Hunchtime Historic

Golf 04/03

Collin Morikawa delivered a 45/1 winner for us last week. Having gone a week too early on both Homa and Berger in the previous two week's, it was a relief to get on Morikawa at just the right time, as I don't think we will see odds like that on him again for quite a while. I did fear that lighting was going to strike for a third successive weekend on Sunday evening, when both of last week's selections, Victor Hovland and Scottie Scheffler briefly threatened to come with a late run. However Morikawa's excellent course management in closing out the tournament, saw them both settling for another top 5 finish. Make no mistake about it all three are going to have a big say in plenty of tournaments this year! I spoke last week about Morikawa's putting needing improvement as the rest of his game is as good as anyone on tour. Well Morikawa finished the week 10th in the putting stats, a big jump from 67th last week. More importantly he made the most birdies (27) and only 7 boggies. He led the way in the shots gained tee to green and also his approach play around the greens. A last word on Morikawa before moving on to this week. In winning last week he became the only golfer other than Tiger Woods to ever win a WGC and a major before the age 25, rarefied company indeed.

This week's action comes from the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club in Orlando, Florida. After winning what was known as the Florida Citrus Open in 1971. Palmer decided to take over the running of this tournament in 1979. This will be the 43rd renewal and last year's tournament was the final event played on the Pga Tour before the pandemic caused a three month break in the golf schedule. Rory McIlroy heads the market and rightfully so in my opinion. Although not winning Rory is showing signs of promise again, with 3 top 20 finishes in his last four starts, including a 6th place finish last week. He will surely have his eyes on the prize in a tournament where he has an excellent record. In his last four appearances here he has finished 4th-1st-6th-5th. Although he has a great chance I will not be selecting Rory as I personally don't like backing golfers at single figure odds. Victor Hovland who everyone knows I am very keen on is second in. I feel that he is just too short this week at 12/1. He is an excellent talent and will win many tournaments over the course of his career, however he has yet to shine at Bay Hill. In his two previous visits, he has failed to make the top 40 on both occasions. The top 5 in the world rankings DJ, Rahm, Thomas, Morikawa and Schauffele will all give this week a miss as will the in-form trio off Koepka, Berger and Finau. This leaves last year's champion Tyrell Hatton as the highest ranked player in what is a very winnable golf tournament.

Our first selection this week is Matthew Fitzpatrick. The Englishman has been in good form over the last few week's with a 5th place finish at the Genisis and an 11th place finish last weekend. He has hit the ball really well over the last two weeks finishing 20th tee to green and 28th in approach play in his last 8 rounds. He has previously spoken about his liking for courses like Bay Hill. This doesn't surprise me as he finished 9th here last year and second in 2019. Strong winds, (as was the case last year) will play to his strengths as apart from Shane Lowry, I don't think there is a better player on tour in dealing with windy conditions. Fitzpatrick is yet to win on the Pga Tour, however he has won 6 times on the European Tour including December's Dubai World Tour Championship. He held off Hovland, Morikawa and Reed to win in Dubai and I think this is the weekend he will break his Pga duck. Should he be in contention come Sunday evening, I have no doubt his iconic caddie Billy Foster (who has previously worked for Tiger, Sergio, Westwood and Darren Clarke), will help him close out the tournament.

This week's second selection is a man I have had in mind for this tournament for a few week's. The fact he has recently hit a bit of form only strengthens my opinion that he is in line to put up a strong performance. The man in question is 35 year old American Jason Kokrak. Jason has made a bit of a resurgence in recent months following a few baron years on tour. Following golf's resumption last year he has made 9 cuts from 11 appearances with two top 10's and a win at Shadow Creek last October. He warmed up for one of his favorite tournaments with a ninth place finish last week, following on from another good showing at the Genisis when he finished 32nd, as his putter let him down for his final 24 holes. He has a very good record at Bay Hill with finishes of 18-10-20-6-4 in recent year's. He has also missed the cut on a few occasions but that would not concern me due to his recent form. He finished last week in 22nd position tee to green and more importantly 3rd in the putting stats. This week's field is not nearly as strong as the previous two week's which should see Jason (if holding his form), hold solid each way claims, with most firm's paying 8 places.

Prediction: Matthew Fitzpatrick (each way) 22/1 (Lost)

Jason Kokrak (each way) 40/1 (Won)

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Honda Classic - 18/03

Last week's action at Sawgrass had to be one of the most exciting tournaments of the year so far. As the players turned in on Sundays back nine, eleven players still held a realistic chance of winning the $2.7 million first prize.

Enter Justin Thomas, birdies at 9 and 10 followed by a magnificent eagle at 11, put the American in pole position. Another birdie at 12 saw him gain five shots on the field in four holes and secured him a first players championship. In fact over the closing 36 holes, Thomas gained 11.19 strokes on the field tee-to-green, the most by any player since tracking began in 2004. Thomas in this sort of form is as good as any player that ever played the game. It was Justin's 14th win on the Pga Tour and he has now joined Tiger as the only player with 10+ wins on tour, a Major win and a Players win before the age of 28. I suspect he will add a few more before the year is out.

