It's all about confidence!

WGC Matchplay @ Dove Mountain

Last week was a no show for my picks with Harris English the best placed finish in T-10th without ever contending or giving me much of sweat. I was hopeful of a Bill Haas charge on Sunday but he went backwards and Kevin Na, well wee Kev missed the cut; bless him. The winner in the end was Bubba Watson, who shot 14 under par over the weekend (bogey free) to win by two shots. I think every man and his dog was waiting for a Bubba implosion on Sunday, but it didn't come. Much to the disappointment of my Snapchat friends.

This week we are off to Dove Mountain for the Matchplay. There's a few absentees this week with Tiger, Rory and Scotty all deciding they don't need a share of the massive purse up for grabs. So although it should be the best 64 players in the world, it's not. The course itself is pretty long, gives plenty of room from the tee and has pretty big greens. Greens in a Regulation stats aren't massive on my criteria this week as hitting the greens won't necessarily give you the upper hand against your opponent. If you end up on the wrong tier you'd *probably rather you were chipping (*probably a slight exaggeration on my part). As a golfer myself, when I play Matchplay I think to myself even when I'm playing bad, just grind, you're playing the man not the course. The pro ranks are no different. Hence why some tipsters don't like tipping in match play because your pick can't play his way into the tournament. Bubba Watson made the cut on the number last week (one under) and shot 64, 64 over the weekend to get the win. You could go round in five under in your opening match, your opponent shoots six under, wins by a cosy half length down the 18th and your home in time to watch the soccaaaaar *said in my best American accent*. Just as easy you could play like a hacker and limp through to the next round where you suddenly find something with your game. So it's not a lottery to pick the winner as some suggest, but you'll need luck along the way. At the end of the day the last eight finalists have been Ryder Cup-ers!



So two picks this week. First up, Sergio Garcia. Before anyone comments, I'm not betting with my heart here. Two wins (granted one in a reduced field) in his last three events makes him a form horse. Anybody who has followed Sergio's career knows the mans issues! One day, flawed genius, another day clinically insane. Both days tend to be based round how is confidence levels are. With Sergio, I
like to strike when the iron's hot. Course form is ok, a semi finalist here in 2010 but I don't think I'm
going to try and convince myself that Sergio has been a great match player. His overall record is a

winning one, nothing spectacular but it's got to be said he's never came into this tournament in this sort of form before and with the confidence that only victories can give you. Also in the past his
putting was a massive problem and in match play if you can't hole five footers you're not going to win. His stroke is massively improved and I'm backing him to put on a show this week in what is a Ryder Cup year. That last point should not be understated this week. This is the first real chance for players to put their hat in the ring for the Ryder Cup; McGinley and Watson will be keeping a close eye. Looking at Sergio bracket, it's not easy, none of them are. His first (hopefully) real challenge will probably come from Poults. Nobody will want to play Poulter, he's an out an out match player, a real grinder, and you'll have to beat him, it won't be handed to you. Rors is obviously in his bracket too, and as much as I think he's going to have a massive year I think that if Sergio can have some forward momentum and confidence going into that match, he definitely has the beating off him in a match which will have a ridiculous amount of natural talent on display.

Next up is more of an obvious match play pick (I think) but slightly less favourable on current form coming into the tourney. Graeme McDowell, actually that sounds a little formal. GMAC is a sort of player I want in my team if I picking a Ryder Cup team. He grinds like nobody's business and has the game to compete with anyone on his day. Of course it's easy to think back to Celtic Manor and draw that conclusion but he's all business on the course and his attitude is the main reason why I like siding with him in match play.  His overall match play record is great, he's had twice as many wins (24-10) as he's had losses. Most of his wins have come outside of the WGC, i.e Seve Trophy and Volvo World Matchplay, but it all supports the notion that conditions are best suited when scrambling and grinding are required; he is a US Open champ after all. Some (most) people will probably tell me that I probably picked the two hardest brackets to decipher. Without doubt GMAC's is the toughest. He has Mahan, Kaymer, DJ and an inform Bubba to contend with. But bar Mahan, you have an out of form Kaymer, DJ doesn't fair well round here (but 2-0 Ryder Cup singles) and Bubba is probably still *hungover (crying his eyes out whilst praising baby Jesus) from last week. I can't talk myself out of it, so Gmac is my second and final outright pick.

