Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - BMW Championship 8-12 Sep

[CKPROPUNT]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - The Honda Classic 4-7 Mar I Backed Timmy Clark At 33-1 He Has To Win Soon On Tour Also Had A Nibble On Young Aussie Mark Leishman @110-1 He Looks The Real Deal And Could Win Soon At A Big Price

[PerryPFC]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - The Honda Classic 4-7 Mar This course must be brutal! At the moment, with only a few still on the course, there are just 32 players under par from 141. Of those Yang is 139th after being 6 over for the first 2 holes and finishing +8!!! Calcavecchia was -3 thru 9 and finished +3 !! Paul Casey was -3 thru 3 and finished +3 for the round! Some Amazing turnarounds... I'm gonna make sure I tune in over the weekend, should make some entertaining viewing.... Seems a few longer drivers of the ball are doing ok, don't know if that may be a factor here... Bubba Watson and Angel Cabrerra have gone -3 and -1 respectively...

[Cosmetic Bob]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - The Honda Classic 4-7 Mar Yes this course has always been brutal, its actually nice to see a proper test for these pros instead of a birdie fest every week, why don't they do this more often!! Anyone like +3 +4 still has a chance as this course will get harder as the tournament wears on, there is no doubt value there amonst the pack. My man Piercy -2 a nice solid round, wouldn't mind something similar tomorrow with the obvious favoured conditions in the morning. Allenby +6 that is a shocker, never been out top 5 here :loon !

[StuSimmy]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - The Honda Classic 4-7 Mar I think Every is showing some value @ 80/1 (Stan James) especially when he is 40/1 and 66/1 with other bookmakers. Going to take sometime to have a think before placing the bet.

[TheFarneyMan]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - The Honda Classic 4-7 Mar Yang finshed +9 in the end bar a miracle round he's deffently gone, Its all about keepin in contention till the weekend and if your under par come saturday night ya wont be too far away, If the wind keeps up i can some of the Irish and English players doin real well, as they'll be a bit more accustom to lynx golf. J ogilive was 125 to 1 in the end Elecker but still had a wee dable on him.Real golf in these conditions its great to watch!!!

[Cosmetic Bob]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - The Honda Classic 4-7 Mar Stephen Ames e/w 33/1 Boylesports Chaz Reavie e/w 40/1 Boylesports This course is playing hard & as Villegas & Kim feel apart during 3rd round last week, on this harder course they could do the same leading the way here. Kim got a +6 round last sat in Phoenix so I'm gonna look at players a few shots back who had a very good round yesterday & carrying that momentum onto today. Stephen Ames @ 33/1 Shot a bad 73 on the first day hoovering on the cut mark but came back with a equalling course record 64 yesterday, he's a streaky player but when he has confidence he can go low, multiple winner on pga tour as well, going under the rader at the moment. Chaz Reavie @ 40/1 A respectable even par round on thursday, 65 yesterday so get into contention making 6 birdies, we are getting a better price here but hes just 3 shots back

[TheFarneyMan]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - The Honda Classic 4-7 Mar Hi all, big tournament this week on the blue Monster. Wind plays a big factor but shooting low and holing puts is the key. Phil Mickelson is always there or there abouts and is defending champion, his stroke average is incredibale here, but i think his form coming into it and the fact that his price is too low i'm goin to leave him be. Only the one pick really for this week from me, Rory McIlroy @22to1 He's played here numerous times since he was nine years of age and his family went on their holidays to this resort for years before turning pro. He was t20 last year but i do think he has become more consistant since then and its only a matter of time before it clicks.His back problem that he's been suffering with is gone and he's been flat out practising on the range since the Honda, his first time hittin balls properly in three weeks he said!!!!!! I also saw that its 16 to 1 for the winner to be Irish, this is a great price as you'll get a double chance with Padraig Harrington. Not too sure if Graham McDowell is playin this week but if he is that would be a huge price for the three seein as he effectively took himself out of the running by calling a two shot penalty on himself by skimming the water on a back stroke. Well worth the money, like backing three for the price of one!!!! :hope

[TheFarneyMan]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - Dora WGAl Ca Championship 11-14 March

Hi all' date=' big tournament this week on the blue Monster. Wind plays a big factor but shooting low and holing puts is the key. Phil Mickelson is always there or there abouts and is defending champion, his stroke average is incredibale here, but i think his form coming into it and the fact that his price is too low i'm goin to leave him be. Only the one pick really for this week from me, [b']Rory McIlroy @22to1 He's played here numerous times since he was nine years of age and his family went on their holidays to this resort for years before turning pro. He was t20 last year but i do think he has become more consistant since then and its only a matter of time before it clicks.His back problem that he's been suffering with is gone and he's been flat out practising on the range since the Honda, his first time hittin balls properly in three weeks he said!!!!!! I also saw that its 16 to 1 for the winner to be Irish, this is a great price as you'll get a double chance with Padraig Harrington. Not too sure if Graham McDowell is playin this week but if he is that would be a huge price for the three seein as he effectively took himself out of the running by calling a two shot penalty on himself by skimming the water on a back stroke. Well worth the money, like backing three for the price of one!!!! :hope

