One of my favourite events on the PGA Tour takes place this
week at Harbour Town Links, Hilton Head. The 18th hole is one of the
most epic finishes on the PGA Tour and is always sure to produce drama come
Sunday evening.
18th hole at Harbour Town
The 2010 champ Jim Furyk
is fresh off a Top 15 finish at the Masters and I expect him to put in another
good showing at the Heritage. In the
last 7 years he has 4 Top 10’s; these include his 2010 win and two Runners-up
finishes. Furyk has had a good start to 2012 after a very disappointing 2011,
he put in a good showing at Bay Hill after a playoff defeat at the Transitions
Championship. Driving will be key this week and Furyk is statistically the
straightest driver on tour. If Jim gets the putter going he should be there or
thereabouts on Sunday.
My other selection this week has plenty of course form as
well. Bo Van Pelt has finished in the Top 15 50% (3 from 6) of time he has teed
it up at Harbour Town. More importantly though Van Pelt turns up with plenty of
momentum; he closed with a 64 at Augusta for a Top 20 finish. Van Pelt has some
impressive stats beside his name; he is ranked 1st in Total Driving
and 1st in the All Round Ranking (this takes in GIR, Putting and
Driving). Bo has 4 Top 10’s this year which is the most on tour and hopefully
he can give his supporters another good sweat this week.
My Selections:
Jim Furyk @ 18/1 each way with Bet365
Bo Van Pelt @ 25/1 each way with BetFred
Maybank Malaysian Open
With Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel and Louis Oosthuizen
travelling to Malaysia from Augusta there is plenty of class at the head of the
market. Although all three have the
class to run away with this tourney I am taking the gamble that they will be
feeling the effects of the Masters, especially Runner up Oosthuizen.
Matteo Manassero is the defending champ this week, and I
fully expect him to put on a great defence. Manassero has already racked up 3
Top 10’s this year and was very unfortunate to miss out on the Masters himself.
He didn’t hide the fact that he wanted a good start to the season to push his
way up the rankings and into the Masters, even with the Top 10’s he came up
shy. Manassero has 2 wins on the European Tour and I fancy him to make it 3
this week.
Matteo Manassero lifting the trophy last year
Michael Hoey hasn’t been seen since his sensational win in
the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco where he shot a pair of 65’s over the weekend
to get the ‘W.’ Although Hoey isn’t a household name like his Northern Irish
counterpart Rory McIlroy he actually has more victories than him on the
European Tour (4>3). Hoey is an inconsistent sort, he’s very hard to catch
right, but with 4 victories on tour and 4 victories on the Challenge Tour it’s clear
when he puts himself in position he gets the job done. He found the putter
working for him over the weekend in Morocco and his Putts per Green (1.77) stat
is the best it’s been in 5 years on the European Tour. His biggest win was
probably at the Alfred Dunhill, holding off Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and
Padraig Harrington, 3 major winners. Maybe it’s an omen and he can hopefully
hold off another 3 this week.
My Selections:
Matteo Manassero @ 16/1 each way with Ladbrokes (5 places)
Michael Hoey @ 60/1 each way with Bet365 (5 places)
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