Our selections never got going, as all 3 missed the cut. Its the first time this has happened to us and hopefully the last!! We get back on the horse this week as the tour stays in Florida for the Honda Classic. Eight places are widely available with all the top firms. Only 7 of the top 50 players in the world rankings will take part, with in-form local man Daniel Berger the highest ranked at 15. World number 17 Sungjae Im is the defending champion, as his 6 under par total last year was enough to hold off Berger, Fleetwood and Hughes. This year's tournament as almost all are at Palm Beach will be decided on a three hole stretch known as the 'Bear Trap', holes 15, 16 and 17. As the players look out at all three holes, all they will see is greens covered in water. The course was designed by Jack Nicklaus "for precision, not length" and any wayward shots will be severely punished.For this week's selections I am going to concentrate on players that have previously showed a liking for the course.

With so many of the world's leading players not in action, many in the field will see this week as a great opportunity to gain 500 Fed Ex Cup points as well as a good chance at winning a Pga event. Our first off two selections this week will be Brendan Steele. The American simply loves this place. He has certain courses that he usually plays well at and this is one. In his last 5 visits here, Steele has finished in 14th or better on all 5 occasions including a 4th place finish last year. Steele has been in decent form recently and throughout 2021 in general which cannot be said for many of this field. Brendan has mastered the art of playing steady golf which is exactly what is needed around this course. Over his last 8 rounds at both Sawgrass and Bay Hill he has hit 8 consecutive par or better rounds. He hasn't missed a cut since the start of the year and this consistency makes him stand out from the rest off the field this weekend. Steele's recent form added to his clear liking for the course make him an excellent each way selection this week in a dreadful field by Pga standards. Our second and final selection this week just had to be the great Irishman Shane Lowry. "I like the course at the Honda", said Lowry on Sunday as he couldn't hide his enthusiasm to get back to a course that is only 5 minutes away from his American home.

The tough windy conditions that are forecasted play to his strengths. He has previously said when describing such conditions, "That kind of gets my juices flowing, and I like that type of golf". Lowry bounced right back to form last week with a brilliant performance to finish in 8th. Like his mate Lee Westwood he could do with collecting a few Ryder Cup points as he is currently not an automatic selection for September's competition. He will get the opportunity to impress his captain and 2 time winner of this event in the past Pádraig Harrington this weekend as the Irish man chases his 3rd title. (I wouldn't write him completely of at 200/1, as he has 4 top 30's from his last 7 stats including a 6th in the desert in January and a 31st at the Arnold Palmer two weeks ago despite shooting 76 in his final round). This will be Shane's fourth appearance here and he has slowly improved each time with finishes of 53-49-21.

In fact last year he sat 9th and only 2 off the lead heading in to the weekend before a 3 over par third round ended his chances. Lowry will see this week as an excellent opportunity to gain another win in America. I know I'm like a broken record going on about the the weak field but I feel it is very relevant. When players like Lowry (who have won major championships) look at this week's opposition who would he really fear? Used of mixing it with the world's elite only maybe Daniel Berger falls into that category in this week's field. At 28/1, I reckon Shane will be thereabouts come Sunday evening.

Prediction: Brendan Steele (each way) 40/1 (placed)  Shane Lowry (each way) 28/1 (lost)

