Sports Betting Index - Sports Betting Tips from professional gamblers

21.3.08

21.35

Golf

US Masters Antepost

Retief Goosen

A quick antepost bet on the South African who seems to have all things coming together for Augusta ranging from swing changes to laser surgey on his eyes and a new putter. All these things are now working as witnessed by his finish at Bay Hill and his start at Doral and you just have to consider his form at Augusta to see what a great bet this is - the last 3 years he has been 3/3/2 and he was also 2nd in 02

1/2 pt ew 66/1 Ladbrokes 1/4 5

Lost

+31.30

6.3.08

19.36

Horse Racing

Grand National Antepost

Comply or Die

Our annual foray into the great race sees us pick a horse which will only shorten in the run up to the race as he meets all the credentials of a winner and hopefully we will have more luck in running than McKelvey last year.

1/2 pt ew 25/1 Coral,William Hill 1/4

Won

+32.30

31.3.08

22.50

Golf

Shell Houston Open

Tommy Armour III

We really like veteran Armour this week for numerous reasons - firstly his current form the last 2 weeks has seen him finish 6th and 7th. Secondly there is his course form - he came here last year and Monday qualified then finished 3rd and was top for GIR and scrambling,the year before he came here in a big slump and finished mid division but was top putter for the week. His last win on tour came in Texas so he obviously likes it in these parts.

1/2 pt ew 100/1 Bet365 Stan James Betdirect 1/4 5

Lost

+16.68

31.3.08

20.45

Golf

Shell Houston Open

Hunter Mahan

Mahan did us a huge favour last year when making his breakthrough win but there have been few opportunities to back him since but this week we really like him. His course form is really solid - his 5th last year came when he was in really bad form and 11th the year before. Although his current form might not look too great apart from the 6th at the Arnold Palmer when you look back over the years his form in Florida is really quite bad so in theory he has been playing quite well.

3/4 pt ew 40/1 Ladbrokes 1/4 5

Lost

+17.68

31.3.08

16.26

Golf

Estoril Open

Ross McGowan

This is only McGowans' second season as a pro and he started off in dramatic fashion last year - he was 2nd here heading into the final round before an unsurprising falter on Sunday (it was only his 7th pro event) He went on to play mainly on the Challenge Tour managing 2 wins - including one next door to this course and 3 other runner-up slots. He has been trotting around the world but has had a short break and we expect him to show this week what a great talent he is.

1/4 pt ew 80/1 Tote 1/4 5

Lost

+19.18

31.3.08

15.53

Golf

Estoril Open

Markus Brier

This is the sort of bet we like though not necessarily the price we normally back at. Brier took a break after a poor desert swing and after 6 weeks off he has returned playing much better after a lot of practice. A 15th place in Madeira was followed by an 8th last week and we have to remember that he is a two-time winner on tour - much better than most of those around him in the betting.
He went on a spree in April last season after a solid 34th here and led after round 1 here back in 05. He has a solid Portuguese record and we expect him to carry that on this week.

3/4 pt ew 40/1 Tote 1/4 5

Lost

+19.68

30.3.08

12.22

Golf

Zurich Classic

JJ Henry

Just a quick small in play bet on a player we seriously considered before the off - at the moment he has 3 holes to play and is only 3 shots off the lead and there is very chance he could reproduce or hopefully better his 5th placed finish here in 05

1/5 pt ew 80/1 Generally Available 1/4 4

Lost

+21.18

26.3.08

22.04

Golf

Louisiana Open

Paul Stankowski

We will stcik with Stankpwski for one more week as he drops in class back to the lower tour. He left himself no chance of making the cut last week after a poor opening round but he played well in the 2nd round. Interestingly he hasn't played a Nationwide Tour event since 1996 and that was here - and he won! He clearly likes Louisiana as he has also played some excellent rounds in the PGA events that have taken place in the State.

1/2 pt ew 40/1 Tote 1/4 5

Lost

+21.58

25.3.08

22.04

Golf

Louisiana Open

Rafael Gomez

Gomez is a prolific winner in South America and has even won in Italy and at first glance he has been quiet since his first 2 events in Mexico and Panama however we know better! Over the last 6 weeks he has played in 2 events in Argentina and won them both comfortably.In 2004 he played a full season on the Nationwide Tour and had one of his best finishes here at Le Triomphe and was lying 2nd after the first round. We do think this is a big big price as we were prepared to tip him up at 80/1.