I usually try and pick a winner from each bracket so I can do a wee Yankee or Lucky 15. So, of the other brackets I fancy Stricker to putt everyone's lights out in his bracket and Ryan Moore to continue a solid start to his season by beating the defending champ and winning his bracket. Before I go, if you are going to do bets in each round, Paddy Power's special this week is money back if your selection loses their match after leading through 12 holes; so keep that in mind.

My Selections:

Sergio Garcia @ 25/1 with Skybet, among others (1 pt each way)
Graeme McDowell @ 35/1 with Bet365 (1 point each way)

For fun

Sergio Garcia 6/1 (Hogan bracket)
Graeme McDowell 9/1 (Snead bracket)
Ryan Moore 10/1 (Player bracket)
Steve Stricker 11/1 (Jones bracket)

£1 lucky 15

Be lucky! 

Bill Haas previous at Riviera

Northern Trust Open at Riviera

Last week Jimmy Walker joined an elusive club when he won for the third time this season on the PGA Tour. Only Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and David Duval have won three times in a similar stretch (eight tournaments). Nice club to be in! Walker will be well fancied again this week, as he has said this is one of his favourite courses. But I'll let him be this week.

Riviera is a very traditional ball strikers golf course with a real classic feel to it. The tenth hole is one of my favourites on tour and it will sure to be a telling factor again this week. Some decent form going into this week seems to be a common trend along with previous form at the course. My picks have a mixture of both.

First up this week is Bill Haas. Haas is a previous winner and has other has other decent course form too. He was leading going into the final round last year before a closing 73 left him in a tie for third. Haas has had a quiet enough start to the season, making cuts without really challenging over the weekend. His best finish in recent weeks was a T-6 in the Humana Challenge. He's won each year since his 2011 Tour Championship / Fed Ex Cup victories and surely he will start to challenge regularly in majors soon enough. His strong iron play will be key this week and he'll surely give his backers a sweat come Sunday.

My second pick has already had a victory this season. Harris English got over the line for his maiden win at the St Jude Classic last year and has already followed up this season at the Mayakoba. He's had a decent start to the calendar year with a fourth place in Hawaii and another Top 10 in his last start, in Phoenix. Like Haas, he's a strong iron player and is in the Top 10 in Greens in Regulation this season. Unlike Haas, he doesn't have any course form to speak of, made the cut last year but finished in the middle of the pack. But he's a different player now with two victories to his name.

I fancy a Top 10 bet to cover my stakes in case it goes all a little Pete Tong this week. Looking through my previous posts I actually did the same bet in 2012. Kevin Na is definitely one of the more unpredictable players on the PGA Tour and has run up some silly numbers in his time. But on form he can rack up some Top 10s - 38 in his PGA Tour career, compared to his one victory tells you he's not the greatest in contention. But a Top 10 is all I ask of him this week! He was in the Top 5 at Pebble Beach last week and has previous course form when third in 2011 at Riviera. That does me!

My Selections:
Bill Haas @ 28/1 with Paddy Power (6 places) (1 pt each way)
Harris English @ 33/1 with Paddy Power (6 places) (1 pt each way)
Kevin Na 'Top 10 finish' @ 13/2 with Stan James (1 pt win) 

Stenson to start where he left off

Dubai Desert Classic 

It's the final part of the desert swing and Tiger has flew over to join the party. Tiger is a regular to Dubai, probably for two reasons, his appearance fee and his good mate Mark O'Meara adding it to his schedule around the turn of the century. I see O'Meara did an interview for the European Tour website, though not sure what we learnt from it - "you have to putt well to win any tournament", "the European Tour has proven itself to be one of the best tours in the world" and “Driving the ball will be important, keeping the ball in the short grass, and putting well. You have to putt well to win any tournament, and this will certainly not be an exception this week, making the putts." - Thanks Mark. Great insight. 