- 11/03 - As I sat watching the closing stages of the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday evening it struck me what a great sport golf is. In what other sport would you get a 47 year old tour veteran in Lee Westwood going toe to toe with one of the sports elite stars in Bryson DeChambeau? It made for compelling viewing, with the younger star eventually coming out on top of a ding dong battle. The American showed brilliant character to close out the tournament with some quality par saving putts on the back nine. Twelve consecutive pars saw DeChambeau, who was one of only 3 players to shoot under par in Sunday's final round claim his eight win on the Pga Tour. It struck me that it is often overlooked what a great putter he is due to his on course antics (pun intended). He is now in great fettle approaching the masters in a few weeks time. Our selections Jason Kokrak and Matthew Fitzpatrick finished in eight and tenth position respectively, with Kokrak keeping our good recent run of selecting golfer's finishing in the place money going. This week's action comes from The Players Championship at the Sawgrass Stadium Course in Florida. Commonly know as golf's 5th major, it currently offers the highest purse of any golf tournament ($15 million). As well as winning $2.7 million this week's winner will also receive a 5 year tour exemption, 80 World ranking points and 600 Fed Ex Cup points. More importantly this year's winner will gain a 3 year exemption for the US Open, The Open Championship and The Masters. It should therefore come as no surprise that all of the world's top stars will partake in what should be a brilliant weekend's golf. Most top firms are offering 10 places this week, therefore we are going to give 2 selections as usual and an outsider that we feel may sneak into the top 10 at a big price. I found it very hard to narrow down this week's field but in the end I felt our strongest selection should be Patrick Cantlay. Patrick is now one of the most consistent players on the Pga Tour. In his last 8 starts he has finished outside the top 17 on just one occasion. His last 6 tournaments have yielded 15-3-2-13-17-1 finishes. Cantlay currently lies in second position in the Fed Ex Cup rankings following this good run of form. He had been known as an underachiever for a while now but he finally seems to be getting his act together. It was often a given that Cantlay would make a bogey if he missed the green but not anymore. In the past 18 months he has improved his short game dramatically and even more so in 2021 where he sits in 5th in the rankings for shots gained around the green. At 22/1 Cantlay should give you a good run for your money this weekend. Our second selection this week is going to be the winner of this event in 2018, Webb Simpson. Another consistent golfer over the past few years, Simpson carries plenty of appeal this week. Since the start of 2020 Simpson has played 23 Pga events. He has missed only 2 cuts and has finished in the top 10 on 12 occasions, winning twice. The American took this course apart in winning the 2018 renewal, leading by 7 after 54 holes before showing excellent course management to win by 4. His defense the following year saw him finish in 16th where he again finished under par in all four rounds. He warmed up for another crack at this event with a 6th place finish at the Workday two weeks ago and he should be thereabouts again come Sunday evening. Finally for this week we are going to select a big outsider with 10 places available. For this selection I have chosen a player I think is going under the radar a small bit in Francesco Molinari. The Italian is now over his slump that began in 2019 following his devastating collapse at The Masters. Leading for most of the tournament he found the water at 12 and 15 which saw him drop to 5th, finishing 2 shots behind Tiger. Molinari's game went off the rails in the following months as he struggled with the devastation of that ordeal. He would only play 6 tournaments in 2020 as he moved his family from London to Los Angeles in the midst of the pandemic. He did show signs of rejuvenation towards the back end of the year with finishes of 22-23-15 from his final 5 appearances. He has continued to show good signs of improvement again this year with 3 top 10 finishes from 8 events, including eight place finishes at both the Genisis and The American Express. He did miss the cut last week after a disastrous first round 78 but with decent course form around here that wouldn't really worry me. Between 2014 and 2017 he had three consecutive top 10's around Sawgrass and with 10 places available I think he is worth a very small investment this weekend.

Prediction: Patrick Cantlay (each way) 22/1 (LOST)

Webb Simpson (each way) 20/1 (LOST)

Francesco Molinari (each way) 90/1 (LOST)

Side Note: Prices given are with firms paying 10 places. Some firms are offering bigger odds for 8 places and win only markets

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Masters

- Thursday 08/04 -

Recap:

I must start this week with a few words on Jordan Spieth. It's fair to say that all fans of the game were truly delighted to see him return to the winner’s enclosure once again. Having fallen out of the world's top 50 in January of this year, he can only be admired for the way he has resurrected his career. Like Jesus, it was fitting that he rose from the dead on Easter Sunday. With recent results of 9-48-4-15-2-4 he was a deserving winner. One would have to feel sorry for Charlie Hoffman who finished second but needed to win to gain entry to this week's Master's (where he would have been everyone's bet to be first round leader). Our 3 picks Van Rooyen, Conners and Griffin all finished in the top 30, with the first two unfortunately finishing just outside the each way money in a tie for 14th on 6 under par.

The Master's:

The most exciting weekend of the year for all golf fans is upon us once again. Augusta is simply one of the most anticipated sports events on any sports fans calendar. The week’s event promises to be extra special with so many of the world's top players in excellent form. DJ is the current holder of the green jacket having blitzed the field in November to win with a record -20. I would bet my house (if I owned one) that we won't see a score anywhere as low this time around. The folks at Augusta take great pride in how difficult the course is and will not have taken kindly to seeing their pride and joy being taken apart last year. In fact history backs this up as on both occasions previously when the course was torn asunder (Tiger with a score of -18 in 97 and Spieth with -18 in 2015), the course played much harder the following year. In 98 Mark O Meara won with -9 and in 2016 Danny Willet did likewise with a score of -5. My gut feeling is we will see something similar this week.

Bryson is the current market leader at 8/1 as he was in November. However his record at Augusta just doesn't add up to his price. In his four previous appearances he has not finished inside the top 20 so I am very happy to oppose him. Of the rest near the top of the market I would heavily favour Justin Thomas over both DJ and Rahm. Thomas in particular is very interesting at 10/1. He has steadily improved with each appearance here with finishing positions of 39-22-17-12-4. He recently won at Sawgrass which is often a good guide to Augusta. He looks highly likely to be involved but I wouldn't describe 10/1 as a value bet with 10 places available on the each way market. However if forced to pick someone from the win only market, he would be my selection.

Picks:

For our first selection we are going to side with a past champion in Patrick Reed. Not everyone's cup of tea due to is unsportsmanlike conduct, he is very hard to ignore this week. I have kept a close eye on him over the past couple of weeks and I am of the opinion he is going to peak this weekend. His usually excellent short game hasn't been up to scratch of late but the 2018 Champion will have worked hard on solving this issue over the past 2 week's. He has an excellent record at Augusta and his last three finishes here have results of 10-36-1. He recent form, although not outstanding is not bad with finishes of 22-MC-9-1 from his last four starts. Reed is described by many as a shady character due to his college golf career where he was accused of consistently breaking rules during qualifying campaigns as well as taking items from his team mates lockers (something which he has always denied). He may or may not have great morals but there is no denying that when in the mood he is one of golf's elite stars. At odds of 28/1, I feel he may be the forgotten man this weekend as he goes in search of his second Green Jacket.