1/2 pt ew 150/1 Skybet 1/4 5

Lost

+22.58

25.3.08

21.04

Golf

Zurich Classic

James Driscoll

Well here is the bet from left field for the week and the key behind this selection is the Pete Dye course. He has designed 3 TPC courses - this one,Sawgrass and Virginia Beach, Driscoll lost a playoff here in 05, won at Virginia and has his best finish of 06 at Sawgrass so there is obviously something he likes about them. He started the season really well but lost his way a bit but his last 2 finishes have seen an improvement and a repeat of 05 wouldn't be a huge shock.

1/4 pt ew 250/1 Boylesports Lasseters 1/4 5

Lost

+23.58

25.3.08

10.55

Golf

Zurich Classic

John Mallinger

Mallinger also played really well here last year with a tie for 3rd and it is only a matter of time before this talented player gets his breakthrough win. He did us a favour a few weeks ago when storming through the field to grab 3rd at Pebble Beach - the same position he filled last season so we are hoping for a double repeat at least. He also played well in 2 events in Florida and I find it hard to believe that he can be double the price of Kim for this week - expect a big week from both but we know where the value lies.

1/2 pt ew 80/1 Ladbrokes 1/4 5

Lost

+24.08

25.3.08

10.37

Golf

Andalucian Open

David Griffiths

Its not often we will tip a player who until his last event had missed 9 previous cuts but it would be no great shock to us to see Griffiths suddenly become competitive now he arrives on the Iberian peninsula where all his best golf has been played in the past. He played well here last season and in his last event at least there were glimpses of a return to form.

1/10 pt win 300/1 1/5 pt top 5 60/1 1/4 pt top 10 25/1 Sportstab

Lost

+25.08

25.3.08

10.02

Golf

Andalucian Open

Gregory Bourdy

Sticking with Bourdy for another week as his form in Spain is top notch although he didn't play here last season. He started off well last week but a poor 2nd round in bad weather cost him any real chance in getting involved at the finish. We will give him another go on a course we think will suit and at a price which llooks quite generous.

1/4 pt ew 80/1 Generally Available 1/4 5

Lost

+25.63

24.3.08

21.21

Golf

Andalucian Open

Philip Archer

If the course will suit Lawrie then it will definitely suit Archer and he proved it by finishing 2nd here when the course was first used last year. That was one of three runner-up slots for Archer last season and he has played well in Spain before that. He has been pretty quiet so far this season but in his last event he was top 10 in the Ballantines playing some very solid golf

1/2 pt win 66/1 Thegreek 3/4 pt top 5 10/1 Skybet

Lost

+26.13

24.3.08

19.35

Golf

Zurich Classic

Ken Duke

A price which is way out of line and needs to be taken before other firms go up as he will probably nearer half this as he was 6th last time out and was 2nd here last year. Overall he has a very good record in Louisiana but we will temper the bet as last year he said he was suprised he played so well as the course didn't really suit his game as he is a fader and the course suits a long draw.

1/4 pt ew 100/1 Stan James Betdirect 1/4 5

Lost

+27.38

24.3.08

18.51

Golf

Andalucian Open

Peter Lawrie

Still a virgin on the Euro tour though he should have broken that duck by now as he does have the talent to win and this weeks course should be right up his street. Basically Aloha is one of the shortest on tour and requires great accuracy - and Lawrie is definitely short and accurate. Last week on the return to Europe he opened with a 75 but 3 closing rounds of 69 were very good. He has a solid long term record in Spain and we expect him to go well this week

1/4 pt ew 100/1 Skybet,Victor Chandler 1/4 5

Lost

+27.88

19.3.08

13.41

Golf

Madeira Island Open

Pedro Linhart

His record here is well known with a win back in 99 and a 3rd place 2 years ago but to be honest we probably couldn't seriously consider him this week as he hasn't played competitively for so long - or so we thought! Last week he teed it up on the Spanish satellite tour in Valencia and won very convincingly from a field that included Luna - so he has to be worth a small investment at this price.