Tiger was too bad to be true last week and you'd probably want to give him another go in the hope he has shook off some of that rust. At 6/1 he's a decent price but I'm happy to leave him out this week after watching Torrey Pines beat the crap out of him last Saturday. 

McIlroy is the favourite this week at a skinny 3/1. He's definitely got his mojo back but I think I'll let him win again before I touch him at a price like that. On to who I do like this week...

Big bad Henrik Stenson is my weapon of choice this week. After the finish to last season I was of the opinion he would struggle to replicate it at the early part of this season but I think the fact that we are in Dubai I'm hoping he'll get some positive thoughts. I could say a course like this suits Stenson's eye but after last season you'd have to say most courses do when he's on form. I do like siding with Stenson when driving is key, as he absolutely nukes that three wood of his and it usually finds the short stuff. I really don't think that McIlroy is three times more likely to win this week than Henrik. 

Next up is the only Stevie G that matters. Stephen Gallacher is the defending champ this week and I think he can go close again. He likes this part of the world and has already notched up a Top 10 finish in Abu Dhabi a couple of weeks ago. He shot a couple of low numbers here last year with a 62 and 63 to win by a comfortable enough three shots in the end. Most people will point to the trend between results in this part of the world and Portugal to explain the winners in the last few years and Gallacher is one of those examples. He also finished in a tie for second here in 2012 and I'm happy enough to back him at the prices to hopefully place again. 

Off the beaten track a little, but hey, it's my blog. I suppose I better formally retract my Coetzee comment which I posted on Twitter after another lacklustre finish in Abu Dhabi. The guy just frustrates the life out of me. I followed him for a few holes at Royal St George's the year Clarkey won and I thought this kid had talent. But three years down the line he still hasn't picked up a tour win and he's had his chances. The way he just crumbled from the middle of the 18th fairway was worrying but he had another solid week last week and I'm sure he will many times, but I think he might need to have his first one handed to him before he will kick on. Anyways, let's leave it there.

My Selections:

Henrik Stenson to win @ 11/1 with BetFred (2 point win)

Stephen Gallacher each way @ 45/1 with Bet365 (1 point each way) 

Be lucky! 

El Niño won't have a hangover in Thailand

Thailand Golf Championship

Well my first blog of the 2014 season didn't have much success. I said it on Twitter and I'll say it again, I will never back Jbe Kruger again, he's like a Kamikaze pilot at times. Brutal viewing. Last week I didn't do a blog as I didn't think there was much point with the small fields and I thought the market favs would probably win. I did two bets in the end - the first being a trixie on Migual Angel Jimenez (Hong Kong Open), Henrik Stenson (Nedbank Challenge) and Tiger Woods (World Challenge). The second was a double on Sergio Garcia (Nedbank) and Graeme McDowell (World Challenge. To say I was frustrated with Tiger ruining any chance of a return is an understatement. I think he was 1.03 on Betfair when holding a four shot lead with eight holes to play. Add the fact that three of the holes left were Par 5's and his closest challenger is one of the shortest hitters on tour (granted one of the best wedge players) I think I am entitled to have a moan. With that said, you got to tip your hat to Zach Johnson, he played well all day and his wedge from the drop zone was sublime. Tiger hit two great bunker shots on 18, but then missed a putt that the old Tiger simply didn't miss. It was interesting to hear a view of his comments after, where he said he was scared of pushing it; the old Tiger would never of let a negative thought like that enter his mind.

Zach Johnson's wedge last week

On a brighter note I really enjoyed watching Sergio's charge on Sunday at the Nedbank. Obviously I'm very biased when it comes to Sergio as I'm blinded a little by the talent he has and usually choose to ignore his poor attitude at times. But it was vintage Sergio last week in South Africa and he only really hit one bad shot all day Sunday (tee shot at 16). I'm keeping it simple this week and sticking with him for the Thailand Open.

