Fowler set for victory!

Wells Fargo Championship

A decent line up assembles with ten of the Top 30 in the world teeing it up this week, including Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson. Mickelson has had seven Top 10 finishes in ten starts here and McIlroy has a win and a runner up finish (beaten in a play off), so they are rightly at the head of the market. McIlroy of course also holds the course record (62) when shot the lights out of the place on his way to victory in 2010.

Quail Hollow Golf Club is a 7,442 yard Par 72 designed by George Cobb. The tourney tends to throw up a young winner, with 4 of the last 6 winners getting the W before their 24th birthday; with Noh's victory last week, it could be a nice couple of weeks for the babies of the tour.

My only outright pick this week is Rickie Fowler. This will be the third time I've backed him already this year (Doral, Augusta) but thanks to him placing at the Masters I'm still in the green. I haven't had a golf bet since the Masters but was a keen observer last week, following the scores on my phone when I was on my holidays, hoping that Fowler wouldn't have a great week. It was a little selfish on my part, but I was looking some sort of price this week, so needs must. He was a tad short last week and some might even say this week too, but there isn't much missing from his game and I'm hoping that the final ingredient might be, the scene of his only tour win. One of my favourite golfing moments in recent years was his approach shot in that play off to get his win in 2012. The fact McIlroy was in it added to it all I think. Fowler has played a few tourneys in a row, with Top 10s in Texas and Augusta before missing the cut last week and I think it might have been a blessing in disguise having a weekend off and getting some good thoughts in his head for this week.

I'm doing a little saver bet this week in case it all goes wrong with Rickie. Big bad Bobby Karlsson lives just down the road from Quail Hollow and is starting to find some sort of form again after a few years off side due to ongoing injuries and loss of form. He was 11th last time out in Morocco and has posted three Top 15's in his three starts this year on tour. Couple that with the fact that he finished fourth here last year I think a bet on him for Top Continental European is a decent bet. His main opposition will come from Blixt who performed so well at the Masters, though other than that he hasn't had the best of seasons. Others in the market include Peter Hanson (No Top 10s in US this year, 1st appearance), Nicolas Colsaerts (No Top 10s, 4 missed cuts, missed cut last year), Carl Petterson (missed cut last two tourneys, 7 in total this season), Fernandez-Castano (1 Top 25 this year), Martin Kaymer (No Top 20s this calendar year, missed cut last year), Olesen (No Top 20s this year) and Lingmerth (missed his last 3 cuts). With the form of the others taken in to consideration, I make shorter than a 13/2 shot.

My selections:

Rickie Fowler @ 33/1 with Stan James  - 6 places - (2 points each way)

Robert Karlsson @ 13/2 Top Continental European with Betfred (2 point win)

Be Lucky!