1/5 pt ew 200/1 Lasseters 1/4 5

Lost

+28.38

18.3.08

18.10

Golf

Asian Tour International

Ben Leong

A small bet on a promising young player who is yet to fulfill any potential on the Asian Tour. He has won both Q schools in the last 2 seasons to get his card and to be honest has achieved little but hopefully the course here at Pattana will bring back fond memories as it was the scene of the first of those Q school victories.

1/10 pt ew 125/1 Skybet 1/4 5

t3rd

+28.78

18.3.08

18.10

Golf

Puerto Rico Open

Paul Stankowski

We are not going to try and guess too much on how the new Tom Kite course is going to play but one player stands out as a really good bet to us. Stankowski is playing on a medical extension and has suffered from injuries on and off for the last 4 years which is a great shame as he was a top player.He doesn't get many starts and most come in weak affairs and he has been 24th and 12th in his last 2 starts and it was only a year ago he very nearly won in Houston. We also think he will be more than at home on the Papsalum grass he will find here as he won on it in Hawaii.

1/2 pt win 100/1 1/2 pt top 5 20/1 Sportstab

Lost

+27.04

18.3.08

10.45

Golf

Madeira Island Open

Peter Baker

We picked Baker out earlier this season thinking he still has another win in him and this would be the ideal sort of place for him to get it. He seems to play all his best golf on windy,tricky exposed tracks - a description that perfectly describes Madeira. He has never missed a cut here in 7 attempts and was 2nd after round 1 last season.

1/4 pt ew 80/1 Generally Available 1/4 5

Lost

+28.04

18.3.08

10.45

Golf

WGC CA Championship

Stewart Cink

Cink is our second top 5 finish punt and like Imada he is in superb form with 3 top 3 finishes in his last 4 starts.Unlike Imada he can also boast some fairly decent course form and has of course won a WGC event before.

1/2 pt top 5 13/1 Unibet

Lost

+28.54

17.3.08

15.03

Golf

Madeira Island Open

Jamie Donaldson

Donaldson had a superb year on the Challenge Tour last season with 8 top 4 finishes and a win in Guatemala on a course that reminds us a bit of Madeira. He also managed a 15th placed finish here in Madeira and his 3rd in Brittany on a course set in the coastal cliffs makes him look very interesting to us. Whilst his form isn't brillian this year his 23rd in Abu Dhabi reads well and we think he might show his best form back in Europe.

1/5 pt ew 100/1 Ladbrokes Tote 1/4 5

Lost

+29.04

17.3.08

18.02

Golf

Madeira Island Open

Gregory Bourdy

Bourdy has not been playing particularly well on his travels to the Middle and Far East but we think on the return to Europe he will show again the good form he showed around this neck of the woods last season.He was 7th here then 8th Spanish Open,4th Madrid Open before finally winning the Mallorca Classic. A repeat of any of that form will make this price look very big in a very weak field.

1/2 pt ew 50/1 Ladbrokes Bluesquare William Hill 1/4 5

Lost

+29.44

17.3.08

15.03

Golf

WGC CA Championship

Ryuji Imada

Well after last week we have to take Woods out of the equation but there isn't much value in the without market so we will settle for a couple of top 5 plays on 2 in form players. Florida based Imada is in the form of his life with top 5 finishes in each of his last 3 completed starts and looking at that his price is way out of line to fill the same place again.

1 pt top 5 20/1 Tote

Lost

+30.44

11.3.08

10.31

Golf

Arnold Palmer Invitational

Bart Bryant

We are very keen on Bryants chances and are quite happy to have our main bet with Tiger in the field as 2 of his wins have come with the favourite in the field.He has been showing some pretty solid form over the last few weeks including leading after round 1 last week. He has some pretty solid form at Bay Hill - finishing 8th on his debut and leading after round 1 in 06. He struggled with injury for much of last season but seems to be over that and we give him every chance this week.

3/4 pt ew 100/1 Generally Available 1/4 5 + 1/4 pt win without Woods 80/1 Boylesports

2nd & Won

+31.44

12.3.08

14.12

Golf

Arnold Palmer Invitational

DA Points

Here is this weeks bet from out of left field! Points has been playing some very good golf this season with a 14th at Pebble Beach and then 5th and 7th on the Australian swing of the Nationwide Tour. He has played here once before in 05 improving with every round to a final finish of 23rd when seemingly out of form. He does know how to win having won 3 times on the Hationwide Tour and maybe he likes Palmer designs as one of his victories came at Palmers Empire Lakes course.