As most people know Sergio is a guy who plays well when filled with confidence, so he tends to play well in consecutive tournaments. When he had his last win on the PGA Tour (2012 Wydham Champ) he was third the following week and his last wins in Europe came when he won back to back in Spain at the end of the 2011 season. He was 4th in this last year, though to put that into context he was turning at Becher's Brook when Charl was getting hosed down. Sergio had a decent run of form from the Fed-Ex through the HSBC Champions event and then last week when he really did look back to his old self.

Of the others playing this week I would think the winner will come from one of the market principles. As I mentioned last week I backed Stenson and for the most part he didn't seem to find that other gear that he had in the run of the 2013 season. The fella is bound to be itching to spend all those dollars and euros and I think he'll have a solid finish again this week without really challenging. Schwartzel obviously won this at a hack cantor last year and he's got an obvious chance but he doesn't seem to have his 'A' game with him at the moment and if I am to back someone at 5/1 I want to be sure he's got everything but the kitchen sink with him. Of the Asian players I suppose Aphibarnrat and Messawat are the two I'd be most interested in but I really fancy Sergio to get the W this week and I'm just sticking with him.

My selection:

Sergio Garcia to win 7/1 2 pts (General)

Be lucky! 

Kruger to get the W in his own back yard

Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek

Is someone doing a spread on the amount of pictures the players tweet from Leopard Creek, this week? I've already saw a few this morning (Monday) before I set off for work. The scenery is unbelievable; in the same league as Crans-sur-Sierre, but for different reasons. With Leopard Creek right next door to Kruger National Park the wildlife are everywhere. I hadn't done a blog before in this tourney, so I had to have a little look for some info on the course and found myself more interested in the wildlife that are housed (can I say housed?) on the course than the actual course itself! We have 'Harry the Hippo' in the lake at 16 along with a number of crocodiles in the dam at holes 5, 7 & 16. It would be interesting to see how many safari holidays are booked on the back of watching the golf here each year!

For those that aren't familiar with the course itself, here's some info - it's a Gary Player design which opened in 1996 and measures 7326 yards from the back sticks. There's a lot of water hazards, ranging from lakes to brooks to a river. The latter both feature in the signature hole; number 13. The rough is Kikuya grass and the greens are Creeping Bent. Past winners include Charl Schwartzel, Garth Mulroy, Pablo Martin (twice) and Ernie Els.


This isn't a tournament that I want to get to heavily involved in, so I'm firing just the two bullets. I think most people will be taking on Schwartzel at the prices. Yes it's his favourite course, yes he won here at a cantor last year, but 7/2, really? He was a bigger price coming into it last year after he lapped the field in Thailand and this time round he faltered with 13 holes to go last week. Maybe it was the pressure of trying to win his national championship, but it was enough to suggest 7/2 is too skinny.


First up is Jbe Kruger. He should be a popular choice after his finish last week. Kruger opened with a 65 last week and closed with one too, to move finish 2nd. He's one of 60 odd South Africans playing this week, many of whom I must admit I don't know much about! Last week Kruger's putting was his strength, whilst his driving was a little off. He's had nibbles of form in South Africa on the European Tour (a few Top 10's) but hasn't been in much form of late; until last week anyway. I'm hoping he kicks on again from last Sundays round and I'm happy to take his price in this sort of field.

Second up and more of a shot in dark, sort of pick, is Steve Webster. This guy is either hot or cold, he doesn't do consistent it seems. At the price and the fact he has a little bit of form in South Africa, in not very many starts I'm willing to give him a go. He was 7th here last year in what was a really good start to the season (he had three other Top 10's from South Africa through Dubai). After his good start though, he had a quiet season and his next Top 10 didn't arrive until Italy in September. I'm hoping he fancies another quick start to the season and at his price I'm happy to have a few quid each way.

