November 30th 19.08
Back to the Australian Open - the other outsider I will have a little stab on is Michael Long. He played poorly in his last couple of starts mainly due to his putter - so he changed it and last week shot a 60! He should have fond memoroes of the course (even though it has changed) as he won the Greg Norman Invitational here back in 1999 and last year was a surprise 3rd in the Australian Open. He is a long shot but I have done him £15 in each market on Betfair 300 win 43 top 5 and 18 top 10.
A rare foray onto the LPGA tour - I made a bit of a mstake thinking it was a limited field event but soon noticed it was a full field and Se Ri Pak jumped out at the prices. Admittedly most events are won by the elite on the tour but she has won this season at Magnilia Grove where she had won twice before when in her prime. She has been 5th and 8th in her last two events on US soil and last time this course was used in 2001 - yup you guessed it she won! I was rather surprised at the price and managed to get £20 win 100/1 and £30 top 5 20/1 - take any 80/1 each way you can get - best prices here |
November 30th 14.54
Tomorrow sees the start of the gruelling six round PGA Q school which sounds like a punters nightmare but over the past decade following a certain type of golfer has proved very profitable. Basically it makes sense to concentrate on players who already have some sort of tour card for next season and so are playing under less pressure. Those who are ranked from 125-150 on the PGA money list already have a guaranteed number of starts and those from the top 25 on the Nationwide tour likewise. I have looked at another group - those who have a European tour card which over the last ten years has produced these results
2000 Stephen Allan 1st
2002 Alex Cejka 2nd
2003 Matthias Gronberg 1st
2004 Brian Davis 1st Greg Owen 4th
2006 Anders Hansen 4th
2007 Brett Rumford 2nd
Cejka,Gronberg,Davis and Rumford had also all won on the European Tour that season so the player to look at has to be Pablo Martin. He is in pretty good form - finishing 16th at the HSBC and was then 2nd at his stage II of Q school and he has plenty of experiience in the US and Florida having been a top collegiate golfer. I had my max bet of £2 ew 50/1 (woohoo) and had to settle for £60 ew at 40/1.
I have also had a £10 ew dabble on two other players - Australian David Lutterus who has plenty of Q school experience and seems to thrive on it (though not when he gets on tour) at 250/1. Also a blast from the past Brazilian Alexandre Rocha - the last time we really heard of him was when he was 3rd after round one of the Honda Classic in March but he was 4th and 8th in his first two stages. Both those stages were in Florida where he now resides and I still remember the fact that he won the European Q school back in 2006 - the experience has to count for something and at 400/1 it would almost be rude not to!
Best prices are available here |
November 30th 13.41
Some good news just in for Spain as Hafthorsson has finished t2nd at Arcos Gardens rewarding the e/w part of the 40/1 bet and adding to last weeks profits. I am still waiting to get all bets on for this weeks PGA Q school and the Australian Open and no-one has priced up the Indian Open yet! |
November 29th 21.03
There are already lots of prices around for the Australian Open and I will put up one of my outsiders - the other will have to wiat til tomorrow as I would like to back him for top ten and there are few prices around for that. Bobby Gates is not a particularly well known American golfer but he will be appearing on the PGA tour next season having gained his card very quickly on the Nationwide Tour. In January he won the co-sanctioned New Zealand Open and then the following week was 3rd in the Moonah Classic in Australia. He secured his card by finishing 4th in Canada in July so it is quite weird he got his card playing events outside the US! He seems to like playing abroad as when he first turned pro he was 3rd in Costa Rica and 10th in Mexico and it comes as no surprise to read on his PGA tour page that unlike some Americans he loves to travel and his " Bucket list includes flying in a private jet, playing golf in Australia and visiting Italy. " He doesn't really have much to prove this week and can play in a relaxed style - I have taken £10 ew 140/1 and £15 ew 125/1 + £30 Betfair 190 average. |
November 29th 09.49
Although things are not quite finalised from last week (Hafthorsson still has a chance at Arcos Gardens) research is nearly completed on this weeks golf. I will be swerving the limited field events - Chevron World Challenge, Nedbank Challenge plus the two end of season events on the LPGA and Japanese Tour. I will be concentrating on the Australian Open where I have a couple of big outsiders who might surprise, the Indian Open and the final stages of the Q schools from both sides of the pond. There will be plenty there to get my teeth stuck into - back later once prices start appearing - hopefully quite quick for the PGA Q school as it starts in just over 48 hours time. |
November 28th 13.29
Today was going well - readers on here would have made quite a few quid with Townsend finishing tied 4th in Aus at 66/1 and then Aiken tying for top South African at 16/1 plus tied 3rd in the ROW market so not a bad return on the week. Sadly my day has been ruined by Robert Karlsson - there were lots of different scenarios which meant Ed Molinari would be kicked out of the top ten in the Race to Dubai and everything was going well until Karlsson got in a playoff - a win would kick Molinari down to 11th and that's what happened. It reminds me of soemthing a few years ago where Harrington piiped Casey to the order of merit title on the last day when I was on at 100/1 - at least that was each way!!
