January 31st 15.31 I stated at the beginning of the year that when the occasion arose I would look towards the top of the betting market in a quest for "value" winners which I had largely not done in the past and Qatar is one of those events. Since 2005 the list of winners is a Who's Who of the golfing world with Els, Stenson, Goosen, Scott, Quiros and Karlsson prevailing. I have therefore worked my way down the prices offered and come to the conclusion that Jimenez is the wrong price. Kaymer is worthy favourite but has never finished better than 31st in three attempts and we all know how often Casey and Westwood win! Going through the rest of them Jimenez stands out as the one player who manages to get the job done on a regular basis including three times last year. He has a great record in the desert overall including winning in Dubai in 2010 and his course form here isn't too bad, He is clearly in form - finishing second last week despite some frustration with the putter. I was surprised to see him at 28/1 and have had £50 e/w - how on earth can he be nearly the same price as Noh. I do have an outsider I am interested in and a couple of round one leader bets but they can wait for now. January 31st 09.41 A bad day at the office last week and cursing myself for not at least having a saver on Bubba who fitted the profile for winners at Torrey that I had come up with! On to this week where we have two events with plenty of course form in the Phoenix Open and Qatar Masters. With the latter I think it will be tough to call as the winner usually comes from the top of the betting list. Might have to wait a while for prices today as Betfair is down til lunchtime - and I can't update the yearly profit/loss til that comes back online. January 28th 20.05 Took much of the last two days off to recharge the batteries after a busy three weeks. Looking back at how things have gone - Noren filled that horrible 6th place for any golfer after round one and Quiros keeps getting up there only to fall away. In the US things were looking good for Imada but apparently he admitted he was not playing well and boy has it shown today - taxi for the Japanese lad! Glover and Villegas aren't too far away and playing the tough South course well - will kick myself if Watson does well as he was on the short list but Woods looks ominous. Back to Bahrain for a mo - last year I cursed myself for not following Lara when he hit form - he is a player short on confidence but when he finds something he plays really well and after a slow start he has got it going - a speculative play but I got £15 275 and £25 28/1 top 5 at Extrabet January 26th 09.52 One final bet for the week before we kick off to tomorrow and its the same bet as last week albeit at half the odds. In Bahrain I have to reinvest in Alex Noren for first round leader as he just loves it early in the desert. He has now been 2nd,4th and 8th at Abu Dhabi plus a couple of 3rds in Qatar and 4th and 1st in Dubai. Again he is first to tee off tomorrow and fresh from being inspired by a meeting with Gary Player I expect him to get off to a quick start once more - £20 e/w 40/1 January 25th 16.00 Tiger Woods is back and interestingly he will find a bit of a difference at Torrey Pines where the North course has been toughened up and will not play as easy compared to the South as it has in the past. The rough is also up and the courses will be playing more US Open like and course expeience will be vital. Looking at the last two winners and before that those who finished close to Tiger what becomes apparent is that a top finish at Torry Pines in recent years is a prerequisite along with the ability to close out an event at the top level. Last years winner Ben Crane had been 7th the year before whilst Watney had been 9th two years before. There also seems to be a very interesting link to form at Sugarloaf - not sure why but Woods won there on his only start, Mickelson three times, Cranes only other win was there and Olazabal was twice second there. I am not entirely sure why there should be a link but my number one pick had his only win at Sugarloaf - step forward Ryuji Imada. He has solid course form and admits he absolutely loves it here - shown in his 2nd to Woods, top ten last year and 18th in the US Open. He has started the season in steady form and was fairly close to the lead last week for a while where he hit a lot of greens which is what will be needed here. Second pick is Camilo Villegas who may well be inspired by fellow South American Vegas' win last week. Having missed his first two cuts here he has rapidly improved in recent years going 13th, 9th US Open and then 3rd. He missed the cut on his first outing this season but he has often improved after blowing the cobwebs away. After a winless 2009 he won again last year and I think he is a big price when you consider his course form and interesting that he was 3rd on both appearances at Sugarloaf - £55 80/1 and £45 top 5 13/1. Third in is Lucas Glover - I am taking a bit of a risk as it's his first start of the year but he has gone well fresh before - last year he led the SBS champions event through the first three rounds and in 2007 was leading heading in to the final round of the Bob Hope on his seasonal bow. He has some great form