On my sabbatical from golf blogging I've been keenly following the SkyLife podcast which is produced by Ben Coley (Sporting Life), John Rhodes (Sky Bet) and usually one other guest. They give their analysis on the previous week's golf and their insight on the up and coming tournaments. It gives you a chance to hear from the bookies side of the things for once; like who they're out to get! The link is usually posted on Twitter each week or if you have a tablet you can get the podcast from iTunes and it automatically downloads for you each week.

That's me for this week, I'll have a more detailed write up next week for the World Challenge. Good luck with whoever you go with.

My Selections:

Jbe Kruger @ 45/1 (1pt each way) with Stan James
Steve Webster @ 125/1 (0.5pt each way) with Sky Bet

Be Lucky!

Course info from www.europeantour.com
Prices from www.oddschecker.com

Lefty to outshine Tiger at Augusta

The 2013 Masters – Augusta National

It’s been a strange year on the PGA Tour. Every other week there seems to be a weather delay with late finishes and the Yanks have won fourteen straight events on the tour since it kicked off in Kapalua, in January. Gambling wise it started off well for me, I had DJ in Hawaii but it’s been quiet since, granted I’ve only bet in five other tournaments but still not good! I’ve been planning to start this Masters blog for a while, but I kept finding an excuse not to, so blog number six of the year is below.

Tiger at the Par 3 12th

The obvious starting point this year is with the new World Number 1, old shagger himself, Tiger Woods. My view on Tiger was (and still is) that he’d never be back dominating the way he did a decade ago, but he could get back winning regularly again. The reason for that view is that Tiger has certain courses he continues to play well, regardless of form; I call them his ‘Hen Runs’. Augusta, unlike Bay Hill and Doral is not one of his hen runs. It’s been eight years since he won his last Masters, he may be a four-time champ but I can’t have him at the same price (with most firms) at Augusta, as he was when defending his title (7 of them) at Bay Hill. The other thing that has helped Tiger back to the top was his safe shot. When in doubt he opens his stance and plays a cut, that isn’t how to play Augusta in my opinion. With all that said, I wouldn’t put anyone off Tiger, I'm just pointing out the lack of value in the price. Tiger gained 11.2 shots on the field through his putting at Bay Hill and if he continues to average 25/26 putts, it could be lights out early. If you like looking at trends – there’s two notable ones; Tiger’s won his last two starts before the Masters once (2001), and he won the Masters, but the other is he’s won three times before the Masters on three occasions and never won the Masters that year; something’s got to give! Also World Number 1’s don’t have a great major record whilst holding that position, since 1986 when the OWGR began, only 13 majors have been won by the current Number 1 ranked player; Tiger has 11 of those.

Will we see this on Sunday?

My Masters Picks

Phil the thrill

My number one pick for the Masters is Phil Mickelson. True to form I missed out on his W at Phoenix by backing him the week before at Torrey Pines and couldn’t pull the trigger again. Though as Ben Coley (of Betting Zone and Twitter ranting fame) pointed out to me after (much use then), he seldom has good form before his wins. As everyone is aware Micko is a big fan of playing the week before a major, he likes to use the opportunity to hone his skills for the following week. The week before his four major victories have been a mixed bunch; he was T-13th in the 2010 Shell Houston Open (1^st Masters), 1^st in the 2006 Bell South Classic (1^st Masters), T-10^th in The International (1^st PGA Championship) and T-16^th in the 2004 Bell South Classic before winning his first Masters title. He wasn’t impressed with the schedule change this year and isn’t playing the Valero Texas Open this week, but was T-16^th at the Shell Houston the week before. The outcome of Phil’s week is seemingly down to how he drives the ball and how he putts, very much like Tiger in that aspect. That said, Phil has the ability to turn certain sixes into fours. The funniest interview of the year was after his up n’ down from the cart path at the WGC Cadillac Championship, I’ve posted a link below if you haven’t saw it before. Although the interview was comical for his ‘playing lesson with the Pro’, it was also informative with regards his confidence with his new artillery in the bag and his comment about ‘keeping the ball in play’. As Phil said, it’s not something you’d hear him say too often. I hope he adapts that mindset this week! The negative part to Micko’s game is his putting. He’s been messing around with how he grips the putter, the actual putter grip and different putters; it doesn’t exactly fill you with confidence. I’ve lost count of how many times he’s left himself with a ‘tap in’ of a couple of feet and missed, smashing it at the back of the cup doesn’t always work, big Clarkey had the same mentality a few years ago when it came to two footers. It seems an age ago that Phil had a putt for a 59 at Phoenix, but that's what he can do to golf courses, no shock that he's ranked 2nd in birdie average this season.