Anyway - mustn't dwell on things so straight onto todays Super G from Lake Louise. Yesterdays Downhill didn't go according to plan but I will stick with it and go with Canadian Eric Guay to prevail on home soil. Last year he headed the Super G world cup rankings winning the last two races so 16/1 to me is good value - £20 win and £25 podium 4/1 |
November 27th 10.27
Overnight in Australia Aaron Townsend my 66/1 pick moved up into 4th but he is quite a way behind O'Malley - then again so is everyone else and he could easily come back to the pack.
Back to the skiing from Lake Louise - I have had a further two bets - one of them quite chunky. I just don't get the price for Carlo Janka - when the books opened he was top priced 6/1 which I felt was on the big side but he has now drifted to as big as 10/1 after two training runs which were not that bad as he showed some really good speed. Lake Louise was where he shot to fame two years ago by finishing 2nd from start position 65 and last year he was 3rd. That was the spark last season which saw him win three of the other six World Cup downhill races - I cannot see how he can be bigger than 5/1 and have scambled to get £100 at 9/1 average.
The second skier is Italian Peter Fill who has been dogged by injury the last couple of seasons but the last time he was here he won in 2008 (had been 3rd previously) and was 4th in training yesterday - £10 win 20/1 £15 podium 5/1. |
November 25th 20.01
Training from Lake Louise has been cancelled due to high winds so it is time to turn my mind back to golf for a minute. Stenson got off to a good start in Dubai as did Aiken and I think I was right backing him in the specialist markets with all the big names up the top. Tomorrow sees the start of the 2nd stage of Q school in Europe and one small bet for me in the shape of Icelander Hafthorsson at Arcos Gardens. He has struggled with back injuries over the last few years but is apparently on the way back. He won here at Arcos at this stage back in 2007 and can also boast a 4th and 2nd at this stage in past seasons - worth £15 ew at 40/1 with Skybet |
November 25th 16.23
I have decided to have my first bet of the skiing season even thought the man I have backed had a poorish first training run in Lake Louise yesterday I expect better today and his price will probably shorten. Hans Olsson managed a couple of World Cup Downhill podiums the season before last (including 3rd here) and his best last year was a 4th. Fill and Hudec both got their maiden wins in this race having skied well at Lake Louise before and I can see Olsson going the same way. I have had £10 win 40/1 but mainly concentrated on the podium price - 14/1 and had £30 Bwin |
November 24th 15.25
Back a bit later than anticipated due to being without broadband all morning - first up the New South Wales Open - I think Aaron Townsend is a bit big at 66/1 Skybet
though you might have to ring them to place a bet as they have more technical difficulties than me at the moment! His record in NSW over the past five years is really rather good - in the PGA he has gone 5/8/2/c/1/50 whilst in the Open his results read 5/1/35 - last year he was 4th with a round to go but blew up which was odd as it came the week after he won the PGA - maybe he got tired! £20 e/w for me
In the Asian event the Kings Cup from Thailand a few more books are up compared to normal - I was very interested in Namchok Tantipokakul who lost in a playoff here in the summer to Wiratchant but I am struggling ot pull the trigger at 45/1. Instead I have plumped for Pavit Tangkamolprasert who beat Namchok by four last week in a Thia golf tournament. Pavit had his best ever Asian Tour finish when 15th here last season and worth £10 e/w at 150/1 - best prices here |
November 23rd 17.58
A couple more players for me in Dubai - first up is young big hitting South African Thomas Aiken. Last year Aiken saved his best performances for the big events with top tens in the Open and the CA Championship at Doral plus a 13th place finish here. This year has been more of a consistent season making most of his cuts and he squeezed into this event as the final qualifier. His 13th place last year saw him finish as the second South African just one shot behind Oosthuizen and he was 4th in the ROW category and Ogilvy and Scott who beat him don't play this year. Therefore I have backed him £20 top South African 16/1 and £50 e/w top ROW 22/1 plus a token £10 250 on betfair just in case!!