Our next pick is going to be a man at the top of his game right now in Daniel Berger. Tied for 9th in his last start at Sawgrass, he looks excellent each way value at 33/1. He has only played Augusta on three occasions, with his best finish coming on his debut here 2016 when he finished 10th. He also finished 27th in 17 and 32nd in 18 which shows he is well capable of navigating this difficult course. In his own words he is "now a much better player" than when he last played here and the stats back up this theory. Berger has only missed three cuts from his last 27 stroke play starts over the last 16 months. In this time frame he has won twice, had a further 6 top 5 finishes, 4 more top 10's and 8 further top 25's. He is simply playing at the top of his game at this moment in time. His last 6 tournament's alone have resulted in one win and 3 top 10's including a recent 9th place finish at The Player's Championship which is often another good guide to The Master's. Like so many past winners of the Green Jacket he has grown up and attended college in the South East. He will never be in better form entering The Master's and at the odds he is definitely worth considering this weekend.

Our final selection is another consistent player that brings potential over experience. The payer in question is Scottie Scheffler who continues to impress me on a weekly basis. Scottie who somehow (and maybe worryingly) is still a maiden on the Pga Tour, finished in 19th last year on his debut appearance at Augusta. The 24 year old is part of a golden generation of young golfers coming through at the moment alongside Morikawa (who also has strong claims this week) and Hovland. Much of his early resume mirrors that of Jordan Spieth albeit without the wins. Both hail from Texas, both were U. S amateur champions and both have won rookie of the year in their first full year on the Pga Tour. In fact on his first full year on tour in 2020 he showed all his potential with 7 top 10 finishes from 23 events. This included 4th place finishes at both the Pga Championship and The Northern Trust where he became just the 12th player to shoot a sub 60 round on the Pga Tour when he shot 59 in his second round. He didn't have the best of times last weekend but I am willing to forgive him for that. Prior to last week he finished second at the matchplay following on from his 5th place finish at the WGC Workday. He currently ranks in the top 25 this season in driving accuracy, hitting greens in regulation and strokes gained around the green which are the 3 most important stats for winning a Master's. I feel his game is well suited to Augusta as he showed in his debut performance in November and at 35/1 I feel he has as good a chance as anyone this weekend.

Novelty Bets:

As it is The Masters we are going to give 3 fun bets to keep you interested throughout the weekend. We are going to give these in the form of a patent which is a multiple bet wherein seven bets are placed on 3 different selections. It consists of 3 singles, 3 doubles and a treble/accumulator. So if one leg wins you will at least get a small return. A €1 patent will cost you €7, a €2 will cost you €14 etc. Should all 3 selections win our patent will return €184.25 per €1 stake.

Selection 1: Matt Kuchar Top 20 finish 11/4

Massively over priced, Kuchar missed the cut at last years Master's when struggling for form. His game is currently in a healthy place at the moment with a recent 3rd place finish at the match play and a 12th place finish at last week's Texas Open. He has very good masters form including a 12th in 2019, 4th in 2017 and 3 straight top 8 finishes between 2012 and 2014 (3-8-5).

Selection 2: Rory McIlroy Top European Player 9/2

This may seem mad but this could be the week for Rory to end his Masters hoodoo. The same media pressure and talk about whether he can complete the grand slam of majors doesn't seem to be there this year. Although he is struggling with his game he still has 2 top 10 finishes from his last 3 starts so all is not as bad as it seems. His last 7 starts at Augusta have results of 5-21-5-7-10-4-8 which really puts the myth that he struggles at Augusta to bed.

Selection 3: Cameron Smith to miss the cut 4/1

Again this might seem crazy as the Aussie has been in decent form recently and finished 2nd to DJ last year. However conditions will be much different this year while history also isn't on his side. Players who finish second here have traditionally struggled the following year in recent times. In two of Smith's previous four appearances at Augusta he finished 51st in 2019 and 55th in 2016 when he shot 15 over par. With this years tournament more likely to mirror 2016 than 2020 as previously referenced earlier it may not play to Smiths strengths.

Prediction:

Patrick Reed (each way) 28/1 placed 

Daniel Berger (each way) 33/1 lost

Scottie Scheffler (each way) 35/1 lost

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Golf 15/04

Recap:

Hideki Matsuyama may not have been on everyone's shortlist at the Master's but he proved to be a very popular winner. Hideki literally carry's the weight of a nation on his shoulders as the Japanese people love their golf. Some of the videos are worth checking out after his second went in the water at 16 on Sunday's back 9 as his followers feared the worst. It was ironic that a par 5 nearly ruined his tournament as previous to Sundays back 9, Hideki had played the par 5's in 11 under par. Xander Schauffele threatened to come with a late flurry of birdies and after finding one on 12,13,14 and 15 to go with the two he had earlier found on 7 and 8 he looked to be in position should Hideki make one more error. However a triple boggie at 16 (Xander's first in a major) all but ended his chances. Our selections were never truly involved although Patrick Reed did collect the each way money with an 8th place finish. Scottie Scheffler finished in a tie for 18th and Daniel Berger missed the cut by one stroke as he couldn't eliminate the errors as he made 7 boggies and 2 doubles over the opening 36 holes.