Just checked and McDowell is playing, huge price for three golfers!!!!!!:clap

[hornet_18]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Be aware that I put these bets on over the last couple of days but havent had time for a write up (my internet is broken so I'm currently at a premium on somebody elses!!) so the odds may have changed. Dont really have time for a write up but I've looked at the field and there's plenty of value to be had. Taken a few at Doral and 3 more for the offshore guys in Puerto Rico. Geoff Ogilvy @ 29 Crazy outright price on multiple WGC and major winner. Has won already this season becoming a repeat winner in Hawaii and has won on this course so I cant put it past him becoming a repeat winner here. Top of the GIR stats this year - key at Doral. Also has the impact of the nappy factor a possibility with the birth of his 3rd child a few weeks ago. Retief Goosen @ 41 ew Missed the cut in his last strokeplay event, however, in his last 11 events he has that missed cut, one tied 16th and 9 other top 10s. Not bad form. Finished 2nd here two years ago, a multiple major winner and his last win anywhere came a year ago in Florida. He sometimes struggles to get over the line nowadays but in his form at this price, I'll take him all day long. Sergio Garcia @ 51 ew Wouldnt expect this price on Sergio in a major so why at the WGC at a course he likes and in a state he loves playing in (in the last five years he has played 17 tournaments in Florida and has never missed a cut, has one win, 3 other top 5s and 2 further top 10s). Has a good record at Doral finishing 3rd in 2007 and 15th in 2008. Recent form is solid if unspectacular but this is a course his game suits as you need to be a good ball striker and hit greens to do well - right up his street. Last PGA win came in Florida at the Players so another guy who comes back to Florida with positive memories. Soren Kjeldsen @ 111 ew The Dane is a big price considering his record here. Has played here twice and is 23under for the 8 rounds with a worst round of 71 finishing 11th in 2008 and 7th last year. Not bad. Was sitting in 10th after 3rounds in Malaysia last week before a poor final round threw him down the pecking order, however, after an average desert swing it shows his game is in decent working order and coming onto a course he clearly enjoys he shouldnt be a 3 figure price. Has a few wins under his belt in good company and finished sixth in the last major of 2009 further showing that he can stand well in elite competition. Ryan Palmer @ 176 ew I know I'm being suckered in to Palmer again but I dont think he played all that badly last week even though he missed the cut by a massive margin. Was actually on course to make the cut coming on to the 12th hole in the 2nd round but he hit a member of the public on the head with one of his shots which he said on his twitter page shook him up pretty bad - he ended up shooting 12 over for his last 7 holes. Im not sure this really shows how well he is currently playing. Has won already this year and is a good ball striker and putter of the ball. Has a decent record at Doral from when before it was a WGC event hitting some 65s and 66s here and has previously won in Florida so can play in the conditions. Big price for someone who has won in the state and already beaten a decent field this year beating Allenby and Stricker to 2nd and 3rd. Puerto Rico has had two strange winners over the last two years, however, both guys are experienced and have previously performed well in Florida (apparently there are a lot of similarities between the two courses on show this week) so that's being used in my rationale for this event. Steve Elkington @ 67 ew The Elk knows how to win tournaments, he has 10 pga career victories, including one major. More importantly however, he plays well in Florida - the similar conditions - with 4 of those career victories coming in Florida. Again, as mentioned above with the similarities in conditions at doral it's nice to see that he has won twice at Doral and clearly thrives on this type of course. Has two top 16 finishes and a missed cut this year but although he missed the cut in Mexico, at this price I cant be put off backing the oz. Mark Calcavecchia @ 71 ew Another multiple tour winner (25 worldwide, 13 pga) and major winner lines up here. He has won 3 times in Florida including his last win in 2007. Having seen him tipped up over the last few weeks here, its been pointed out he's not been playing too badly and in this step down in class he should have no problems moving up the leaderboard and if he gets into a position he knows how to finish it off. He's made his last three cuts and has won internationally before (as pointed out, 12 wins outside the pga tour and a couple of the pga wins were in canada!) so see a bit of value in the price in this field. Shaun Micheel @ 81 ew Another major winner but one who has not done anything since his win. Actually had to go back to q school in the summer so should be more than motivated here considering he is playing partially on the nationwide and partially on the pga this year. What I like, however, is the fact that he has only played two events this year and finished in the top 20 of both. One was the pga tour event in mexico. The other the nationwide tour event in panama showing that he should be able to deal with the greens (which are slightly different to any in play in america) and is more than happy in the conditions. Very hit and miss player but again, with the price on offer, it looks a bit of value especially considering the past winners. GL :hope