at Torrey Pines with a 3rd,4th and 9th and if it plays more US Open like then it can only be in his favour - £45 100/1 and £35 top 5 16/1. Last pick goes to someone who qualifies in my mind now that he has won on tour - Arjun Atwal. Using the Sugarloaf connection he was 2nd there in 2005 and can boast a 4th here in 2006. Having had a solid start to the season he might well be woth £20 e/w at 125/1 January 25th 13.40 I am not going to get carried away with bets for the inaugural Volvo Golf Champions event in Bahrain but I have added to my small bet yesterday on Quiros. It sounds like the course isn't in the best condition which would explain quite a lot of the absentees so when in doubt concentrate on the bit of course form you can find. Andrew Marshall gets to play this week due to his win here last month in the King Hamad Trophy and he seems to like Bahrain having twice won the Bahrain Open. He hasn't played too badly in South Africa this year but I have my doubts he could challenge for the title so a round one bet seems prudent - £15 ew 200/1 plus just in case bets on £10 win 500/1 and £15 top 10 25/1. My only other two bets are both on Betfair on players who did well last week in Abu Dhabi - David Lynn was 5th - £25 97/1 and Scott Strange who can win at the level and was 11th last week £20 win 280/1. Best odds for the Euro tour event here Back later once I have all my Farmers Insurance bets on. January 25th 09.19 Just a quick post - Imada is 66/1 Sportingbet.com.au I have adjusted my staking a little - having another £20 e/w at that price but laid £40 overnight at 60 - don't want to overstake! Back later January 24th 19.26 I might as well give out the main bet of the week as I think his price will be cut by other people tipping him but I will not give out reasons yet as they will give away other selections not backed yet! Farmers Insurance Open - Ryuji Imada £90 ew 60/1 + £45 65 Betfair (66/1 at Stan James where I can't get on) Some people have emailed me asking me to put my profit and loss on the site which I am happy to do although it won't always exactly reflect what is written here due to backing and laying on Betfair - anway the total for the year so far is +£2540 after 3 weeks. January 24th 13.47 Initial thoughts on the Bahrain Volvo Golf Champions event are - well mainly - where are the top players who played last week? I do find it odd that they are out there in the Middle East and aren't playing - especially as the course will be used as an event for tournament champions next year. Anyway - I have a few ideas but certainly won't be having much in the way of bets - I did just take advantage of a small Betfair rick on Alvaro Quiros and got £35 at 30 but thats it so far. This week I will mainly be concentrating on getting Tiger Woods beat at Torrey Pines! January 23rd 11.36 It looks like it will be down to Tom Kite to snatch a place in Hawaii tonight to turn the week into a winning one - this week I won't be staying up to watch!! Busy working away for next weeks events - the European Tour stays in the Middle East but moves to a new venue in Bahrain whilst the PGA tour stays in California where we see the return of Tiger Woods in the Farmers Insurance at Torrey Pines. January 22nd 12.03 I don't usually like betting in running too much as it does seem to be chasing losses - although this week doesn't look too bad with Noren placing at 80/1 each way for first round leader - anyway I have bet one more player in the Bob Hope. Jason Gore has improved with every round this week on his seasonal debut and currently sits on -13. He is capable of shooting the lights out - hence his Twitter name of JasonGore59 and certainly knows how to win when the opportunity arises. Quite surprised to see him 150 on Betfair so had £30 + £15 e/w 80/1. January 20th 15.03 Onto the final event of the week and the first tournament on the Champions Tour the Mitsubishi Electric Championship. I guess the headline for me is - don't forget the old guys. Last year Watson won at 60, Irwin won in 2007 when 61 and in 2000 George Archer won aged 60 - so with only four players over 60 taking part its easy to narrow the field on that criteria. I will plump for veteran Tom Kite to go well again - he won here in 2002 and was 2nd in 2007 but I will only be having £20 e/w as I was hoping for bigger than 50/1. One final little bet is for round one leader - only allowed £8 ew 60/1 for Brad Bryant who in four appearances has led twice after the opening salvo. January 20th 11.43 It looks like being a good start to the week for followers of my tips as Noren should hold on for a place in the round one market at Abu Dhabi at 80/1. In the Bob Hope Prugh had a shocker and Streelman was frustrating marring his seven birdie round with two double bogeys. The back to lay Ogilvie started well shooting -5 at Silver Rock and I have had a further bet on a player who shot -6 on that course. I toyed with the idea of backing Peter Tomasulo before the off but wanted to see if he had shaken off last years late season injury. He certainly has and the Californian playing in his own back yard has always played well in pro-ams on the Nationwide tour - I was on him last year when he won shooting a 61 in the final round of the Wayne Gretzky pro-am so he can certainly