Rbc-Heritage:

This week's action comes from the Harbour Town Golf Links in South Carolina. The Heritage as it is commonly known is the only Pga event to be held in South Carolina. The course plays as one of the shortest layouts on tour which is countered by tight fairways on which there is very little room for error. The greens (which will play very fast) are much smaller than the normal greens on tour which puts a massive emphasis this week on accuracy over length. Webb Simpson is the defending champion having held of the challenge of Abraham Ancer in last summers rescheduled event. Simpson was also a runner up here in 2013 and will be in confident mood having shown promising signs in recent weeks that his game is in good shape . DJ heads the market at 10/1 and although he is the best player in the field and a local man, I don't think this course will suit him. Of those at the top of the market, Collin Morikawa could offer some value at 16/1 as his excellent iron play should see him excel around the small greens.

Our first selection this week will be the 2015 runner up and proud local man Kevin Kisner. He has also finished in 11th here in 2017 and 7th in 2018 before missing last year's cut. It should come as no surprise that Kisner plays well around here as it is designed by Pete Dye. He has a strong record at courses designed bye Dye. Austin CC where the match play is held and where Kisner excels is also designed by Dye as is Sawgrass, where Kisner also performs well. Kevin missed the cut at last week's Master's but that would not worry me as he has proved many times that Augusta's length simply does not play to his strengths. He has previously spoken of his love for this course. Speaking in 2019 he said "it's great to come back to my home state and get to play here. I love the golf course. I love the area. I spent a lot of time here in my youth so I am familiar with it. I feel confident around this course".

2021 has been a bit hit and miss for Kisner. Having made 9 top 20 finishes last year he has only managed one so far this year (at the match play) from eight events. He was in contention at the WGC Workday before shooting 80 on day 3 to end his chances. He also shot - 12 and - 14 respectively at the Sony Open and the Sentry Tournament (results which are not all that bad). A return to his hometown could see Kisner contend again this weekend. At odds of 60/1, I feel he is a little overlooked in the market at a course he has proved well capable of negotiating on more than one occasion in the past.

Our second selection this week is a player with endless potential in Si Woo Kim. The 25 year old Korean showed the world his outstanding talent in 2017 when he became the youngest ever winner of the WGC-Players at the tender age of 21. Previous to that in 2012, Kim became the youngest ever player to graduate from the Pga Tour's Qualifying School at just 17 years of age. Kim didn't earn his Tour card until 2016 but once he did he wasted little time in announcing himself as he found the winners enclosure at the Wyndham Classic.

Kim needs to make hay while the sun shines as like all Korean men aged 18-28, he is obliged to complete two years of military duty. The one and only way Kim can get out of this duty is by winning an Olympic medal. Therefore I can only assume Kim has this summers Olympic Games high up on his agenda.

Similar to Kisner, Kim has unfinished business at this course having finished runner up here in 2018 where four straight misses inside 10 feet on the back 9 severely cost him. His game is currently in a good place entering this week's event following last week's 12th place finish at The Master's despite putting with a 3 wood for his last 5 holes on Friday. He also finished 23rd at the Texas Open and 9th at The Player's in recent weeks to go with his win at the American Express in January. Kim is currently playing very steady golf and with this week's course to suit his excellent short game he should give us a good run for our money at 40/1.

I found it very hard to narrow down our final selection. Former winner Branden Grace caught my eye at 60/1 as did the previously mentioned Morikawa at 16/1 and last year's runner up in Ancer at 30/1. However I am going to go for Kevin Na at 35/1. This course is simply made for short hitters like Kevin. He has also proved he is capable of turning up here and performing after a good week at Augusta as he finished 4th here in 2016 and 10th two year's ago. Kevin hit 3 over on day 1 of last weeks Master's but recovered to finish in 12th position. He has also won this year at the Sony Open and had a 11th place finish at the Workday.

Although he is known for his slow play, Kevin has a sense of humor that appears nothing short of fast. In 2011, Na made an infamous 16 at the par 4 ninth hole at the Texas Open. It was at the time the highest ever score recorded on any hole on the Pga Tour. The following year Na returned to the hole with a chainsaw to cut down the tree that he could simply not negotiate on his way to that 16. Kevin's slow play could also play to our advantage if he is to be in the mix come Sunday. His playing partners often lose focus due to their sheer frustration at how slow he plays. In fact, a study carried out in 2014 showed that between 2012 and 2014 players that played with Na shoot 0.5 strokes higher on average than they normally shoot. Kevin has spoken quite a bit about backing up victories and turning top 10 finishes in to wins. With a decent course record and his game currently in a very health state this will be a tournament that Na will see as an opportunity to add to his win at the Sony Open.