[ELCAKER]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Great write up as always Hornet... Had a look at some of the 1st round 3 balls and whilst this is always littered with danger I do think there's some interesting prices. Love McIlroy at 11/5 with Corals to get the better of Mickelson and Goosen. I just think over 2's is good value. Rory will not be intimidated, and will relish the opportunity to make a mark. Ryan Palmer can be backed at 9/4 to win against Oliver Wilson and Michael Sim. Soren Hansen has flown half way around the world to get here (probably 1st class though!) He played in Malyasia to earn a slot in the field and is up for the challenge on a course he enjoys. 2's widely available to beat Zach Johnson and Bill Haas. Sergio is 12/5 with Stan James to beat Ernie Els and Steve Stricker. He'll be up for it, no doubt and 12/5 is very tasty. And finally Geoff Ogilivy is 13/8 to win his 3 ball against Ian Poulter and Padraig Harrington. That will do !!

[bigstumur]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Guys! This might help your quest for the winner!

BETTING HEADLINES Anthony Kim - can take the title. KIM CAN BE FLORIDA PEARL By Dave Tindall Sky Bet's Odds Compare All Prices :makeBettingBox()'> BETTING BOX FIXED ODDS 1.5pts e.w. Anthony Kim at 35/1 (William Hill 1/4 1,2,3,4,5). Runner-up last week and close to putting four rounds together. Course suits. 1pt e.w. Vijay Singh at 40/1 (Betfred 1/4 1,2,3,4,5). Fit again and bounced back to form with T4 at Honda. Fine Doral record. 1pt e.w. Nick Watney at 45/1 (bet365 1/4 1,2,3,4,5). Runner-up last year and showed signs in Phoenix that he's ready to shine again. 1pt e.w. Jerry Kelly at 110/1 (bet365 1/4 1,2,3,4,5). Played well last week and seventh on last start at Doral. Underrated. 2pts win Geoff Ogilvy at 28/1 (Stan James). Knows how to beat elite fields, champion here in 2008 and already a winner in 2010. At the recent Waste Management Phoenix Open, US golf blogger Stephanie Wei posted a picture of Anthony Kim practising whilst on the phone. My first reaction was to view it as 'evidence' that Kim just doesn't give the game the attention his talent deserves. His weekend flop in Phoenix having got himself into the lead seemed to confirm those suspicions and I expected Kim to once more fail to justify the hype at last week's Honda Classic. Well, he did give the doubters more fuel when shooting a third round 73 on 'moving day' but the bottom line was he ended up finishing the tournament in second place after 68-64 and 67 on the other three days. "I'm still just trying to put four rounds together," said Kim in interview later. "I'm playing well, I'm thinking well, I have a good attitude and hopefully I can keep practising hard and keep improving." It made me return to that picture and have a re-think. Firstly, well at least he was practising rather than just talking on the phone. And, secondly, practising one-handed is actually a very good short-game drill (although most experts normally don't recommend you have a mobile phone in the other hand). Looking ahead to Doral, Kim is certainly full of beans: "Well, if I keep hitting it this good, it's going to be great for my game because it's a longer golf course. I'm reading the greens real well. My caddie and I are doing a good job of reading the grain, and that's the first thing that you have to look at." Kim, like Camilo Villegas last week, is due. Like the Colombian before the Honda, he's still winless since two victories in 2008 and, on a Doral course which yields birdies, he should be in his element. Snap up the 35/1. Another player I like from last week's top five is Vijay Singh. It's easy to dismiss the Fijian as a potential winner due to his putting but here's what he said about his performance with the flatstick last week. "There's a lot of positives on the putter," said Singh. "I think I feel really comfortable with it. That's the best I've felt on the putting green for a long, long time this week. So there's a lot of great signs that the more I get used to the putter, the more I start getting into contention." Delusional? Well, all the great players are. If Singh had stressed about his putting the same way we punters do he probably wouldn't have won anywhere near the 34 US Tour victories he has. Instead we should focus on the fact that Singh was tied second for greens in regulation last week - a key stat for success at Doral and confirmation that he's striking it well again now his injuries have cleared up. Singh has a bunch of wins in Florida and a series of top five finishes at Doral. He was runner-up two years ago, the second time he's occupied that position, and he can also point to two third places and a fifth. When Singh is being talked up it's usually along the lines of 'it wasn't that long ago that he was world number one (for 32 weeks across 2004/5)'. But why not say that only 18 months ago he won the US Money List and was being handed the FedEx Cup trophy after racking up three wins in five events. After looking Villegas' biggest challenger for most of last week, Singh is clearly on his game and, once in form, he's proven over the years that he can carry it over to the next tournament. Snap up the 40s. So far this season we've seen two players defend their titles (Geoff Ogilvy at Kapalua and Dustin Johnson at Pebble Beach) and two events won by former runners-up (Steve Stricker at Riviera and Villegas at PGA National). In other words, despite fears that the new grooves ruling would cause chaos for punters, good old course form is as strong as ever. Therefore, I'm going to put up last year's runner-up Nick Watney as my third tip. The American made Mickelson sweat down the stretch last year and could so easily have taken the tournament to a play-off. He hasn't quite hit his full stride in 2010 but he finished ninth when defending at Torrey Pines and shot 63-69-69 over the final 54 holes at Phoenix on his most recent start. Watney is a force in Florida. In his last four starts in the Sunshine State he can boast a second (here), a fourth and a 12th. As someone who hits it long, finds lots of greens and makes plenty of birdies, Watney is a good fit for this course and the 45/1 looks a fair price. At much bigger odds, Jerry Kelly could be interesting Kelly usually flies under the radar but he does seem to boast plenty of good credentials for a 110/1 shot. After a slow start to the season, Kelly found some form in the Mayakoba Golf Classic (tied 28tth) and improved to tied 12th in last week's Honda Classic after opening 69-65. At the halfway mark, Kelly said: "I'm really enjoying the way I'm playing. All I can do is go out there and try and get the job done. My body feels good finally." If, like Singh, he is fit again then he deserves respect. Kelly was seventh on his last appearance at Doral, has previously finished fourth and it was less than 12 months ago that he posted the most recent of his three US Tour wins. I mentioned earlier that hitting greens is important at Doral so for my final pick I'm going straight to the top of the greens in regulation stats. And there you'll find Geoff Ogilvy sitting in top spot. The Aussie appears to have gone quiet since winning the season-opening SBS Championship with his new Titleist clubs but that was due to taking some time off following the birth of his third child. On his return he lost in the second round of the Match Play and then finished down the field in Phoenix - a tournament where he usually struggles. But Doral is right up his street. He ended Tiger Woods' seven-event win streak when winning here two years ago and the year before he was third. Having already won this season on a course (Kapalua) where he's triumphed before, let's back Ogilvy to repeat the trick. At 28/1 he's the biggest price of the leading contenders and, on the evidence of the last few years, is probably the one you can trust most (Ogilvy has won two WGC titles) in elite fields. It means we'll go for the jugular and play him 'win only'.

