Favourites
The best Australian duo since Jason and Kylie, Jason Day and Adam Scott, have been mopping up the recent PGA Tour events and having previous form at Augusta they both deserve their place towards the head of the betting. Equally the two wonder kids, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth, with the latter hoping to retain the crown he scored in 2015, are short odds. Interesting to note Rory has announced he will be missing the par three competition to avoid distractions when trying to claim Major Grand Slam, his biggest distraction at the moment seems to be the gym, he currently resembles Popeye, but spinach may be the only green he has a glimpse of come Sunday. Never underestimate the power of Bubba Watson, who will be looking for a third green jacket to add to his collection, or the currently out of sorts Rickie Fowler but for me the only short priced selection who offers any value is Dustin Johnson. DJ has been playing well, he was third in the Houston Open last weekend, he was sixth in the Masters last year, and is best priced at 20-1! The other player is am always tempted to put some pennies on is Big Mickelson. He loves the big stage and can deliver, at 18-1 he offers better value than the young pretenders. To be honest I think the winner will come out of this group so deciding on some others to pick out of the rest of the field was tricky but here goes..

Middle Men
Some big names here including a lot of the nearly players, who have some close to scooping a Major but never yet reached that goal. One who does not fall into that category is the dual Major winner Zach Johnson. Placed at Augusta last year and good recent form, he definitely has the skills for Major competitions. The other Mr Johnson can be found at around 70-1. Fancy a solid 66-1 player who has three top ten finishes from his last four starts at this course? Then go for Kuccchhh!! Matt Kuchar, who would be a very popular winner with the crowd. The 37 year old is a solid Major competitor, despite being a maiden, but his record surely cements some good each way claims. Players I considered here were Patrick Reed and Louis Oosthuizen. The former has yet to deliver on his claims of being a top five player, his Masters record does not set the world on fire, but he has been in some half decent form. Louis has missed the cut four times from seven starts, worrying!

Outsiders
Not quite as big an outsider as he would have been two months ago, but the man of the moment Rafa Cabrera Bello has had a picture perfect start to 2016. Placings on both the European and PGA Tour must have surely boosted his confidence and although he is an unknown quantity on this course he deserves a shot at 100-1. Ryan Moore is not just a brilliant jockey, he can swing a golf club too. This is the first mention I have given this R Moore on the blog, he has never quite made it up to a top five finish at Major level but he has a few top 20 finishes, three around this course, and I think at 100-1 he could earn you some ££. Plus look at his recent form, he is extremely consistent through 2016 with a number of top 10 finishes to his name.

Good luck all!