Prediction: (8 places available most firms)

Kevin Kisner (each way) 60/1 lost

Si Woo Kim (each way) 40/1 lost

Kevin Na (each way) 35/1 lost

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Austrian Open 15/04

The European Tour resumes this week at the Diamond Country Club near Vienna in Austria. This will be the 22nd edition of the tournament that was first won by Bernhard Langer in 1990. It will be the 11th consecutive year the the Diamond Club will host this event. Marc Warren will look to defend his title having won last year's rescheduled event last July, which ended a six year barren spell for the Scot on The European Tour. This tournament entered the history books in 2018 when it became the first professional tournament to use a shot clock on every shot. Players were given a 50 seconds shot allowance off the tee with a 40 second time cap for an approach shot, chip or putt. Any player who failed to play inside the allotted time limits received an automatic one shot penalty.

Our one and only selection for this tournament will be local man Matthias Schwab. He will be attempting to become the 3rd Austrian to win this event following the success of Mathius Brier on three occasions and 2012 champion Bernd Wiesberger. Schwab comes from a good sporting background. His father Andreas, who recently retired from his job as an executive for Adidas represented Austria in the bobsleigh at the Winter Olympics. An accomplished skier in his own right, Schwab has gone from strength to strength on The European Tour since joining it in 2018. In his first year on tour he had 4 top 10 finishes and finished a respectable 72nd in the Race To Dubai. In 2019 he finished 17th having managed 10 top 10 finishes on tour which was the most of any player that season. In 2020 Matthias played between the Pga Tour (where his best finish was 4th at the WGC-HSBC Championship, behind McIlroy and Shauffele) and The European Tour where his best finish from four events came at The Alfred Dunhill Championship (13th).

This year, the Austrian has concentrated on The European Tour and currently lies in 43rd position in The Race To Dubai standings, having played only six tournaments. He has made six cuts from these six event's, with 2 top 10 finishes including in his last appearance when he finished 7th at the Kenya Open. This week's field isn't the strongest (even by European Tour standard's). He missed last year's event due to quarantine rules and he has finished 32nd here in 2019 (when he hit a 75 in his final round) and 12th in 2018 from his previous two appearances. A keen blogger (check them out on twitter) his game is currently in a good place. At 16/1, it would be fitting for Schwab to gain his first professional win this week in his hometown tournament.

Prediction:

Matthias Schwab (each way) 16/1. (7 places available with most firms) placed

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Zurich Classic:

The Zurich Classic of New Orleans at TPC Louisiana returns this week for its fourth edition in this format having previously been played as a regular stroke play event. This is the only two man team event on tour making it a truly unique event. The tournament which was revitalised in 2017 will be played in the format of both Fourballs (both players play their own ball until it is in the cup, with the best score counting) on Thursday and Saturday and Foursomes (where players take it in turns to hit every second shot) on Friday and Sunday. Following the opening two rounds only 35 of the 80 competing teams will remain in the competition. The winning team will bag a cool $1,069,300 per man as well as a two year tour exemption and 400 Fed Ex Cup points. As this is not a regular stroke play tournament my advice is to take a cautious approach as it can lead to very unpredictable results. The course is another designed by Pete Dye so form at both Sawgrass and last weeks RBC Heritage can provide some clues as to how players perform on this sort of course.

Jon Rahm and Ryan Palmer return to defend the title they won in 2019 and currently lead the market at 15/2. The star pairing in the field is undoubtedly Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay but at odds of 8/1, they are just too short for my liking. From the rest at the top end of the market the best value in my view may lie in in-form Aussie pair Cameron Smith and Marc Leishman at a general 11/1. From a win only perspective they would be my favorite at them prices. However I am not one for taking short prices in golf tournaments and especially in a unique tournament such as this so I am reluctantly passing them over.

Instead for our first selection we are going to go with the Billy Horshel/Sam Burns combination. Hopefully this will not go the way Billy Burns kick went in the 80th minute of Ireland's recent Rugby International with Wales when he failed to find touch (the golf equivalent of missing a putt within a foot of the cup). If ever a player fits the saying off 'horses for courses' it's Horshel. When Billy takes a liking to a course he performs more often than not. His first individual win came here in 2013 before winning the team event in 2018 to become the first player to hold both individual and team title's in this tournament. There is a saying in golf that when Billy is hot you should get on. Well Billy is hot right now. In recent weeks he has won a Matchplay title, finished in a tie for second at the WGC Workday, tied for 4th at the Mayakoba, 7th at the Sony open and another top 25 finish at last week's Heritage. This style of tournament also suits Billy. He finished 13th here when defending his title alongside Scott Piercy in 2018 and although this is not a matchplay situation at which he excels it has many similarities. In his college days, Horshel was a 3 time first-team All American at the University of Florida where he developed a love for team golf. His partner this week Sam Burns was another All American and similar to Horshel won a National Player of the Year. Burns who is having his best year on tour to date is a perfect partner for Billy. He is very close to a first victory having held the lead at 3 different tournaments this year. He is also a former prodigy and friend of former LSU great and Zurich Champion David Tom's. Both are natives of Louisiana and a win in his hometown this week would be very special for both men.