[bigstumur]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Anyone any thoughts on tonight! There is no doubt the strong crosswinds of the last three days have put the Americans to bed,so where do we stand with the winner. My own take on this is there will be a play off with maybe more than two contesting. I would like Schwartzel to win because I do think he is a future Major winner and one of the next Bright young things to come through,but as i have previously stated he goes at every flag which on one of the pga,s tougher venues is maybe a bit foolhardy,although he has managed his game better than most this week. My own pick is Padraig Harrington,simply put if he was sitting five off the lead in a tournament similar to Major status you would still give him an outside squeak,so one back is a good place to be. he is trading around 14/5@Betfair which i think is a tad short given Els,s experience and schwartzels form,and not to rule out a possible run from Allenby,Kaymer or maybe even Casey,So i will bide my time and wait till porridge drops a stroke or puts himself out of position and hopefully grab 4,s or 9/2 which is a fairer punt. Come on guys give us yer views!

[kevshat]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar An early 2 ball bet for me tonight. May well come back with a couple of others as well. 3pts A.Presnell to beat P.Hanson 9/5 Boylesports Match tees off at 16.35 GMT. I'm not overly familiar with the work of the Aussie Alastair Presnell but I do think he's playing better than Peter Hanson this week. Hanson's stats this week and indeed his score is very much hyped up by his 66 on Friday when he had one of those runs of birdies you get every now and again. He's shot 74 either side of that and it's no surprise when you see that he only hit 57 & 50% of fairways in those two rounds (compared to 79% on Friday) and just 44 and 61% of GIR's (83% on Friday). So generally his play on the whole this week has been poor. Presnell on the other hand has been very solid. He's driving the ball well and he's hitting it a long way which will give him the advantage on the par 5's and the longer par 4's on this course. He's also 16th in GIR this week too and if his putter was working he'd be a lot higher up the leaderboard. Eventually that putter will have a good day and if you keep knocking the door it will open at some point so I'll take the Aussie to find his putting today and beat the Swede, Hanson in this match.

[kevshat]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar 2 more for me. 3pts B.Haas to beat M.Kaymer 17/10 Skybet Match tees off at 18.25 GMT. Bill Haas is a big price here. He's number one on birdies this week and he showed what he can do when he cuts out the errors on Friday when he shot 66. He's hitting the ball well and averaging just shy of 294 yards off the tee. He lacks a bit of accuracy but that's not hindering him because he's number one in GIR's and when he hits the green in regulation he's in the top 10 for putting. I don't think he's completely out of the title picture here. Martin Kaymer's stats were boosted by his round yesterday but there was a freakish run in there of 4 birdies in 5 holes. His driving accuracy is awful and he isn't hitting the same GIR's as Haas. I think Haas will give himself more chances in this match and if he limits the errors he'll have every chance. Kaymer may have to go for it a bit more to challenge the leaders so I'll take the American at this price. 3pts C.Schwartzel to beat E.Els (DNB) 11/10 Paddy Power Match tees off at 18.45 GMT. The lead group could lead to a bit of a surprise winner. Charl Schwartzel has played some good golf this week and has only dropped shots on 2 out of the 54 holes so far. That's good going around here. He's solid if nothing spectacular from tee to green but he's going well on the greens. Ernie's always a tough player to play against and it's good to see him back in good form. His putter is going very well but he hasn't won a tournament in a shade over 2 years now. Schwartzel has picked up a couple of European Tour events this season so is in the winning habit and getting odds against on him without the draw in play looks a decent bet to me.