The final bet is for round one leader and comes in the shape of Chris Wood. In his 60 tour events he has led once at this years Wales Open and been second three time including here last season so there is a touch of value in the 80/1 especially as he was 2nd just a couple of weeks ago in Singapore - £15 e/w.
That's it for Dubai - I will take a look at the other events and be back tomorrow. |
November 22nd 20.07
Don't forget tomorrow sees the next round of Champions league matches - our thoughts on how to make money on them can be found here
I do have another couple of players I may want to bet in Dubai but they will probably be in specialist markets so willl wait for the full range to appear |
November 22nd 14.50
It's not often that just after lunch on a Monday I have already backed my main two bets of the week but the books are out early so I have had to be quick. Bet number one is on a player I picked a few weeks ago and obliged for the e/w return for first round leader in the HSBC - Henrik Stenson. In the end he wound up being 13th and was 6th on the all round stats in a field very similar if not slightly weaker than this. It's his form in the desert I really like - he now lives in Dubai and in the last six years in eighteen starts he has two wins, six top five finishes and a further four top tens. He has been sick for a lot of the year but would appear to be heading back to full fitness which would normally see him being around 20/1 for this. I have been pretty good over the years at jumping on overpriced players who are just returning to full fitness and in many respects Stenson has the advantage this week of being far less jaded than most and I was rather stunned to see Ladbrokes open at 80/1 - I had already had £25 on Betfair at 75 thinking that was too big and was pleasantly surprised to be allowed £80 ew at the 80/1!
The second player who seems a bit overpriced is Anders Hansen - 100/1 is more than fair - I managed to get on £20 win 125/1 and £30 top 5 20/1 with Unibet He is one of those players that once he hits form tends to maintain it for a good few weeks so his 2nd in Singapore and 11th in Hong Kong read well especially as he was top 5 in both weeks for GIR and scrambling. His record in the desert isn't anything like as good as Stensons but it is pretty solid.
All the best prices here |
November 21st 09.49
Woke up to some good news from Hong Kong as Marcus Fraser birdied five holes on the back nine to secure 10th place on his own to get something back on the week (besides the FBI money that is!) Next week we have the European finale in Dubai where I have a couple of fancies - keep an eye out - the field is set and there might be some early prices about. This weeks result with Poulter winning has pushed Ed Molinari down to 9th so he will need a half decent finish next week to cement a place in the top 10 to guarantee my top ten return.
We also see the return of the skiing season proper - I love the early weeks of the Downhill and Super G and have generally made a good return over the years. |
November 20th 21.28
I have been out for most of the day so haven't had time to look at possible further golf bets BUT I did come home to the excellent news that Football Betting Index had another profitable day and we have now hit the 20% ROI - impressive stuff!! |
November 19th 14.32
You might well have noticed that SBI is gradually changing into a useful betting portal but without all the flashy banner advertising - this includes a whole range of articles designed to help you with your betting. The latest of these is now available to read here and is a must for anyone who bets or trades on Betfair.