'You'd need to be an idiot to open the blade'

My second pick is Justin Rose. He’s got a tad short in the betting since his runner up finish to Tiger at Bay Hill but I still think he’s backable. Rose, like Tiger has enrolled the help of Sean Foley to further develop his game. He hasn’t been outside the Top 20 on either side of the pond this calendar year, with the most notable finishes being the runner up finishes in Abu Dhabi and Bay Hill. When I had a look at his stats I was surprised to see he’s 9^th on the PGA Tour in Driving Distance, I knew he wasn’t short but averaging 301 yards off the tee this year is impressive. Other notable stats are his ‘Scrambling’ – which he’s ranked 3^rd in, and he tops the rankings in Sand Saves this year. What I like most about Rose’s game when he’s on song, is his iron play, especially his mid to short irons, always gives himself lots of birdie chances. Unfortunately like Mickelson he has a tendency to get a very cold putter and if he wants to compete this week he needs to hole his fair share. He has a decent enough Masters record, he was T-8^th last year and I can see him bang there in the finish this year. The fact he leads the tour on Back 9 scoring average is another pleasing stat, that said the pressure on Masters Sunday isn’t something he’s faced so far this season.

Game face

My third pick in Padraig Harrington. As I do this blog Harrington is currently playing in the Valero Texas Open, but I had already decided he would be my final pick so I’m going to stick with him now, regardless of his finish in Texas. For years I had a real dislike for Harrington, not for his constant ‘tinkering’ of the golf swing which a few dislike him for, but because he got in the way of Sergio winning a major or two! Padraig is a three time major champ, but has not contended on a regular occurrence since. He’s a funny character; a psychologist would have a field day with him, but when he’s on, he knows how to get the job done. His results in 2013 have been a real mixed bag, with a few Top 10’s and a couple of mixed cuts. His recent Masters record is very similar, his last six years he’s went T-8^th, Cut, Cut, T-35, T-5^th and T-7^th. None of his stats really jump off the screen at me; I just hope he doesn’t win the Par 3 competition on Wednesday!

I’m also putting a few quid on Henrik Stenson in the First Round Leader market. Stenson has lots of momentum going into Augusta after his runner up finish at the Shell Houston Open which got him into the Masters by the skin of his teeth. He also had a Top 10 the week before at Bay Hill. Stenson is a player with an awful lot of talent; he’s won seven times on the European Tour and twice in the States. Like Harrington he’s had a quiet few years but he’s a former Player’s Champ and that trend goes well at Augusta. His early season stats make good reading, he leads in Driving Accuracy and Greens In Regulation, lets hope he brings his putter with him too.

I have taken my stats from the PGA Tour website and the prices from Oddschecker, all were up to date at the time of posting.

Be lucky!

Phil Mickelson to win outright @ 11/1 with Paddy Power

Justin Rose each way @ 20/1 with Paddy Power (6 places)

Padraig Harrington each way @ 66/1 with Ladbrokes (5 places)

Henrik Stenson each way FRL @ 50/1 with William Hill (5 places)

It could be lights out early for McIlroy!