[PerryPFC]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Like the Schwartzel bet. Don't know if you watched yesterday Kev, but Els could've been going into today leading by 4! Big 'if' of course, but I lost count of how many 2ft putts he missed! I know he's experienced and a major winner, but no wins since his knee surgery (I think i'm right in saying?) and with those missed putts in his mind from yesterday and the added pressure of trying to remember how to win again I reckon Schwartzel will pip him and hopefully the rest of the field.

[TheFarneyMan]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - The Honda Classic 4-7 Mar

Hi all' date=' big tournament this week on the blue Monster. Wind plays a big factor but shooting low and holing puts is the key. Phil Mickelson is always there or there abouts and is defending champion, his stroke average is incredibale here, but i think his form coming into it and the fact that his price is too low i'm goin to leave him be. Only the one pick really for this week from me, [b']Rory McIlroy @22to1 He's played here numerous times since he was nine years of age and his family went on their holidays to this resort for years before turning pro. He was t20 last year but i do think he has become more consistant since then and its only a matter of time before it clicks.His back problem that he's been suffering with is gone and he's been flat out practising on the range since the Honda, his first time hittin balls properly in three weeks he said!!!!!! I also saw that its 16 to 1 for the winner to be Irish, this is a great price as you'll get a double chance with Padraig Harrington. Not too sure if Graham McDowell is playin this week but if he is that would be a huge price for the three seein as he effectively took himself out of the running by calling a two shot penalty on himself by skimming the water on a back stroke. Well worth the money, like backing three for the price of one!!!! :hope

Good show by the Irish, harrington had a real battling day and nothin really went for him, still dont mind loosin to the big easy, some legend. I believe swartz was stayin in Ernies house all week so id say they had some session last night after it.Great day by Mc Dowell 5 birdies in a row, The two lads lookin in good form comin upo to the masters. A bit worried about Mc ilroy he's only 19 and sufferin from back problems!!!!- anyone remembers ronan raferty!!!!!!!!!!!!:$

[bigstumur]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar A venture into the unknown this week in Morocco,so here is some info!

• Course Information

Greens Type of grass - Penncross Creeping Bentcross Height of cut - 2.5mm Speed / stimpmeter reading - 10' (Monday morning) Any specific comments - small, undulating greens Fairways Type of grass - Kikuyu Height of cut - 12mm General width and contouring - average width Any specific comments - due to the nature of the kikuyu grass there isn't much bounce or roll on the fairways Tees / collars Type of grass - Kikuyu Height of cut - tees 10mm, collars 7mm Rough Type of grass - Kikuyu Height of cut - semi 25mm, rough 50mm Weather Weather in advance - it has been an unusually wet winter in Morrocco Forecast for tournament - sunny and dry with a chance of showers on Sunday Course Opened - 1971 Course designer - Robert Trent Jones Special features - 9th hole of the Red course is a par 3 with a green surrounded by water General playability - the Blue course is much shorter than the Red and therefore lower scoring is envisaged on the Blue course Undulating / flat - flat Tree lined / exposed - tree lined Many / few water hazards - water hazards in play on holes 9, 12 and 17 of the Red course and holes 7, 11 and 12 of the Blue Other features Rounds 1 & 2 will be played in pro-am format with one round played at the Red course and another at the Blue course. This 2 day event will be called Alliance du Trophee Hassan II and each team will comprise 1 professional and 1 amateur. Rounds 3 & 4 will be played by Professionals only on the Red course.

• Cards of the Course

RED COURSE

	Metres	Yards	Par		Metres	Yards	Par
1	366	400	4	10	440	481	5
2	212	232	3	11	427	467	4
3	405	443	4	12	481	526	5
4	369	404	4	13	351	384	4
5	518	566	5	14	188	206	3
6	402	440	4	15	358	391	4
7	384	420	4	16	389	425	4
8	532	582	5	17	206	225	3
9	172	188	3	18	515	563	5
Out	3360	3675	36	IN	3355	3668	37
				OUT	3360	3675	36
				TOTAL	6715	7343	73

