The Masters 2015
The Masters is upon us once again and we've had plenty of story lines in the build up. Rory McIlroy has been a firm favourite with the bookies to cement his place in the history books by winning his career slam. We've also had a 'will he' or 'won't he' episode from the Tiger Woods camp, as Tiger decided not to play the last few weeks. He of course stated that he wouldn't be back playing until his game was good enough to compete. He declared himself a runner this week which will take some of the media hype away from McIlroy.
Tucked in behind McIlroy in the betting comes Dustin Johnson, Adam Scott, the defending champ Bubba Watson and Jordan Spieth. The former is not long back from his six month absence, but already has a win to his name and must be quietly confident at a venue which suits his tee to green game. The latter is just off a win and bang in contention this week in Houston.
I've stayed away from the top of the market and backed four players who have still got it all to do on the major scene, but with the games to do just that. First up is J.B Holmes, who has had a decent start to the season without getting over the line. It all started at the Farmers when he went close, but in a few of the tourneys he's had a poor weekend after a good start; the WGC and Riviera to name two. He opened with a 65 this week (although I'm writing this before the tourney finishes) so is still carrying his good play into Augusta. He has one of the main ingredients for Augusta - length - his good play has mainly come from his ball striking tee to green, as it's fair to say his putting is the weakest part of his game. His only start at Augusta resulted in a Top 25 finish; his price is a fair one and it gets some each way money from me.
Next up is Brooks Koepka, who has managed a win this year. Like Holmes, he's got length off the tee and after a Top 5 in last years US Open, feels he belongs at the top table on major weekends. Koepka plied his trade on the European Tour, which was refreshing to see for a young American. He had a couple of Top 5s on the European Tour last year before finally getting his win in Turkey, against a decent field. His win this year in the Waste Management, in what was again a good field and he must carry plenty of confidence into his first Masters.
Ryan Moore is someone I continually get wrong, but he's another guy who's had a solid wrap around season starting with a win at the CIMB Classic. He went will at the WGC but a poor final round undid all his good work there. He had a Top 5 at the Valspar and didn't tee it up this week at Houston. He had a missed cut in the Masters last year but wasn't really in any form going in, so hopefully Augusta will be a different proposition for him this year.
Victor Dubuisson is my fourth and final pick. He's currently playing in Houston and was going well without contending the last look I had. He had two Top 10s in last two majors last year, after being a runner up in the WGC Matchplay last year, so big tournaments aren't a bother to him. All of that ensured he was part of the victorious Ryder Cup winning team, and this kid will just go from strength to strength this year if he stays injury free. His best finishes this year were a couple of Top 5s in Dubai either side of Christmas.
My picks:
J.B Holmes each way at 66/1 (7 places) with Betfair Sportsbook (1 pt each way)
Brooks Koepka each way at 90/1 (5 places) with BetFred (1 pt each way)
Ryan Moore each way at 100/1 (5 places) with Bet365 (1 pt each way)
Victor Dubuisson each way at 110/1 (5 places) with Bet365 (1 pt each way)