WGC Accenture Match play at Dove Mountain

I haven’t done a blog for the past two weeks due to laziness and not having the time, and I haven’t really had a punt either. A few of the fellas (tipsters) I follow on Twitter had a couple of nice winners, which is good. This week we have the Accenture Match Play at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Club at Dove Mountain, Arizona. Some people, mainly tipsters, think this is a bit of a lottery and tend to stay away from it as a punting event, which is fair enough. The problem (the reason I love it) is that you’re playing the man, not the course. If it was a 72 hole stroke event you’d be happy to see your player jockeying for position over the weekend, however, in this event if you start slow, or just come across somebody hot, you could be on a flight home on the Wednesday evening. Like last year I’ve decided to do the bracket betting and maybe have a couple of doubles or trebles on the matches during the tourney.

Bobby Jones bracket

This bracket seems to be the most open, well according to the bookies anyway. The big names in this one are McIlroy, Fowler, Big bad DJ, Gmac, Harrington, Bubba and Schwartzel. The most interesting part is that the four Irish guys have been drawn against each other. I expect Rors to eventually outclass Lowry but I can’t call the other game. Of the other matches I expect DJ to win, he's been poor of late but mainly because of running up big scores at holes, though that's less costly in Match Play, that said, I see a few fancy Noren. A lot of people like Schwartzel's chances this week and he’s the main danger to my pick in this bracket. Rickie Fowler has a far from an ideal draw on paper, with Rors, DJ and Gmac all potential opponents, but when you look closer, he could have two guys that are bang out of form and another who could still be rusty. I like Fowler as a match player, though knocked out early last year; his game is more ideal than most for this format.

Gary Player bracket

Now, the problem with the brackets is they can throw together players that you may want to keep apart for outright betting reasons. After watching Hunter Mahan last weekend, the defending champ went straight on to my shortlist. But since the Ryder Cup I’ve had Martin Kaymer firmly in mind for this event, alas, they get put in the same bracket. In this ultra competitive bracket they also have Tiger, Westy and Dufner to contend with. I expect a big showing from Tiger this week, although his course form isn’t good, he was impressive at Torrey Pines and it should be interesting to see if he can take that form to a course he finds a lot more difficult, I suspect a lot of punters will be taking him on at the prices in each of his matches. I really can't split Mahan and Kaymer so I’ll hedge my bets and put a few quid on each.

Ben Hogan bracket

Out of all the brackets this is the one that will be the easiest to win. I don’t think it has the same depth as the others. Oozty, Kuch, Sergio, Rose, Ernie and Haas…actually when I roll the names off my tongue, it’s actually competitive enough! All tidy golfers on their day, but they’ll all know that the bracket is there for the taking. My pick in this bracket is Sergio Garcia. Too many times I’ve backed him because my heart ruled my head, but this time I’m more than sure it’s the head talking. He went backwards after a promising start last week at Riviera but has been in solid form (hasn’t been out of Top 20 in last 7 events worldwide) and he loves Match Play.

Sam Snead bracket

This bracket is the one I’m most confident with, cue the first round disaster! Luuuuuke, Poults, Watney, Scott and Stricks are the main acts in this one but I fancy one past champion to out dual another to win this bracket. Luuuuuke (sorry I can’t help myself) was the 2011 champ here and was on his seasonal debut last week where he hopefully shifted all rust from his game, he didn’t seem to have too much! It won’t surprise me if Poults is wearing his Ryder Cup outfit for motivation (jokes) and I expect him to be in the last eight against Donald. 

For my ‘one and done’ this week I’m going to go for Rickie Fowler. Mainly because I can see him going deep in the tourney and I don’t know when I’d use him again anyway (Open did cross my mind). The last two weeks haven’t been good for me in the competition so really need a big week, no pressure Rickie!

Be Lucky!

My Selections:

Luke Donald to win the Sam Snead bracket @ 9/2 with Will Hill

Sergio Garcia to win the Ben Hogan bracket @ 15/2 with Bet 365

Hunter Mahan to win the Gary Player bracket @ 8/1 with Bet 365

Martin Kaymer to win the Gary Player bracket @ 10/1 with Paddy Power

Rickie Fowler to win the Bobby Jones bracket @ 12/1 with Bet Victor

Rickie Fowler to win the WGC Outright @ 66/1 each way with Ladbrokes