If there is anything you would like us to add to the site or investigate simply use the Contact form. |
November 19th 09.44
In Hong Kong my tip Marcus Fraser left it 24 hours late - managing to shoot the 3rd lowest score of the day a 63 in the second round but at least he is back in the tournament and now sits t10th. A few surprises with three top players missing the cut - sadly Kjeldsen being one of them but he is joined by Schwartzel and surprisingly Jimenez - maybe the long season is catching up with him. |
November 17th 11.23
The Free Bets and Special Offers page has now been updated with £100's worth of free bets available from our list of recommended bookmakers, sportsbooks and exchanges. The page also lists all those books which offer Best Odds Guaranteed as well. |
November 17th 09.47
I always have one last look at events just in case I have missed something or prices have shifted (mainly on Betfair) and this week I cannot resist adding 2008 Hong Kong champion Wen-Tang Lin to the list. He has been in good form this month 9th in Taiwan as defending champion and then 3rd in Johor. He wasn't great in Singapore last week but in 08 he m/c there before winning here. Fanling does seem to be a horses for courses track and he nearly defended his title last year when th heading into the final round. At 130 and 28 on Betfair I felt I had to have £20 on each |
November 16th 21.29
Well Blaine McCallister seems to have forgotten the script and lost the plot in the Champions Q school as he is in pretty much last place after the first round. I have had a look at this weeks other events and nothing really jumps out apart from one bet in the second stage of Q school at the bayonet course priced up by Skybet. . Erick Justesen has plenty of local knowledge living an going to college locally. He was medalist earlier this year at Bayonet in US Open qualifying and then won his sectional by three shots to get to Pebble Beach where he did well to make the cut, A few weeks back he won the Monterey Open so is in fine fettle so is worth a bet at 66/1 if you can get on. |
November 16th 15.23
Time for my thoughts on Hong Kong - the penultimate event on this years European Tour and I have bet three golfers this week - it was going to be four but it looks like Edfors has withdrawn.
First up is Soren Kjeldsen who has been in very good form of late with a 3rd in the Vivendi Trophy and 2nd at Valderrama. There is something about Hong Kong that leads me to a Spanish connection - Spaniards have won four of the last nine renewals and Fred Jacobson won at Valderrama before winning here in Hong Kong. Kjeldsen has now gone 2nd,1st,2nd at the tough Spanish course and can also boast a pretty strong record here in HK including a 6th and 4th. I think he offers great value at around 40/1 compared to others around the same price.
Carrying on with the Spanish connection second up for me is Pablo Larrazabal - 4th on his debut here in 08 and 22nd last year. On his last visit to this neck of the woods he was 8th in the China Open back in April and apart from a poor run in the middle of the year has had a pretty solid season. He led after round one in Spain two weeks ago and that points me in a certain direction as he is out early on day one - I have backed him in a few markets - £20 ew 80/1 round one leader, £15 win and £25 top 5 125/1 and 30/1 Unibet plus £15 win on Betfair 150 average.
Last up comes Aussie Marcus Fraser who finally won again early this year in Korea. He has played here twice before finishing 7th in 2007 and was 5th at the cut in 2008 and I think he is probably a better player in Asia. He is renowned as a bit of a fast starter and is first off the 10th tee in round one so I have backed him £20 ew 100/1 round one, £5 ew 150/1, £20 top 5 28/1 and 30/1, £20 top 10 12/1 plus £20 win at 220 average on Betfair |
November 16th 09.41
I will be back later today with all my thoughts and bets on Hong Kong - in the meantime you might want to take a look at the latest betting article on SBI - Making a Profit fron Champions League Football |
November 15th 19.08
Just the one early bet for me in Hong Kong - more on why tomorrow - but had to get stuck in to Soren Kjeldsen - managed to get £40 ew 40/1 and then another £60 at a shade over 40 on Betfair |
November 15th 09.31
I didn't bother staying up to watch the golf in the end last night - and as Liang couldn't get a top 5 I am glad I didn't - still it hasn't been too bad the last couple of weeks with Stensons' round 1 in the HSBC and Gaunt this week plus plenty of profit from FBI. I am also glad Poulter slipped up in Singapore as it keeps the hopes very much alive on my bet a year ago for Ed Molinari to finish top 10 in the Race to Dubai at 14/1 - currently 8th with only 2 events to go. Don't forget if you want a bet on the Champions Q school it starts tomorrow and I'll be back later with thoughts on Hong Kong and the Dunlop Phoenix. |