BLUE COURSE

	Metres	Yards	Par		Metres	Yards	Par
1	375	410	4	10	355	388	4
2	475	520	5	11	405	443	4
3	390	427	4	12	185	202	3
4	210	230	3	13	320	350	4
5	285	312	4	14	440	481	5
6	486	531	5	15	166	181	3
7	355	388	4	16	375	410	4
8	170	186	3	17	480	525	5
9	370	405	4	18	365	399	4
Out	3116	3409	36	IN	3091	3379	36
				OUT	3116	3409	36
				TOTAL	6207	6788	72

• Molinari relishing his maiden Moroccan voyage

15 Mar 2010 Francesco Molinari©2010 Getty Images Italian Francesco Molinari will hope his fine run of recent form continues at this week’s Trophée Hassan II, an event which also marks the return to competitive action of Paul McGinley after the Irishman’s extended injury lay-off. The Trophée Hassan II represents the first foray onto Moroccan soil for Molinari, who finished in tied 14th place at last week’s WGC-CA Championship – a result which moved him up to 34th in The Race to Dubai. The €1.375million Pro-Am event, which started in 1971 but joins The European Tour International Schedule for the first time this year, will be held at the Robert Trent Jones-designed Red and Blue courses at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in the Moroccan capital of Rabat. Teams will be comprised of one professional and one amateur, who will play both the Red and Blue courses on Thursday and Friday, with the leading 65 professionals and those tied for 65th place playing the remaining 36 holes over the Red course at the weekend. Molinari, who won the Omega Mission Hills World Cup in partnership with brother Edoardo and finished a career-high of 14th in The Race to Dubai last year, is relishing the prospect of his first visit to Morocco. “I’m excited about going to there," he said. "It’s a new tournament for The European Tour but it’s been played for many years, so it should be interesting and hopefully a lot of fun. I’ve heard good things about the course from some of the Italian guys who have played it on the Challenge Tour and my caddie’s also been there before, so he should be able to help me out. Apparently the tougher of the two courses is quite tight off the tee and it’s also quite long, so it should be a good test. “Hopefully I’ll be in good shape, because it’s obviously quite a long flight from Miami to Morocco. It maybe helps that it’s a Pro-Am format, because it’ll be a more relaxed atmosphere. I’m playing with one of my managers from England, so it should be a lot of fun. He’s a good player although he hasn’t played for a few years now, but I think he’s been practising this week. So hopefully we’ll play well and also have a good time – as long as I beat him!” In contrast to Molinari, whose appearance in Morocco will be his sixth stop in The 2010 Race to Dubai, there is little danger of burn-out for McGinley, who has not struck a ball in anger on The European Tour since the Barclays Singapore Open last November. After his visit to the Far East McGinley, who had the honour of holing the winning putt for Europe at The 2002 Ryder Cup, returned home to his native Dublin to undergo a sixth operation on his left knee, which he first injured during a Gaelic football game aged 19. After recuperating with extensive physio sessions McGinley was able to play a social round of golf in America recently, before making his way to Scotland last week to work with his coach Bob Torrance in a bid to shake off the rust caused by his four month absence from the fairways. McGinley will be joined in Rabat by his fellow Irishmen Darren Clarke, Michael Hoey, Peter Lawrie, Shane Lowry and Damien McGrane, all European Tour champions. Royal Golf Dar Es Salam has been a regular venue for both The European Tour and Challenge Tours down the years. England’s Howard Clark won the inaugural Moroccan Open, whilst his compatriot David Gilford triumphed in 1992, followed by Sweden’s Peter Hedblom in 1996 and another Englishman, Ian Poulter, in 2001. The Moroccan Golf Classic has been a regular fixture on the Challenge Tour in recent seasons, with the first two editions in 2002 and 2003 taking place at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam won, respectively, by Frenchman Jean-François Lucquin and Scotland’s Greig Hutcheon. Recent winners of the Trophée Hasssan II include South African Ernie Els, Ireland’s Padraig Harrington and Scotland’s Sam Torrance, who took the title in 2008, 2007 and 2006 respectively. American Erik Compton, who won the Trophée Hasssan II in 2005, will play in this year’s event under a sponsor’s invitation, along with three-time winner Santiago Luna of Spain. Luna’s compatriot Ignacio Garrido is another former winner in the field, whilst England’s Robert Coles will also be relishing his return to Morocco after winning there on the Challenge Tour last year.