go low. I have added him as a back to lay - £40 at 200. January 19th 10.09 I am still a little undecided about the Champions Tour but have til Friday evening to decide! I have had a small bet in Abu Dhabi for the first round leader in the shape of Alex Noren. He has been 4th and 8th here after the opening round before and seems to like the early rounds in the desert as he can also boasta couple of 3rds in Qatar and 4th and 1st in Dubai. He is first off the 10th tee tomorrow morning so is worth £20 ew 80/1. Best prices here January 18th 21.22 Back to the Bob Hope Classic - where there seems to have been a chnage in recent years - in the past to find a winner you looked through the list of veteran golfers - these days look for the younger players to come to the fore. Whether this is a temporary phenomenon nobody knows but maybe the younger players do actually have the patience for longer rounds and enjoy mixing it with so called "personalities" whereas the older players are bored byt it and no longer have to do it for the money. I have therefore gone for Streelman and Prugh who finished 10th and 5th respectively in the Bob Hope last year. Prugh had a stunning start to his rookie year last season going 5/5/10 on the west coast swing and when he returned to California in October he was 2nd in the Frys. He says he is really happy in this part of the States having grown up on the West coast and a solid 20th placed finish in the Sony makes him worth backing this week. Streelman has been on the main tour for three years now and I wouldn't be surprised to see him finally make the breakthrough and win on tour this season. He has shown in the past the ability to play a course well once he already has done - hopefully he can improve on last years 10th. One back to lay - Joe Ogilvie will have to make the most of his sponsors invitation this week as he will have limited starts to get his tour card back in 2011 and in most of the Bob Hopes he has played he has been in contention at some point - I managed to get £25 on at 315 average. Back tomorrow with thoughts on the Champions tour as it kicks off - don't forget the PGA starts tomorrow. January 18th 11.03 Aaaah - might as well put my second pick up for the Bob Hope as well - Kevin Streelman as Dave Tindall has picked him and Prugh! £40 ew 66/1 + £30 75 average January 18th 10.52 Bob Hope Classic - better put this up now as price will be going - main pick is Alex Prugh - managed to get £20 ew 66/1 and £50 win 70 and £40 top 5 12.75 average - back later with further thoughts. January 17th 18.00 The Abu Dhabi Championship is one of those events where the cream rises to the top and favourites tend to win and place so why try and find an outsider who will probably crumble down the stretch - hence the pick of Louis Oosthuizen. His win two weeks ago at home was the first since his Open win and is probably the most important - lots of Major winners struggle to win again soon. Coming to an event bang in form where he has been 5th and 2nd the last two seasons makes him a must bet to me even at 22/1. My second bet is on a player I think is overpriced - Ed Molinari. I really think he wore himself out qualifying for the Ryder Cup but who can forget the triple birdie finish in the Johnnie Walker to get his place. He played pretty well on his debut here last season - top ten with a round to go and I think he is one of those players that improves when he plays a course for a second time. For a player who knows how to win 70/1 is too big - £35 e/w and £45 average 85 on Betfair. Last play is a back to lay on Henrik Stenson - if he starts well his odds will tumble being a quality player when on form and he is superb in the desert - £70 65 average. Back tomorrow with Bob Hope picks. January 17th 15.13 Four hours sleep was not enough!! - was going to say thank goodness Hawaii is over - but the Champions tour starts there this week - that will be the last event I look at this week. In Abu Dhabi I am going for a player early - and one of the favourites (shock horror!) - more on why later but I think his price will collapse today and he will be heavily tipped - £80 e/w Louis Oosthuizen 22/1. January 17th 03.16 Hi guys - absolutely shattered - probably laid more than I should have but what can I say - cheers Mark and Tim - wish books did the dual forecast lol - back tomorrow - err later today!! January 16th 11.23 Had a bit of a lie in today in anticipation of a long day/night following the Sony - thankfully Mark Wilson had a good end to his round and remains in contention and Davis Love edged ever closer. I will be (hopefully!) laying back some of my Wilson bet as this was the original plan but not just yet as I think he is a big price on Betfair at the moment. Anyway - time to work on the Bob Hope (starts Wednesday) and the Abu Dhabi Championship. January 15th 17.33 Nice to see the Scottish football back and a nice haul of 20 points profit on the weekend for Football Betting Index. If you are good at tipping on a specialist sport then why not get in touch - we maybe able to set up a business for you! January 15th 16.03 Just been looking through the Joburg Open again before the final round and have had a few "back to lays" on Betfair. Donaldson - who I wanted to bet last week has made a good