November 14th 15.09
Gaunt couldn't quite get the job done in Australia - he traded pretty low as I had some lays matched at just below evens so a nice profit in the end plus Won Joon Lee got some of the top 10 money. In Singapore Liang still has a chance of a place - so something to follow before going to bed tonight! In the States Wetterich is not without a chance after Thatcher stumbled late on yesterday. Looking at next week Skybet have priced up the Champions Q school and I couldn't resist a bet on Blaine McCallister e/w at 80/1. He has won the main PGA Q school before back in 1999 and also won the Honda Classic here at Eagle Trace back in 1989 so he should have fond memories all round |
November 13th 17.25
Another profitable weekend for our football tipster at Football Betting Index. I will now be posting updates on Twitter when there is anything new on the site - articles or new blog posts etc - if you want to follow the site is called SBIdotcom - Sportsbettingindex was annoyingly too long!! |
November 13th 10.31
Just having a quick look back through past results at Magnolia and there is quite an interesting trend at the cut mark which should lead you to look down the leaderboard for the eventual winner - so I am more than happy with Wetterich at this stage
04 Palmer 5 back
05 Glover 7 back
06 Durant 7 back
07 Ames 1 back
08 Love 7 back
09 Ames 7 back |
November 13th 09.51
Time for a quick update in the golf - Gaunt is 2nd in Australia with a round to go and as I have him win only I have just laid some back at a shade over 9/2 to guarantee a return of some sort - quite happy to lay at that price as he is 5/1 at the books. Won Joon Lee is also well placed to maybe get a return on the small top 5/10 bets. In Singapore things didn't go so well overnight with all 3 players looking strong - my only hope now is probably a place from Liang. In the US Teater had a shocker in round 1 and the only player I have backed since is Wetterich £25 100/1 after he fired a good round on the tougher course - he moved up yesterday and isn't too far back. |
November 11th 11.04
It has been a good Thursday so far - Daniel Gaunt is joint leader in Australia and Won Joon Lee isn't too far back and both will have the easier of the forecast conditions for their second rounds. Singapore really looks like it could turn into a mess with more thunderstorms forecast but I have added a bit more on Luiten at 55 who is going very well on the tougher course. On other fronts Football Betting Index goes from strength to strength with a couple of good midweek wins our figures now stand at 710 points staked, 122.19 profit and an ROI of 17.2%. |
November 10th 09.40
I woke up this morning to find that both Beckman and Mediate have w/d from this weeks PGA event - in all fairness they have their cards for two years and have made way for two players fighting for theirs - so its time to play my sub. I had already placed a few quid on Josh Teater and have now invested a bit more e/w 125/1 place 25/1 for small amounts and £40 at 155 average on Betfair - most books have him around 66/80. He has had a great rookie season with a 5th at Pebble in the pro-am and a 3rd at the weak Turning Stone event - he finished off last season really well on the Nationwide Tour with a win and 3rd in the season finale and a win here would be the icing on the cake. |
November 9th 19.58
Onto the Australian Masters where Tiger Woods starts at an understandably low price - I have written a little article which you can read here about short priced favourites in golf tournaments. For me this weeks event has all been about stealing some early prices when the Betfair market opened last week - such as Daniel Gaunt 210/220.. The Victorians' game was going nowhere earlier this year until he won a Europro Tour event which got him into a Challenge Tour event which he also won and then in the space of four months he had his full card for the main tour sewn up so he should be in fine fettle on his return home. I also nabbed a small bit of 24/1 top 5 and 14/1 top 10 for Won Joon Lee who had a 2nd and 4th on the Nationwide Tour in the last month. One from left field is Kim Felton who has taken a lot of time out of the game over the last few years but returned to form over the last month finishing 8th in Singapore, winning in China and then coming 7th in Western Australia. Whilst he missed the cut last week it doesn't take much to get an interest at 400/1 the win and 45/1 top 5 and ties.