[hornet_18]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Honestly have absolutely no idea how to bet on the E-Tour event this week as it's such a poor field with course form pretty impossible to find so have just taken a few bets at the Transition Championship...hopefully will be better than the CA Champs which was a bit of a nightmare! The keys here are good total driving and GIR - meaning good ball strikers do the business on this course so I'll be looking into that here at Innisbrook. KJ Choi @ 41 ew KJ is somewhat of a course specialist here. While he has missed the cut in 3 of 7 tries here, he has also got two wins on this course and another top 10 finish so he definitely ticks that box. As for ball striking, there are few better in the field as KJ currently currently sits 18th in Total Driving, 11th in GIR and 4th in ball striking on tour so far this year...and that doesnt include how he played 2weeks ago when he was a runner up in Malaysia. Following on from that 2nd place finish, it shows that hes playing well and putting himself back in contention. He went through a real slump last year by his standards having made the first 6 cuts, he then missed 9 out of 16 to finish a poor season. He started finding his form over the winter with a win in Asia and this year he has been very solid making 5cuts with finishes no lower than 39 but no higher than 15 - despite this he has not hit a round over par and finished second last time out. With a week off to get back to the US tour and the incentive of the Masters, he looks a good bet. Nick Watney @ 46 ew Big things were expected of Watney this year with many expecting him to post an early win. While he hasnt performed to those expectations, he hasnt been all too bad making 6 out of 7 cuts including 2 top 10s and finishing in the top 27 all 6 times he's made the cut. He is a player who hits the ball long and relatively straight and always hits a lot of greens currently sitting in 23rd for ball striking for the year. His form here is solid if unspectacular but what pleases me is that it is progressive with 58-48-23-12 in the last four years. Last year when finishing 12th he also sat on top the leaderboard at halfway so he can definitely play the course. A decent price for this young 2 time tour winner at a course he has played well at. Ryan Moore @ 67 ew Only a couple of months ago Moore was all the rage, was being tipped up at 20-something to 1 and was viewed as finally fulfilling his promise as the next big thing. Just a couple of months down the line he's an outsider again. But why? OK, so he won in the second half of last year and was on a run of 5 top 10s in a row, but since then has gone off the boil a bit but after a T14 (which could have been a lot better being 1 shot off the lead at halfway) 3 weeks ago in Phoenix he looks to be getting back to the boil. His putting was fantastic there averaging at under 27putts a round and as the 2nd best total driver on tour at the moment, 3rd best ball striker and top 20 GIR he's clearly got the game people think he has. He has played here four times in his young career and has made the top 20 in two of the last three years including a 8th place finish in 2007. Shouldnt be bigger than 50s IMO. Heath Slocum @ 126 ew Slocum will no doubt be pleased with his 22nd place last week in a very high quality field considering it continued his solid start to the season having made all cuts with only one finish outside the top35. He has the ability (as shown by his Fed-Ex Tournament win last season) and the stats are in his favour as he is consistently up there with the best of them tee-to-green (3rd driving accuracy, 2nd GIR and 13th ball striking). Hhe struggled here in his first few attempts, however, he has now made his last 5 cuts here including a runner up here in 2007 and T11 in 2006. Overall he shouldnt be this big a price. GL :hope

[TheFarneyMan]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Best of luck with choi hornet, i fancy the goose myself, put a small e/w on him at 8 to 1 paid on 1 2 3 place

[hornet_18]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Not bad with 2nd and 4th for the ew payouts but picking two of the top 4 and not getting a winner is a bit frustrating! Hopefully will keep up some decent form for next week :hope

[barrhead73]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Excellent result hornet, was on all of your picks e/w and picked up a nice profit.

[PerryPFC]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Great picks again Hornet! I followed Watney but not Choi... i'll know better for next time!! Stick with it... you'll get the big odds winner soon enough!!

[TheFarneyMan]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Well done hornet good tipping only a matter of time before ya land a big one.

[hornet_18]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Just one early selection for the minute before his price shortens more. Nick Watney @ 29 ew Think this price is just about fair but wouldnt want be taking the 20s or 22s on offer elsewhere. The key on this course is good ball striking, long hitter prosper but it does help to keep the ball in play as they toughened up the course last year and then hitting the green seems to be a key skill. Watney played awesome golf last week especially over the weekend - two better than any other player - giving us a nice e/w payout however, I am willing to stick with him as he was in the top17 for distance, accuracy and GIR. The one main thing which impressed me, hwoever, was his putting. Putting is seen to be his achilles heel and the fact that he putted brilliantly all week on the Florida greens last week (1st putts GIR and 2nd in overall putts) bodes well for a title challenge here. He finished 4th here last year and 21st the year before so I trust he has an eye for the course, the way he played last week I wouldnt put it past him running away with it this week. 2 wins in the last 3 years, 3 top 10s this year and a season best last week bode well and I'm happy to stick with the young American even at a shorter price. GL :hope

