Golf - The Masters

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OPENING BANK = 200 pts ====================== No introduction needed for the youngest of the four majors, the originally named Augusta National Invitational, known now the world over as the Masters. So what of this year’s leading contenders? Looking at their 5-year figures below, Goosen is the one who has yet to get to grips with the course, with his second place three years ago behind Woods his only noteworthy finish. Woods himself looked value for those who had taken the 8/1 quotes available at the turn of the year, and even more so after his win over Mickelson at Doral. However, his performances at Sawgrass and the Tavistock Cup showed up his swing, and especially his driving, as still a bit unreliable. As Mickelson has pointed out, the course “has the reputation as being wide open, but it’s not. It’s one of the tightest driving courses that we have. It’s just that we don’t have that thick, penalising rough that you have to hack out of. But you still have a very difficult shot into the green if you can’t drive it in play.†Big-5 5-Year Records ( Avg, Rds, FP) Singh 70.80 20 1-18-7-6-6 Woods 70.60 20 5-1-1-15-22 Els 70.45 20 2-6-5-6-2 Mickelson 70.15 20 7-3-3-3-1 Goosen 72.22 18 40-67-2-13-13 Defending champion Mickelson certainly merits the current quotes. His record here, even before last year’s triumph, was exceptional, with seven top-10s in nine years from 1995, including four third-place finishes. Just as exceptional as Mickelson is the record of Els, who has done everything but win the event. As for world number one Singh, he is often overlooked, perhaps because only occasionally does he come up against the other top four. He did, though, beat all comers at last year’s PGA, and got the better of Els in Hawaii back in January. However, although he has a good Masters record, he’s never really threatened since his win five years ago. With regard to the course, the changes of 1999 and 2000, introduced to cope with the increased length off the tee, are having the desired affect. Sure, players who can hit the ball a long way will always have an advantage, but as the PGA Tour’s par 5 average since 1995 has decreased, all four par 5s at Augusta have seen increases in their averages in the last ten years. So what does this tell us? Should we be looking for great iron players and short game exponents that have conquered Amen Corner over the past twenty years, or the ‘grip it and rip it’ brigade? Well, looking at the multitude of stats available, just as many short hitters as long hitters make it into contention; the play-off two years ago, featuring Mike Weir and Len Mattiace, is an obvious example of players who are not in the 290+ yards off the tee category, with Choi, Furyk, Langer and even Jeff Maggart all making the top-5 in the last three years. However, with the dominance of Woods, Mickelson, Singh and Els in this event, the trend is for winners to be long with the driver. One other thing you will find common across all recent winners is an excellent short game. This perhaps goes without saying, but with the controversy of new technology over the past few years allowing players to hit the ball further than ever before, the ability to make putts and get the ball down in two from missed greens is often overlooked. So our picks this week? This time seven days ago Olazabal was available at twice his odds now. 50/1 is still available with Ladbrokes, but we feel the 80/1 value has gone. We’ll err on the side of the big hitters, especially as the forecast is for thunder on Thursday, with showers to follow on Friday. Outright Ernie Els – Only a superb 31 strokes over the closing 9 holes by Mickelson last year denied Ernie his first green jacket, and we’ll take him to go one better this year. His last two performances in the US were not as he would have liked, but he was carrying a slight hip injury from Qatar and he put in a good finish at Sawgrass to end up in the top-20. The majors are what Els aims for these days, and one look at his finishing positions at Augusta should be reason enough to side with the South African this week. Phil Mickelson – His Augusta National record leading up to last year’s victory is, like Els, superbly consistent. A strong showing at Monday’s BellSouth will have Mickelson as ready as ever for a solid defence, so we’ll have a saver in addition to the South African world number three. Davis Love – Another who knows the course very well, and with the spotlight on the top-5 in the world rankings this week, Love is available at a big price. He showed at Sawgrass that he can still score well when finishing 8th, and there’s also been a top-10 at the AT&T this season as well. Like Els, one of the best Masters records there is without actually winning the tournament, with six finishes of 7th or better the last ten years. Ernie Els 2pts win 8/1 Totalbet, Hills, Ladbrokes, Victor Chandler, UKBetting, Stan James Phil Mickelson 1.5pts win 7/1 Ladbrokes 13/2 Hills 6/1 Betinternet, Bet365, Capital, Coral Eurobet, Tote, Sportingbet, Sporting Odds, Stanleybet, BoyleSports (proofed at 6/1) Davis Love 1pt each way 40/1 Betinternet, Ladbrokes, Victor Chandler, Stanleybet, Stan James, Betdirect, Expekt Top Debutant Nick O’Hern - As usual this year it’s difficult to see O’Hern winning, but he’s one of the most consistent players anywhere in the world these days. Missed cuts are a rarity, and his patience will be a big help on his first visit to Augusta. Perhaps his biggest asset though will be his accurate, slightly faded long game, which being a left-hander, is exactly the shape of shot Bobby Jones intended for many of the holes. Nick O’Hern 1pt ew 16/1 Victor Chandler, Stan James, Betdirect 14/1 Capital, BoyleSports Posted by www.sports-betting.co.uk - Profitable golf betting since 1999

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Re: Golf - The Masters Good Luck Guys. :ok Link is fine by the way, Sports-Betting is a partner site. ;)