Golf: European Tour 2011 - Dubai World Championship

[RussP]

Similar to last year, we'll have one thread each for both the European & the US tour. This tour got underway last week and the 2nd event starts the early hours of Thursday. Bets to come shortly:ok

[RussP]

Re: Golf: European Tour 2011 - South African Open Kicking off with 4 outrights... L.Oosthuizen to win SA Open 1pt EW @ 25/1 SportingBet (1/4 odds 1-5) With the likes of Clark, Els & Goosen pitching up here, we get what I consider very nice odds on the Open Champion here. Louis is desperate to win this event and has gone well in this in the past, finishing 3rd a few years back after a disastrous open round. Remains in good form since winning the Open, despite missing the cut last week when opening with a 76. He's had 3 top 10's since that great week at St Andrews and a 13th at the Dubai WC. Ironically, he missed the cut at the Alfred Dunhill last year before posting a 15th in this event so his failure to play last weekend doesn't worry me. Add to that, he's a much better player 12 months on and we have a young man that can go very close. This course demands accuracy off the tee, and he's pretty good in this area so I feel 25's is quite a big price so I'll play hoping he's in the mix come Sunday afternoon. D.Howell to win SA Open 0.5pts EW @ 66/1 Skybet (1/4 odds 1-5) A very speculative selection but I'm happy to be on the Englishman at such a big price. Had 1 top 10 in his last 7 starts but also 4 more in the top 31, whilst finishing 13th last week at the Alfred Dunhill. If he can build on that, then this price could look very generous. Despite not being the most accurate off the tee last week and not putting that well, he still finished high up the leaderboard largely due to his iron play. He hit a lot of greens, 5th in the stats and that will be key on this course. If he can sink a few more putts (14 birdies but 11 bogeys last week), there's every chance he'll go close especially considering his excellent iron play should give him more birdie opportunities than many of this field. D.Drysdale to win SA Open 0.5pts EW @ 66/1 Boylesports (1/4 odds 1-5) Now onto the Scot and Double D is a huge price. Is generally excellent off the tee and that shone through last week, 2nd on the accuracy stats en route to a 8th place finish. Consistency is another key element and they didn't come any more consistent than this fella last week, the only one of the top 10 without a round in the 60's. To finish 8th with a stat like that is testament to how consistent he was and that's a trait that will reap dividends here this week. That result last week was his 5th consecutive top 31 finish so clearly a man in form and on a course that should suit, I'm happy to take the 66's on offer. K.Horne to win SA Open 0.5pts EW @ 70/1 SportingBet (1/4 odds 1-5) The 2nd homegrown player I'm taking, again at big odds. Another excellent tee to green player, coming here off the back of a decent result last week, 15th. Without doubt, he'd have been closer but for his short stick. 3rd best off the tee, 14th best off the fairway; those stats coupled with anything like decent putting would have put him right in the mix. Went well last year at the 4 events held on home soil, with 2 finishes in the 30's, an 18th and a brilliant 2nd at the Joburg. I feel this week that putting will be off less importance than normal and it's those that can keep it straight and find the short stuff so, again at a nice price, I'm take a small risk. That's the 4, total stake of 5pts. A top 5 finish for any of them will lock in profit so here's hoping...