start to his season - 120 and Ahokas and Floren both winners on the Challenge Tour and only four back - 440 average on each. January 15th 12.23 A quick update on the Sony Open - Mark Wilson had a great round yesterday and is tied 2nd, whilst Love, Clark and Knost all played well to get to -2. The biggest disappointment was Slocum who had chance after chance on the greens but couldn't putt to save his life even missing from two feet. They will play the second round today and go for thirty six holes tomorrow. January 14th 14.32 Sadly there was no play yesterday at the Sony where most of my weeks bets are so I had to make do with the Joburg Open. Woke up this morning to see McGowan sitting on -10 as the horn went for bad weather - during the enforced break they changed his score to -8 and when they came back he dropped to -6 with two further bogeys - all this on the easy course so pretty frustrating - he now needs to go low twice on the East over the weekend. On the plus side Football Betting Index returns with a solid set of seven bets for tomorrow as a full schedule returns to Scotland. January 13th 11.20 Time for the last two bets for the Sony Open - the first has been somewhat frustrating as being a Monday qualifier books hadn't priced him up - and lets say the response has been underwhelming to my requests to have the four qualifiers quoted. Doug Labelle was second on Monday and gets into his favourite event again having played here in 2007 and 2008 and finishing 4th and 10th simply because he is a short accurate hitter - have backed him to trade £30 950 average and £20 top 10 25/1. I have thought long and hard about the final guy and in the end will just have a token £10 win at 650 on Colt Knost - the most accurate player from the Nationwide Tour so in theory the course should suit - we shall see. January 12th 17.48 I have an outsider for the Joburg Open (also two for Sony - but still waiting to be matched!) - I will go for Josh Cunliffe who seems to like it at home. The Joburg native seems to have the game for playing at altitude and could well repeat his 10th place finish last season. Although he missed the cut in his first two attempts he does have other form at the course - he managed to finish 1st in 2008 and 3rd in 2010 in the IFQ for the Open and looking through his Sunshine Tour form all his best stuff has been on the other course at Johannesburg or the Randpark in the Gauteng region. Whilst I think a win is out of the question he might go well to trade especially as he starts on the easier West course - so I have backed him (all on Betfair) 1st round leader £5 260, top 5 £5 90, top 10 £20 33 and outright £20 650 average. January 11th 21.42 Sony Open preview If you are looking for an event with plenty of course form then look no further - the Waialae Country club has staged this event since 1965. Looking at the winners since 2000 it becomes apparent that it suits certain golfers. First of all course experience is vital - all winners had played the course at least twice (although past greatness was not necessarily a precedent). Being a past winner on tour is important - only Kelly was a tour "virgin" and it could be argued he should have won before! The list of winners tends to indicate that the course favours the shorter but more accurate players. The event holds fond memories for me as Azinger was my first ever 100/1 winner when he triumphed in 2000 so here are my four main bets Heath Slocum - tends to play his best golf on windy, short courses and has won in each of the last two seasons. He warmed up last week on a course which wouldn't have suited his game but this will definitely suit. His course form is similar to last years winner Palmer - in eight attempts his best finish is 10th but he was 6th and 8th at the cut in 07/08. Mark Wilson - has two wins on tour - PGA National and Mayakoba which show a lot of similarities to Waialae. In four performances he has never really set the world on fire but the course really should suit his accurate game. He finished last season well with a 6th at Magnolia which got him into the top 125 of the money list Davis Love - has a fine record here - 2nd twice and 3rd and 5th he is very keen to get a win round a course which suits his game. Last year he also managed a 6th at the US Open at Pebble and 4th at Sawgrass so is still more than capable of competin at the highest level so he really shouldn't be a three figure price. Tim Clark - main bet for the week now he is a winner on tour, he has been 12th and 25th here the last two years when he was making his seasonal debut and he improved as the week went on. Interestingly in each of the last two years his second starts of the season he has been 2nd and 5th and has won the South African Open twice in January.Last week he was 7th for DA and 3rd for GIR which should serve him well this week. I have tow more outsiders for the Sony and one for Joburg - but will wait til tomorrow for those January 11th 15.11 Main bet of the week for the Sony goes to Tim Clark - was hoping to get 40/1 at the books but will make do with 35/1, full write up on this event later today Tim Clark £80 ew 35/1 Also added £30 ew more on Slocum after Coral opened 100/1 January 11th 11.53 I am still waiting for a full set of prices for the