Our second selection this week is going to be two life long friends in South African pairing Louis Oosthuizen and Charl Schwartzel. In the 2017 edition of this event, Oosthuizen finished in 24th position playing alongside Branden Grace before teaming up with his great friend to finish 3rd in 2018. They did miss the cut here in 2019 but as we all know, Schwartzel was really struggling with his game at the time. Simply put there is no other pairing in this field that will be as familiar with each other as these two are which gives them an automatic edge on the field. As far back as 2011 these two finished in 12th position in the World Cup of Golf. They have also played together in 4 President Cups. Both have major wins in the bag and 14 professional wins worldwide. Oosthuizen has spoken about how "sweet" it would be if they could win this tournament together. Schwartzel has been in decent form in recent weeks having made the cut in his last 3 tournaments including finishing alongside Oosthuizen in a tie for 26th at The Master's. Oosthuizen, himself has been ticking along nicely in recent times with finishes of 41st at the Players, 11th at the Phoenix Open, 29th at the Farmer's and 6th at the WGC Workday to go with his 26th at The Master's in his last 5 events. Familiarity breeds contempt and they're simply will be no pairing in this field as familiar with each others game this weekend as the South African duo.

For our final selection we decided that due to the unpredictable nature of this tournament it would be no harm to have an 'outsider' pairing on our ticket. We have decided to go for Team Europe with the pairing of Thomas Pieters and Tom Lewis. Both have been playing very steady golf in recent months and they may be a little under estimated in the market. Lewis turned pro in September 2011 and within a month gained his first victory at the Portugal Master's. He looked destined for stardom at just 20 years of age however this would not be the case. In the next few year's he struggled with his game and by 2016 he had lost his European Tour card. This was the wake up call he needed as he regained his card in 2017. By the end of 2018 he had won the Bridgestone Challenge and a second Portugal Master's title to get his career back on track. In 2019 he set sail for America where he won the Korn Ferry Tour Championship to earn his Pga card. His best finish on tour to date was a 3rd place finish behind Justin Thomas at The WGC-St Jude Invitational last August. Lewis, who has made the cut in his last 4 appearance including finishing 25th at last week's Heritage and a 14th place finish at Pebble Beach is clearly in very good form. He finished 11th in scrambling last week and 14th for greens in regulation both of which are very important at this week's course. Pieters who has four wins on The European Tour has also been in very good form this year. Always a great innovator, Pieters learned to speak English by watching the TV show Friends. As a child Pieters would go to his local club and dig golf balls out of the water before selling them to club members. On the playing front he is playing excellent golf at the moment. In his last 5 starts alone he has 4 top 15 finishes at The Qatar Master's, The Saudi International, The Puerto Rico Open and The Corales Puntacana Championship. Two excellent ball strikers and two brilliant players around the greens are what this tournament requires. Both Lewis and Pieters have this in abundance. If they can take advantage of the excellent positions they will find themselves in this weekend, there is no reason why they cannot gain that breakthrough win on the Pga Tour.

Selections:

Billy Horshel/Sam Burns (each way) - 25/1 - 7 places- placed

Louis Oosthuizen/Charl Schwartzel (each way) - 33/1 - 7 places- placed

Thomas Pieters/Tom Lewis (each way) - 55/1 - 7 places--lost

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UFC

UFC 261 - Saturday/Sunday 16-17/04 (time zone dependent).

The UFC has had an incredible year. As we all know, the world of sport came to an abrupt halt during the start of the pandemic and TV channels around the globe scrambled to the archives to put on ever grainier footage of a bygone era of sport. The fans were placated, for now.

But after months of reruns the world had had enough. Whether it was a dedication to the sport, or a sweet song to Lady Capitalism, Dana White stood up and cast off the shackles of restrictions and stepped forth into the unknown, bringing carnage to the masses in a time when we needed carnage the most.

This Saturday/Sunday (depending what time zone you’re watching from) the carnage will be witnessed once again, for the first time in nearly a year, to an arena full of excited fight fans. It should be noted that this is happening in a state that, if questionable decisions were a currency, would be the wealthiest place on Earth. I’m talking of course, about Florida. But kudos to the UFC for pulling it off.

Now, enough horn tootin’, time for the ass bootin’.

Working our way up the main card we have Anthony Smith (#6) vs Jimmy Crute (#13). Anthony is definitely a veteran of the sport and has had more losses than Jimmy has had professional fights. With the win/loss ratio between the two this fight feels like it might be the passing of the torch from the old guard to the new. Crute is very much aware that this is a huge opportunity to move up in the rankings and if he puts an end to Smith’s modelling career in doing so, then so be it.