Best prices available here |
November 9th 12.21
This week sees the last event on the main PGA tour calendar the Childrens Network Classic. I nicked a few early prices on Betfair such as Durant 100 but I wouldn't want to back him at anything less than 80/1 as he simply doesn't win or place enough. I also couldn't resist £15 on Rocco at 200/1 back in his native Florida but the one player who really interests me is "Fall Finisher" Cameron Beckman. He bounced back to form last time out with a 6th at Summerlin and he often holds his form at this time of year if his back holds out - I expected him to be around 66/1 as he has secured his card so was happy to have £30 at average 105 whilst I waited for the books so when Coral went 125/1 I jumped on board with £30 e/w . Year in year out Beckman plays the same courses well and plays well at this time of the year which is outlined below - all in the Fall
2001 6th Summerlin, then Won first PGA event at Annandale
2003 5th Lumber Classic
2004 4th here at Magnolia
2005 5th Lumber Classic
2006 back to back 4th places on Nationwide Tour
2007 3rd Summerlin 5th Tesoro 5th at the cut Magnolia
2008 Won Grayhawk then 10th Magnolia
2010 6th Summerlin
Note the 2 years he didn't do much were the 2 years after his Fall wins the year before - the only worry being that he has already won this year but I would rather back Beckman at double the price of the man he beat down the stretch at Mayakoba - Durant!
Best prices available here |
November 8th 20.56
The first event for me to preview on the golf front this week is the Singapore Open. This is the second time it is co-sanctioned between the European and Asian tours but it has changed in nature this week with both courses being used at Sentosa over the first two days and the field expanded to 204. The first person that I wanted to bet was Charl Shwartzel who has course form, current form and has played well at the Joburg Open - the other big field event played over two courses - I expected him to be around 33/1 so at 25/1 I simply had to pass. Joost Luiten was next on the list whose current form is superb and I snaffled a small amount at 90 on Betfair but 50/1 in this field as a non winner on the main tour with no course form I had to pass again. So - who have I bet!? - well first is Liang Wen-Chong who has exemplary form in Sinagpore - 2nd and 4th at Sentosa (he also qualified for the Open here last season) and he won the co-sanctioned Singapore Masters in 2007. On the face of it he has been quiet since his 8th at the PGA Championship but he actually won the Thailand Open at the end of August and a couple of weeks ago was 8th defending his Midea China Classic Open title. I admit he was disappointing last week in the HSBC as he got off to a shocker - +7 through 9 but he bounced back a bit in the final round and at 80/1 he is worth a bet - £40 e/w. There is one other player who stands out at the prices to me - Fred Andersson-Hed who when he hits form tends to keep it - earlier this year when he won the Italian Open he came out in his next event and was impressively 2nd at Wentworth in the PGA . His 6th last week in China was impressive and I really don't see why he should be 90/1 this week - again £40 e/w |
November 7th 20.55
Welcome to the new look Sports Betting Index! We felt after being in business for 10 years we needed a change of look and also introduce a series of new features designed to further help the punter. Over the coming month please check back as things are added an improved and if you like the design and layout check out our designers Chameleon Studio. |
November 7th 13.41
One quick last post before the off in New York - prices suddenly being matched - got some more on Erkesso at 8/1 and weirdly 4/1 for a podium - weird because she is only 3/1 for the win! Also managed to grab another £15 on Fujiwara at 20/1 |
November 7th 12.13
Well we now have a few more books up for todays NY marathon - sadly not one of them offering e/w but I have had a few plays. In the mens race everything revolves around what Geb does and I am happy to take him on when you consider his age, the type of course and his lack of experience of it plus the strong field. New York is one of those courses that rewards experience and to me the first place to look are the past winners - hence the bet last night on two-time winner dos Santos. Today I couldn't resist adding last years winner Meb Keflezighi who has also been 2nd and 3rd here before and at 50/1 (£15) I am willing to take a risk of history repeating itself. I think Viktor Rothlin will relish the task and if he has recovered from his win at the European Championships then 20/1 (£25) is a very fair price. To pick an outsider to shock I would go for Japanese runner Fujiwara who has an awful lot to prove having broken away from the Japanese corporate system - was allowed the huge sum of £5 at 25/1! I have also been playing around on Betfair for the last few days and got some interesting prices matched for literally pennies in some cases.