Sony Open so won't do a full write-up yet but will say I have added the following bets Heath Slocum £40 ew 80/1 + £35 110 to trade Mark Wilson £10 top 5 25/1 (all I was allowed!) + £40 200 - some to trade January 10th 19.56 Back to the Joburg Open - I don't really fancy many players for this - Danny Willett has obvious claims but 20/1 for a non winner - no thankyou! There is one big priced outsider I quietly fancy but will wait for the smaller markets to back him - so the reasons for Ross McGowan. He was plagued last year by injury which was a great shame having had such a good season in 2009 which included his first victory on tour. He played Joburg in 2008 when fresh off the Challenge Tour and finished 14th including a 66 on the easier West course and in the third round a superb 64 on the East. Maybe he likes playing at altitude - his win was in Madrid and some of his other best performances include a 7th and a 3rd at Crans plus he played well at altitude on the Challenge Tour. Last week was the first time he had played competitively since late November and although he faded after a good start the signs were there that the shoulder injury was gone and he had wintered well in Dubai. Best prices for Joburg & Sony Back tomorrow with the bets and reasons for the Sony Open. January 10th 19.56 Just a quick bet for the Sony Open before I head off for a bite to eat - I really don't see why Davis Love III is 100/1 for this event - more to come tomorrow on this event as there are some strict guidelines to adhere to when chosing someone to back - I have had £30 ew at 125/1. Back later with my thoughts on Ross McGowan in the Joburg Open January 10th 17.19 I believe everyone and his dog will want to be on Ross McGowan this week in the Joburg Open - reasosn later but for now take any 40/1 you can - I got £60 ew and was also lucky to get £20 win only at 50/1 January 9th 21.17 Been out all day so didn't get chance to watch the final round from South Africa but looks a bit like a Kruger nightmare with JBE double bogeying the 12th when one shot off the lead and never really recovering. Back tomorrow with the first look at the Sony Open and Joburg Open January 8th 23.36 Seeing Kuchar moving through the field at Kapalua reminds me of the post I put on here on the 20th December as an antepost bet for the US Masters - Betting antepost on golf can be fraught with danger with potential loss of form or injury but sometimes the price makes it worthwhile having a decent bet. The Masters is quite a good event to bet in as it has a limited field (many of whom are already known) and is played at the same venue at the same time of year so a lot of the lottery has gone. So what I don't understand is why the man who won the money list in 2010 is 80/1? Matt Kuchar really has been incredibly consistent this year - in fact ever since he hit form in October last year when he won at Atunyote. His Major record isn't exceptional but isn't that bad - this year his finishes read 24/6/27/10 and this year was the first time he has played the Masters since 2002 when he missed the cut. He played Augusta twice as an amateur making the cut both times and in 1998 he was low amateur. This years 24th place finish was achieved in difficult circumstances as he played the first two rounds with Tiger on his return to competition. He says he feels at home at Augusta as he went to Georgia Tech and having led the money list this year and had the lowest scoring average on tour I can see him gunning for Majors in 2011 and to me 80/1 is plainly wrong - I would have him at 40/1 tops and have duly had £80 ew - good luck in getting on - best prices here January 8th 15.02 Well my last post seemed to kick Kruger into action - when I wrote that post he had just bogeyed and was on -8 in 15th and six shots behind - he finished tied 3rd and one shot off the lead so holds every chance tomorrow! I have been looking over the Hyundai Champions event and with low scores clearly attainable I looked again at the overseas players who may continue to dominate the event and one man who could rip it up over the weekend is Adam Scott. On his first three visits here he was 7th, 5th, 2nd and yesterday he showed that sort of form having stumbled out of the blocks on day one after a double bogey at the second seemed to stop him. Have had £20 100 win and £30 17 top four finish on Betfair January 8th 12.29 A quick update on things - the back to lays haven't fared very well on week one of the new year but I only need one in eight to cop to make a profit. In South Africa it looks like Kruger may well turn the week into a nightmare rather than a gold rush as he can't seem to buy a putt - he needs to get to double figures under par today to compete for a place tomorrow. January 6th 10.26 Unlike other sites I don't want to clog up the blog with endless bookmaker promotions but when I see a good one I will mention it and this month Betdaq have an excellent one. If you sign up in January you pay only 2.5% commission until March 31st plus they will give you £20 to get you started - to take advantage of this offer click here January 5th 17.57 Having looked through the Victorian Open there are lots of price discrepancies between Skybet and Centrebet - sadly I cannot get on with the latter and very