Presidents Cup 2013 - 3-6 Oct

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The Presidents Cup is the action across the pond this week. USA take on the Internationals in a Ryder Cup replica. Big week for both teams especially with the event at Jack's course at Muirfield. All things Presidents in here :ok.

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Re: Presidents Cup 2013 - 3-6 Oct Tournament preview: 4pts USA (-3.5) to beat Internationals 4/5 Skybet USA have a very strong record in this tournament and I expect that to continue here. Their players mostly have good records around this course with one or two exceptions but the Internationals bar a couple of players have dreadful records here and can’t be feeling too good about themselves coming into this week. Of course this is a different format completely but a third of the points available are in singles matches so records will have some effect. Even on more balanced courses between the two the US have dominated and I expect them to win this very comfortably. This USA side is as strong as any they’ve put together in the last 10 years. So strong that even the likes of Jim Furyk, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler can’t get into it. USA all the way for me here. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/presidents-cup-betting-usa-can-dominate-against-the-internationals-once-again

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Re: Presidents Cup 2013 - 3-6 Oct Top International preview: 2pts ew E.Els Top International Point Scorer 10/1 Ladbrokes (1/4 1-3) One man who doesn’t have a bad record around here is Ernie Els. Els has won the Memorial before and has six top 10s on this course so he’ll be one of the few International players who feel confident setting foot through the gates. Ironically the other one who has no mental baggage here is a player I’m a massive fan of in Hideki Matsuyama but Els’ matchplay record gives him the nod to me. Amazingly enough given that the Internationals have been beaten and bruised in this event, Els has a positive record in the tournament. It would be a major surprise if he isn’t asked to play all five matches and given his former matchplay success, his course success and his return to form in Scotland last week at 10/1 he looks a fantastic bet to top score for the visitors this week. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/presidents-cup-betting-ernie-els-can-lead-the-international-scoring-on-a-course-familiar-to-him

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Re: Presidents Cup 2013 - 3-6 Oct Top combined scorer preview: 1pt ew M.Kuchar Top Combined Point Scorer 14/1 William Hill (1/4 1-4) It is Kuchar I like this week. He won the Memorial here in June and he also won the Accenture Matchplay earlier in the year so you could argue he is in the best of both worlds coming into this week. Kuchar’s record around Muirfield is very good. His last 15 rounds here have all been under par. That is in strokeplay so doesn’t have the greatest bearing on this week but his matchplay record combined with that course form certainly does. Kuchar’s recent record in the Accenture Matchplay is so strong that I expect him to be a major player this week and given that I think the USA will dominate it may be worth taking him in the combined points market at a bigger price than just the USA one. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/presidents-cup-betting-matt-kuchar-s-matchplay-record-makes-him-a-major-player-at-muirfield-village

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Re: Presidents Cup 2013 - 3-6 Oct Day 1 preview: 5pts P.Mickelson & K.Bradley to beat C.Schwartzel & L.Oosthuizen 10/11 BetVictor I must admit although I expected the two South Africans to be paired together I do have concerns about them and that largely comes from the lack of form of Oosthuizen. The former Open champion has had lots of injury issues this year and has no real golf to fall back on recently and that’s a concern and it could be that Schwartzel ends up taking on the Americans almost on his own which in fourballs is not good. The Mickelson/Bradley pairing look a birdie machine and if their record in the Ryder Cup last year is anything to go by they should be a solid pick for a point for the home side. Full preview here: http://www.punterslounge.com/mickelson--bradley-vs-schwartzel--oosthuizen-betting-americans-can-claim-a-point-in-key-match

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Re: Presidents Cup 2013 - 3-6 Oct Few more outrights. 2pts USA to win 21-13 16/1 BetVictor 1pt USA to win 22-12 33/1 BetVictor Couple of speculative correct score punts for me here. I really do think this will be a one sided event especially when Sunday comes along but the interesting thing in this tournament is that no matches can be halved on Sunday until the cup is won so there's plenty of time for USA to get a few holes up in the bottom matches and ensure they get won while winning any tighter matches at the top. I've already said in my outright preview how the Americans have a much better record on this course and over the four days I expect that to have a major impact on the scoring, especially on Saturday and Sunday. The Internationals may well hold their own in the fourballs on Thursday and Friday but when one ball is in play I think the States have the players to really take control. This looks a big scoreline but the Americans never really played well two years ago and won 19-15. They look so much stronger this year so this could well be even easier than that so at the prices these two scores appeal. 2pts B.de Jonge Top Wildcard 5/1 Sportingbet Only four players make up this market. They are Brendon de Jonge and Marc Leishman for the Internationals and Jordan Speith and Webb Simpson for the States. I'm not Webb Simpson's greatest fan in this format I have to admit while Jordan Speith could be spectacular or he could fall on his backside somewhat. Marc Leishman is solid if a little unspectacular and that leaves Brendon de Jonge who is similar in many ways. What I like about de Jonge though is nobody on Tour has made more birdies than him since 2009 and that's a stat I love for matchplay. Matchplay is all about birdies and he clearly makes them. Of course that statistic can be skewed by the fact he may have played more than anyone else. Even so a birdie maker is going to go well in this format so at 5/1 he's worth a punt that he rewards his captain the most of the picks this week. 3pts P.Mickelson to beat J.Day 11/10 BetVictor I like Mickelson in this tournament match bet. Unless illness or injury strikes I would be amazed if Mickelson doesn't play at least three if not four of the pairing rounds with his good friend Keegan Bradley. They have such an affinity that they should score well from there and then come the singles bar maybe Ernie Els and perhaps Adam Scott you'd back Mickelson to beat anyone on the Internationals side so I would expect at least three points from the Open champion. I'm not convinced Day will match that. As it happens I'll be interested to see how he goes with DeLaet on Thursday. DeLaet is a player I like the look of and he could go well here. Jason Day is local this week but his record here isn't the best and although he went well at the Accenture earlier in the season I just don't see him scoring enough in the pairs to keep up with Mickelson should he and Bradley go as well as expected.

