Golf Betting Column: What The Golfinggods Say….

Another WGC Matchplay event out of the way and yet another example of how difficult it is to predict these events. Geoff Ogilvy is a worthy winner with his consistent and battling play. Twice during the tournament he looked to be going out but through grit and good play under pressure he was allowed to progress. Geoff has always had enormous talent, which has only resulted in two PGA tour victories. I think this tournament victory will see his game progress and to another level. Expect him to be a contender more often from now.

Congratulations must also go to Tom Lehman who progressed further through the tournament than most people would have expected. I wonder if this performance has him wondering about his position as Captain of the Ryder Cup with a possible playing position now the target.

The US PGA tour heads east this week with the Ford Championship at Doral in Florida. Affectionately known as the Blue Monster because twelve holes have water on them Doral has been strengthened in length (about 150 yards) and with bunkers now totally over one hundred. The four par fives give excellent opportunities for birdies while the other holes provide a tough test indeed. The local Bermuda grass greens will also provide a test, as they are particularly grainy and large in area.

Finally there is an incredible bias towards players from Florida or who have a Florida connection in this event. Thirteen of the last sixteen winners of Doral have been Florida residents!

Selections:

Tiger Woods: a fairly obvious choice but he is winning with a game that is not firing just yet. If the tee ball finds the fairway then the rest of his game will beat anyone on the planet. Once again he is the man to beat.

Jerry Kelly: a solid performance last week at the Chrysler indicates that this well liked professional is starting to play well. He is no stranger to Doral and has played well before around this course. Expect a good showing this week at decent odds.

Jasper Parnevik: his form this year has been the best he has produced for the last four seasons and the hunger to perform looks to be back. He is a solid ball striker who only needs the putter to become warm to contend this week.

Others to mention: Sean O'Hair, Vijah Singh and Chris DiMarco.

The European Tour continues its love affair with the Asian sector this week with the staging of the Indonesian Open played at the Emeralda Golf and Country Club. The course was designed by Arnold Palmer primarily as a resort style layout, and this is evident with the lack of real 'bite' in the layout. With fairly open fairways and little rough this is a course that should produce some low scores. As with all Asian tournaments the biggest obstacle may be the conditions with thunderstorms and high humidity expected.

Selections:

Thaworn Wiratchant: his swing may not be pretty but his short game is as good as anyone. The defending champion is in good form and will take a lot of beating this week. I expect him to defend his title.

Simon Khan: first start of the season for Khan but he is a good player who is getting better all the time. Khan is a solid ball striker who needs the putter to heat up this week. If it does then he has enough talent to take the title.

Ross Fisher: the Englishman continues to play three good rounds in most tournaments only to let himself down in the final round. I think this is a sign of inexperience and this will not continue. He is too talented to not be winning tournaments and represents a good each way bet this week.

Others to mention: Shiv Kapur, Thongchai Jaidee and Simon Dyson.

Until next week – May The Golfinggods Be With You!