Next up is Uriah Hall (#9) vs Chris Weidman (#11). The odds are tipped ever so slightly in Weidman’s favour which I suspect is down to his victory over Hall a decade ago, but the oddsmakers never forget. If you’re looking to bolster an accumulator, I believe Hall is the man for the job. Weidman’s chin failed him in the recent past, and Uriah will be keen to exploit that.

The first of 3 (THREE!) title fights of the night; Valentina Shevchenko (c) vs Jéssica Andrade (#1). Andrade looks to have found her natural weight class at flyweight, but unfortunately for her there’s an unstoppable, Terminatoresque figure that has been sat atop the mountain that is the flyweight division since 2018; and she is not going to give up the belt easily (or rather, at all). Jéssica is sure to make it competitive, but I think the champ retains the title.

The penultimate fight on the card sees Rose Namajunas (#1) try to wrestle the belt from Zhang Weili (c). The fight has been marred by the 1950s anti-communist rhetoric that had me checking if I was actually in 2021 or in an episode of the Twilight Zone where we were stuck in a time warp. Either way, Rose (USA) came back strong from her horrific defeat and looked better than ever, but alas, it is my humble belief that the Pride of China takes the W.

AAAAAND now, this is the moment you’ve all been waiting for. Kamaru Usman (c) vs Jorge Masvidal (4) 2. Bad blood maketh the fight. Masvidal is a force to be reckoned with, and the big question mark over everyone’s head is how does having a full camp affect this fight instead of 6 days notice? Another thing to note is that this will be the first fight in over a year where the crowd will play a role, and they are very clearly rooting for their fellow Floridian. Masvidal has promised to bring extreme violence on the night and I look forward to seeing what that entails. That said, the Nigerian Nightmare is not one to be intimidated by one, or thousands; and I think he brings the tools to the octagon to crucify Street Jesus on the night.

Our picks: Kamaru Usman (1/4), Zhang Weili (1/2), Shevchenko (1/4), Uriah Hall (EVS), Crute (1/2). 

Quick caveat: I have put my money where my mouth is, however one of the things that makes MMA so very exciting is the fact that anything can happen, and there are no sure things.

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July 11th. Las Vegas. UFC 264.

From one wild desert city that sprung from nothing to another, the UFC certainly seems to have a type.

UFC 264 sees the trilogy and conclusion of the McGregor v Poirier saga, but before we get to the main course let's have a look at some of the entrées, shall we?

The first dollop of drama comes in the form of the opening fight on the main card. Louis Smolka dropped out of his bantamweight bout against the rainbow-headed Sean O'Malley due to a staph infection, and we were left wondering who could fill the void? Would we be deprived of the Sugar Show?

The fighters lined up like maidens trying to squeeze into the glass slipper held by Prince Charming, looking to find the perfect match; and apparently that came in the form of Kris Moutinho, who I feel has a mountain to climb for his first fight in the promotion and will be finishing his UFC debut with a loss - as long as O'Malley is careful on those delicate little ankles of his that is. (O'Malley to win: 1/9)

The co-main event sees Gilbert Burns take on Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson. Wonderboy walks out to Tenacious D's song of the same name, and if that's not enough to win you over, then you have a heart of stone encased in a block of ice.

He has the style and length to stay on the outside and away from Burns' impeccable strength, which will force Burns to reach in with mega hooks, or grind for takedowns which should be no problem for the granite-jawed, karate-kicking Thompson. (Thompson to win: 4/6)

And so we are brought to the main event, that rarest of things, a trilogy. While many are saying that McGregor will make the necessary adjustments to win, the reality is that it's hard to adjust to getting knocked unconscious. There's been no preparation fight in the meantime to get the confidence back, and once that confidence goes, the beast's claws are a little blunter, the growl a little tamer, the bite a little softer.

Dustin seems to be hungrier for it. In the last fight he has shown he can eat that big left hand of McGregor. We know he has the stamina to take that pace into the later rounds, which is when Conor's tank starts to run on fumes, but even fumes can give the engine a bit of oomph, so not something I'd want to stand in the way of all the same, least of all when that engine has a desperate point to prove.

Overall, Dustin is more focused and a more well rounded mixed martial artist, and if he can avoid getting one too many clips to the jaw in the 1st and 2nd rounds, I think he has this in the bag. (Poirier to win 4/5)

Now, I know what you're thinking: "this is a measly 2.33/1 treble. Is this really worth my time?"

Well what if I told you there was a dark horse on the preliminary card by the name of Ryan Hall?

Hall, The Wizard, is returning to the Octagon after a 2 year absence due to injury, and faces Ilia Topuria, an undefeated, up and coming prospect. Which all sounds pretty intimidating, until you factor in that Hall had one loss in his pro career in his debut, and has remained undefeated in the 8 fights since.

His win streak includes some notable names, where as Ilia's undefeated record has been against lower tier fighters (and I say this as someone who couldn't beat an egg). So I believe The Wizard shakes off the ring rust and we'll see a little magic on the night. (Hall to win 15/8)

This will bring that little bet right on up to 8.58/1.

As always, I'd like to add the caveat that inside the Octagon, anything can happen, so good luck and happy hunting.

-Jordoplash