little with the former, take a look yourselves - there are plenty of huge differences - I would have a few quid e/w on newly crowned Victorian Amateur Jack Wilson - 140/1 Centrebet 750/1 Skybet. January 5th 09.32 Yesterday was the busiest ever day traffic-wise on SBI - punters keen to start betting on the new golf season! Football Betting Index has had a good start to the New Year with three out of four winning bets and we go again tonight. Just going to have a look at the Victorian Open golf event which a few have priced up - back later with any thoughts. January 4th 15.03 Moving onto the Hyundai Tournament of Champions - it doesn't take too much working out to see that Americans have fared rather poorly in this season opener for a number of years. Why this is so is interesting - you could argue that in past seasons that most Americans virtually give up playing by the October and are therefore rusty whereas other nationalities (especially Australians) carry on playing right up to Christmas - yet these days even most of the top Americans were playing in fairly decent events into December. I have a feeling it maybe the Plantation course which is quite alien to most Americans, this article gives a good indication as to why http://www.pgatour.com/2010/tournaments/r016/01/10/notebook.ap/index.html I have looked at the event in two halves really - who can win from the non Americans and who will be the top American. Arjun Atwal could be a surpise package as when on song he has great putts per GIR figures which seems to be a prerequisite for playing well here. He played in India at the beginning of December finishing 5th so shouldn't be too rusty and has gone well first time out before. Have backed him £20 ew 125/1 and back to lay £25 at 140. As for who will be top American - well I have turned back to my old friend Rocco Mediate who rather stunned people in October winning the Frys.com. He last played here in 2003 when 2nd (top US) and before that in 2001 when 6th (3rd US) so definitely can play the course. He seems in buoyant mood having been on Maui since Christmas Eve - he even had a hole in one in practice last week. He has to be worth a bet ew - I was lucky to get £40 ew at 66/1 but 50/1 is still fairly decent - also had £10 ew at 150/1 and £25 back to lay at 165 average. January 4th 11.59 Time for my thoughts on the African Open - with two of my main fancies Donaldson and Every not playing I decided I wanted to get a bit more on Kruger - fortunately Tote went 40/1 this morning so I added another £40 ew to take me to £100 ew. I was impressed by the young South African here last year when he was 3rd behind Schwatrzel and Aiken - maybe he likes playing fresh as he was 5th the year before in his seasonal bow. He showed that result was no fluke by winning his first main event on the Sunshine Tour in April when winning the Zimbabwe Open and was then runner-up no less than three times on the Asian Tour. He was in contention at some point in every one of his last five starts of 2010 and I think it is only a matter of time before he wins a decent event. I have backed two other players as outsiders and have backed them in the methods I mentioned on January 2nd. First up is young Frenchman Viktor Riu who was an impressive 7th in the South African Open before Christmas, maybe he likes playing in Africa as he was also 5th in the Kenyan Open in 2009. He is the first of my back to lays of the season (keeping them small to start with) £25 at an average 240 with a view to laying £250 at around 24 - also had £10 ew 200/1. Second is a man I had a big bet on in this event last year who missed the cut, Ulrich van den Berg grew up playing East London and have again had £25 at 280 average to lay back and a small bet with the books - £5 ew 200/1 + £5 ew top South African 125/1. January 3rd 16.58 Quick update - looks like both Donaldson and Every have withdrawn from the African Open January 3rd 15.46 Last day of festivities with my family round as not met up over Christmas and New Year - but have had a quick look at early African Open prices and have had to have a few bets - will post reasons later when more time Jamie Donaldson £60 ew 50/1 Jbe Kruger £60 ew 40/1 Matt Every £30 ew 100/1 January 2nd 11.01 I hope you all had some fun with your New Year festivities - I have now recovered from mine and looking forward to the challenge ahead - tomorrow being Monday starts the regular weekly grind of golf betting. I call it a grind but to be honest I can't think of anything I would rather be doing in life. Last year wasn't a great year with so many near misses but a couple of seconds turned into wins and some players finishing sixth finding a par or birdie somewhere it would have been a whole different scenario. I always spend the "off season" analysing things and this year there will be a few changes - I never back favourites outright for golf tournaments as there simply is little if any value but you will find me betting more in the 33/1 - 50/1 bracket this year. I will still be backing big priced outsiders but these will often be in specialist nationality markets or on Betfair with a view to laying off at preset prices. We start tomorrow with the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and the African Open - back then!