In the womens race we also have a short priced favourite Mary Keitany who has swept all before her at shorter distances but I wouldn't want to take such a price about a runner who has never run a marathon before - let alone a difficult one like New York. I was matched for £6 at 9/1 on Erkesso who has won her last three marathons and an outsider for me would be French athlete Daunay who was 3rd last year - have had £20 25/1 on her.
Such a shame the books haven't grasped that this is one of the biggest events of the year on the athletics calendar which is live on Eurosport! |
November 6th 20.42
I have been working on the New York marathon for the last few days and am rather frustrated at the lack of prices so just a quick post - if you can bet with Betfred you should join me with the £40 I had on Marilson Gomes dos Santos |
November 4th 09.15
There is something strangely satisfying about this time of the year - waking up, switching on the computer and scrolling up from the bottom of the leaderboard to find Stenson in 3rd, the e/w round one bet landed and a profit secured for the week! |
November 2nd 14.19
Two more players to follow for me in this weeks main event - first up Heath Slocum. Most winners of this event have won in recent weeks and Slocum won his penultimate event and he has proved he can win a big event when he won the Barclays last season. He would appear at first glance to have no form in this neck of the woods but go back three years and he and Weekly lost in a playoff for the World Championship at nearby Shenzhen golf course designed by the same people as Sheshan He really does seem a big price to me and have backed him £20 ew 150/1, £30 win 200/1 and top American for the princely sum of £10 ew 40/1 at Skybet.
The other one I have backed is someone who would normally be around 25/1 for an event like this but Henrik Stenson has been in poor form since his 3rd at the Open in July. There is a simple reason for his poor performances "I was ill for, like, eight weeks in total, with flu and chest infection and stuff. And I still tried to play. Got a minimum number of tournaments I had to play as well. There was some tough times." Last time he teed off was at the Frys.com where he was 5th at the cut - in the 3rd round he shot 80 but bounced back with a 68 in the final round - the 4th lowest of the day. If you forgive him that one round then 125/1 is a very big price so £20 ew for me and £10 win 170 Betfair. I have also had a small dabble on the round one leader market at 801 - two years ago he led here after an opening 65, he has also led two other WGC events and been 1st and 2nd after round one in the Asian Open held in China - £15 ew. |
November 1st 20.44
Right then - I guess Quiros is a bit of a no-brainer - someone who knows how to win on certain courses and this is one of them that suits him and he has course form to prove it.
Onto Kyung-Tae Kim - in my mind he is one of the best young players in the world at the moment and is being overlooked here this week. A talented amateur who won very quickly on the Asian tour when he turned pro aged 20 and then struggled a little around the Far East. Last year on the Japanese tour he finished runner-up four times and this season he has converted those finishes into wins with three in total including two of his last three. Admittedly the Japanese tour is fairly weak but his stats really are impressive - he is 1st on the money list, scoring average,GIR, par 3 scoring, and par 4 scoring. and is also 2nd for Driving Accuracy and 3rd for par 5 scoring. He is only 24 and his finishes are incredibly consistent - in 16 starts he has those three wins a 3rd and six 4th place finishes. He is now the second highest placed Asian player in the world at 39 - only two behind Yang (happy memories of 2006 here!) and his scroing average of 69.29 this year has only been beaten by two players in Japan in the last ten years. I like to see a bit of evidence of course form and he did play here in 2007 and finished a very respectable 24th. All in all well worth a decent punt in my mind! Best price here |
November 1st 17.49
Quick post about the player I was hinting at earlier (back with full reasons later) - Kyung-Tae Kim - have had £60 ew at 150/1 + £30 on Betfair at 150 average - anything from 125/1 upwards is well worth a decent bet - I make him more like a 50/1 shot |
November 1st 15.57
One early observation of the prices out for the HSBC WGC event - the 80/1 for Alvaro Quiros probably won't last the day - £20 ew and £20 100 on Betfair. Got one player I really really like - might be the last big bet of the season for me - more later |