1/10 pt win without Woods 250/1 Boyles,1/5 pt top 10 30/1 Sportstab

Lost

-6.56

12.3.08

11.10

Golf

AT & T Classic

Mark Wiebe

To this day we are still cursing ourselves for not tipping Wiebe on his Champions Tour debut last year as he had been playing well on the Nationwide Tour leading up to it. His form after that was OK but this form he has struggled a bit as he has been getting used to the courses. This week however at least he has some course experience having played well at Valencia on the PGA tour and we have a feeling he will play well this week.

1/4 pt ew 66/1 Everywhere 1/4 5

Lost

-6.26

12.3.08

11.10

Golf

AT & T Classic

Gil Morgan

We admit that Dr Gil is getting on a bit now but he still remains competitive - last season he had a stretch of 4 events where he was top 6 including a win at Pebble Beach in California. He has been playing some good golf this season although he has only put 3 rounds together once in Hawaii when he was 4th but coming to a course where his form reads 21/3/2/1/53/2/17 then we have to be on at this price.

1/4 pt ew 66/1 Skybet 1/4 5

Lost

-5.76

10.3.08

23.55

Golf

Arnold Palmer Invitational

Jerry Kelly

Kellys love affair with Bay Hill took a while to materialise with mainly missed cuts until finishes of 15/7/5/9 in the last 6 seasons, over the last 10 years he also has a 15% top 10 strike rate so 10/1 round this course does seem rather generous. He was 3rd on another of his favourite events the Sony Open this year and had been top 30 in each of the last 2 Florida events - the key to which has been some excellent putting

1 pt top 10 10/1 Bet365, 1/4 pt win 125/1 Generally Available + 1/4 pt top 5 29/1 Unibet

Lost

-5.26

10.3.08

18.36

Golf

Arnold Palmer Invitational

Ben Curtis

Curtis hasn't really been in great form this season missing his first 2 cuts and then 3 lowly positions having made the weekend but then again he was in the same form last year when he came to Bay Hill and finished 4th and the year before he was 3rd after round 1 and 6th after the 3rd round before faltering - this form was largely due to his putting - 1st and 5th here in the last 2 seasons which could prove vital as the greens are in a poor condition.. For a Major winner and someone who won twice on the PGA tour in 06 this seems a very big price

1/4 pt ew 175/1 without Woods Stan James Betdirect 1/4 5 + 1/5 pt top 5 59/1 Unibet

Lost

-3.76

10.3.08

17.53

Golf

Ballantines Championship

Hideto Tanihara

We are sticking with our decision to concentrate on areas where we have been performing well and so there is very little interestin this weeks event in Korea - why try guessing who is going to be able to play well on an island course off of Korea. Yang is being heavily supported as he was born on the island of Jeju but we will go for Japanese player Tanihara who in our opinion is on a par with Yang being a prolific winner in the Far East and a career highlight of a 5th in the Open in 06. He has played well fresh before and this price is just a bit too big in this field.

1/4 pt ew 80/1 Ladbrokes Tote 1/4 5

Lost

-3.06

10.3.08

16.32

Golf

Arnold Palmer Invitational

Rodney Pampling

Non Americans have a really good record at Bay Hill and Pampling is one who can support that fact with a win here in 06 which was a bit of a surprise at the time but not when you look at his previous solid rounds at Bay Hill. He has had a pretty slow start to the season but a solid run at the World matchplay sparked a good 8th place last week at the PODS with a very good 69 in round 4. He was 4th in GIR last week - something which will be important this week.

1/2 pt ew 80/1 Ladbrokes Bluesquare 1/4 5

Lost

-2.56

9.3.08

11.19

Golf

PODS Championship

Ryuji Imada

We don't think this event is over by a long shot - especially when the course is playing so tough and it would come as no surprise to see coming throught the field and Imada has done that twice recently on a Sunday when he came through to finish 5th and 2nd.