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Re: Presidents Cup 2013 - 3-6 Oct And a couple more match bets. 3pts E.Els & B.de Jonge to beat S.Stricker & J.Speith 9/4 Betfred I'm still surprised Steve Stricker isn't playing with Tiger and it remains to be seen how well he'll go with the youngster. In many ways he could well be perfect for him as a 'steady eddie' to let Speith go out and fire at lots of pins and make birdies but there is the danger that this course could just be a bit too long for him and that would be a concern. I've already mentioned how I think Ernie will go very well with his own ball this week. He loves this place and he's the leader of this team in terms of experience so whoever is with him should have the freedom to go and play some tasty golf. As I've mentioned above the Zimbabwean makes a lot of birdies so these two could be a powerful partnership in this format of the game. Speith is special we all know that but I'm not convinced he's special enough to justify the Internationals being this big so I'll take the extremely good value here. 3pts B.Grace & R.Sterne to beat Z.Johnson & J.Dufner 19/10 Stan James This is another match where the Internationals are incredible value. Branden Grace showed he can play this format of the game when he was a semi finalist in the Volvo Matchplay earlier in the year and he should have a good rapport with his countryman Richard Sterne. I think of all the US pairings this could be the one to take on. Zach Johnson has had flu in the run up to this event and had little practice this week while Jason Dufner's putting can't be classed as a strength and this format is largely about putting. I'm a little surprised Freddy went with these two in fourballs I must admit. Nick Price has put the South African duo out last to give his side momentum for Friday and I think they can provide that at a tasty price given the doubts over the American duo.

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Re: Presidents Cup 2013 - 3-6 Oct Awful day yesterday. Not sure how you can shoot -8 and lose like Els and De Jonge did but it was one of those days. Hoping for a bounce back today. 4pts J.Day & G.Delaet to beat K.Bradley & P.Mickelson 11/8 Ladbrokes The American pairing were brought down to earth with a bit of a bump yesterday and they might suffer more heartache here too. Can anyone really trust Phil Mickelson in this format? Sure he'll make some outrageous plays but he'll also put the pair out of position too which isn't ideal. Keegan Bradley is a bit up and down as well. I wondered how the Day/DeLaet pairing would get on in the opening round and the answer was they worked fine and I think this foursomes format will bring out the best in them. Both are exceptionally clean strikers of a golf ball so their ball isn't going to be out of position very often. If they can sink a few putts with the short stick, and the way DeLaet was pinging irons in yesterday there has to be every chance of that happening, then this could well be a vital point for the Internationals. 3pts E.Els & B.de Jonge to beat H.Mahan & B.Haas 13/8 Betfred I'm prepared to give Els and de Jonge another chance this evening. They played some very good golf on Thursday and it was only some ridiculously good putting from Jordan Spieth which denied them a win in that match. Both hit the ball well and are both good around the greens so I would expect the International two to go pretty well in this format. I guess you could say the same about Mahan and Haas but I just wonder if they are long enough to really attack the longer holes. That would be my doubt I must admit so at a big looking 13/8 I'll take the longer International pair to cause what would be a bit of an upset in the second match. 5pts T.Woods & M.Kuchar to beat C.Schwartzel & L.Oosthuizen 4/5 BetVictor No pair looked more comfortable or as happy together as Tiger Woods and Matt Kuchar on the opening day and I see no reason why they won't go well in this foursome format. Matt Kuchar is a wonderful player full stop but he is very good at matchplay and with Tiger's shot making ability they look a good pair. The South Africans played well enough in the opening round but you have to question what they beat because Mickelson completely fell apart after the rain delay. Oosthuizen hasn't played a lot of golf in recent times so backing up a big effort might be a bit of an ask for him here. Both South Africans lack the length of the American pair and as long as Woods keeps it in play off the tee, and with Kuchar's iron play Tiger can hit irons and woods into most fairways so he should be ok, I would expect the Americans to be something of a banker pair for Freddy here.