[hornet_18]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - WGC CA Championship 11-14 Mar Ok, so having looked into it a bit more I'm still happy that I got my bet on Watney early having seen his odds cut to 26 and 23 in most places. I'm mainly looking at last year as they changed the set up of the course to make it play much tougher as can be seen by the finishing scores - Tiger won on 5 under (7 players under par) compared to 2008 when Tiger once again won but this time on 10 under, with 29 players including Tiger under par. Stephen Ames @ 41 ew Stephen Ames is a bit of a Florida specialist with 3 florida wins in 4 years, twice at the end of season Children Miracle Classic and once at the Players Championship so he clearly plays well in this neck of the woods. His form this year has been solid having no lower than 33rd in any tournament (the one tournament he didnt make the weekend he withdrew from after a 1st round 68). After two T33s and a WD, his form has picked up again now we're back in Florida. He finished 17th at the tough Honda Classic course which included a second round 64 and last week he finished 6th with four solid rounds with good stats (top 25 for putts/round, distance, accuracy and GIR). He currently sits in the top 25 for all-around ranking so his game is clearly in good shape. He did miss the cut here last year (which goes against what I said above) but does well on tough courses, does well in Florida, played really well over the past few weeks and has made the top 10 on this course 3 times in his last 6 attempts (I know, a different difficulty but it should bring back some good memories!). A good price for a Florida specialist. Pat Perez @ 101 ew When Perez one last year, many people thought he'd go on to win again in the near future...that hasnt happened so far but there's no reason why it shouldnt. Perez's stats generally always look good as he has a decent all around game (30th in All Around Ranking, 25th in Ball Striking), however, it's his form here that I like. He has played the course 7 times, has finished no worse than 44th including 3 top 10s. Best of all his best finish was last year when he finished T4 with 3 rounds of 70 and a 69. He is coming in to this tournament off a missed cut, however, his form is pretty good this year and having played the first 7 tournaments of the season he had taken a 4 week break and hopefully last weeks missed cut will have shaken off the rust. Having mentioned that elusive win earlier, his win actually came after a missed cut shook off the rust at the beginning of last season so I wont get too upset about his score last week. Getting the second win is often harder than the first, but Perez should be winning more than just the one in his career that's for sure. At three figures, I'll take the American. Webb Simpson @ 101 ew Another guy who performed well here last year finishing T11 off the back of 3 missed cuts. This year he is coming in to this tournament off his best performance of the year so far, a 13th last week including a 65 in the third round. His all around game isnt fantastic but it's his putting that makes him stand out; however, the fact that he played well here last year shows that the course may suit him. What I liked about his play last year was the fact that he hit four solid rounds showing consistency on the course rather than just one lucky round. He is a future winner in my book and with question marks over someof the front runners I'll take 3 figure prices on a youngster with course form, current form and a fantastic putting stroke. Oh, and just as a side note, he graduated from the same University as Arnold Palmer - so to get a first win at Arnold's tournament would be a nice place to start! GL:hope

[hornet_18]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - Arnold Palmer Invitational 25-28 Mar I've also just read Stephen Ames is 54th in the current world rankings and isnt actually in the lineup for the Masters at this point. A good finish here will push him up to the top 50 as at the end of the week the top 50 players who arent in the Masters will get a place in the field. Another incentive for the Canadian. GL:hope

[Cosmetic Bob]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - Arnold Palmer Invitational 25-28 Mar To Hornet & others, the course is going to play easier than last year, par 70 was last year, now its par 72, they want the field to make more birdies so I asuume thats two more par 5s. 1990-2006 par 72, 2007-2009 it was par 70, now back to par 72.

[TheFarneyMan]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - Arnold Palmer Invitational 25-28 Mar Your right cosemetic bob, They've pushed back the markers but Arnie has been qouted that he wants more birdies! Especially on the par fives! It would be good to have a look at scoring birdies for the tour and on par fives. Will look more carefully at the field but did see Dave Duval at 150 to 1 which is surely too high a price for a lad thats back hitting some form.Ill post later when i get a chance to read up on the field

[hornet_18]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - Arnold Palmer Invitational 25-28 Mar I did read that but still pretty happy with my picks to be honest, Watney and Perez are both great ball strikers so the extra two par 5s should hopefully play in to their hands and according to the stats, Webb Simpson likes the par 5s probably due to his strong putter. Stephen Ames will still be Mr Florida either way and he was the one who didnt do so well last year so maybe the slight changes will play for him. Who knows...it's difficult when they change a course set up (hence the no plays on some of the E-Tour events on new courses recently) but feeling pretty solid. Hopefully will be a good week all round. GL:hope

[TheFarneyMan]

Re: Golf: PGA Tour 2010 - Arnold Palmer Invitational 25-28 Mar Gona go with three myself, Think Justin Rose might go close but at 40 to 1 for a lad that hasn't won in 156 starts on tour is way too low. All these are each way Dustin Johnson @45-1 Is having a solid season and is monsterous off the tee, has made alot of birdies this year and the par 5's are his spesiality. his huge drive can get him in trouble some times but if he has a good week with the driver every other part of his game ticks all the boxes. David Duval@150-1 Has played 6 tournaments this year missed three cuts but the three he made,he finished a respectable 2nd top10 and top 20. If this is his week to shine then his price is way too high for a former world number 1. Hes gone through a rollercoaster of a few years but seems to be soliding up again. Kevin Na@90-1 Another player that has solid credentials this year. Only a matter of time till he comes good. Good putter and good birdie ratio. Was 15th here last year and even though the course will have changed this year i think theres a big show by him on the cards.