1/5 pt ew 100/1 Coral 1/4 4

t2nd

-1.56

4.3.08

21.11

Golf

PODS Championship

John Senden

One of those bets where we will forgive a player 1 poor round - and Senden would have been right up there last week if you take away his 1st round 79. The Australian has plenty of top 5 finishes to his name and a win on the PGA tour and was a solid 2nd here last year and could hold every chance on a course which will suit his excellent ball striking,

1/4 pt ew 80/1 Everywhere 1/4 5

t2nd

-3.56

4.3.08

17.35

Golf

Toshiba Classic

Tom Purtzer

Purtzer has 4 wins on the Champions Tour and 3 of them have been in California - he simply loves the state - maybe because his 1st PGA tour win came here as well. One of those wns was here at Newport Beach and he was also 5th last year. Whilst his form in his last 2 events in Florida hasn't been exceptional he started well both times and he was 5th in the season opener in Hawaii.

1/2 pt ew 40/1 Bet365 William Hill 1/4 5

Lost

-6.65

4.3.08

12.58

Golf

Toshiba Classic

Sandy Lyle

Sandy Lyle has just turned 50 and quickly makes an appearance on the Champions Tour and to be honest we weren't really thinking about betting him - especially at the ridiculous price of 25/1 that some firms are quoting but at this price we see from the Tote we simply have to have a bet just in case the new tour brings out a bit of Sandy magic.

1/5 pt ew 100/1 Tote 1/4 5

Lost

-5.65

4.3.08

09.54

Golf

PODS Championship

Tag Ridings

One of those unusual picks for us - Ridings has really good course form with a 3rd and 11th here in the past + you can throw in 2 other top 5 finishes in Florida in the last 2 years. He actually played really well for 2 rounds last week and was top 10 at Pebble Beach and is hitting it as far as normal - ie a long way! and there is certainly quite a bit of value in this field which lacks a bit of strength in depth

1/5 pt win 200/1 1/4 pt top 5 50/1 1/2 pt top 10 16/1 Sportstab Lasseters

Lost

-5.25

3.3.08

21.45

Golf

PODS Championship

Alex Cejka

Cejka has taken some time to find his feet on the US tour but he has become more consistent over the last year or so. He decided to change balls this season and he has improved every single week culminating in last weeks excellent 7th place finish. Whilst he hasn't payed here for the last few years he did manage a 20th on his last visit and we think he could put in a bold showing this week at a big price.

1/4 pt ew 125/1 Stan James Betdirect 1/4 5

Lost

-4.3

5.3.08

18.51

Golf

PODS Championship

Cliff Kresge

One final bet in this weeks PGA event on a player who is in excellent form with a 5th in Mexico and a 15th last week. In each event he got into contention at some point during the week and interestingly he led here after round 1 last season so he should have some positive memories. We do have a feeling after much research that the course has certain attributes which should suit his game.

1/5 pt ew 150/1 Sportingbet 1/4 5

Lost

-3.8

5.3.08

12.34

Golf

Kenyan Open

Ben Parker

A difficult event to handicap with limited recent form for a lot of the players and a lot of the players which one can rule out very easily.
We will have one small bet on a very talented young English player who has had a fairly good start to his pro career including 3 top 10 finishes in Turkey over the last 2 months. One thing to be wary of in these low key events is the fact that books quickly run scared of any player that is being bet quite heavily.

1/5 pt ew 125/1 Bet365 1/4 5

Lost

-3.4

3.3.08

18.15

Golf

PODS Championship

Joe Durant

A decent bet for us on Durant for several different reasons. The course here is well suited to good ball-strikers and they don't get much better than Durant and he has been hitting the ball really well this season and now we come to a course where he has had 3 top 5 finishes in 5 starts. His record in Florida is well documented and he is bound to be a very popular selection so take the 50/1 because although there are plenty of books quoting it - it will go.

1 pt ew Generally Available 1/4 5

Lost

-3.0

3.3.08

16.41

Golf

Malaysian Open

Thaworn Wiratchant

As we said last week we will be cutting back on certain tours where we haven't been performing so this will be our only bet in Asia this week.
Wiratchant has had a really slow start to the year but every start has seen an improvement He has been a prolific winner in Asia over the years and has even won a co-sanctioned event between Europe and Asia 3 years ago in Indonesia.He has also won the Malaysian Masters here in 2001 and was 9th the last time they played here in 2004

1/2 pt ew 80/1 Skybet 1/4 5

Lost

-1.0