It’s another big weekend of golf with the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in Monterey and the European Tour’s Joburg Open. Check out the many BETDAQ markets as MIKE YENBLAND breaks down the two events…
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
A little over an hour’s drive south from San Francisco and hugging the rugged cliffs and spectacular coastline of the Monterey Peninsula, Pebble Beach is ranked as America’s No.1 public course.
If you fancy playing the famous 6,816-yards, par-72 links, it will set you back $495 per round.
The links is used for two rounds of the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am which starts on Thursday, with Spyglass Hill and Monterey Peninsula CC’s Shore Courses being used for 18 holes each. The cut comes after 54 holes.
The weather forecast paints a cold and rain-hit weekend but there will be plenty of sunshine from most of the celebrity amateurs, with actors like Bill Murray and athletes such as Aaron Rodgers, Justin Verlander, Wayne Gretzky, Tony Romo and Kelly Slater. Even NFL coaching curmudgeon Bill Belichick might raise a smile.
Defending champion Phil Mickelson (right), a four-time winner here, is the BETDAQ favourite.
‘Lefty’ arrives at this picturesque course following his wire-to-wire victory at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona, where he drove the ball effortlessly and put the ball on the fairway with, for him, alarming consistency (32 of 56 fairways).
His spectacular opening round saw him go agonisingly close to joining only five other players to dip under 60 on the PGA Tour when his 25-foot birdie putt for a spectacular 59 at the par-four ninth, his final hole in the opening round, horseshoed out.
Mickelson, who won by four strokes at the Phoenix Open, is unlikely to suffer from any fatigue so early in the season and while he heads a field of 156 tour pros battling for the $1,152,000 winner’s cheque, he must go on the shortlist at one of his favourite courses.
The strength of his game has always been his iron play and his deadly mid-range putting. Now that he has found a driver that he appears to have fallen in love with – the Callaway RAZR Fit Xtreme driver – which imparts much less spin and allows him to use more loft, Lefty’s confidence is soaring and it would not be surprising to see the 42-year-old add to his four Majors this season.
BETDAQ also offer Top 5 Finish and Top 10 Finish markets and there one potentially decent bet to be struck here.
Brandt Snedeker has been in excellent early-season form, with a third at Kapalua, tied for runner-up behind Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines and a second place finish to Mickelson at Scottsdale.
Up to sixth in the world rankings, largely due to his electrifying putting, he’s naturally among the BETDAQ favourites.
But Snedeker’s record at Pebble Beach is not even enough to tease, much less please. His career best in this tournament is a tie for 21st in 2010 (although he did tie for 8th in the 2010 US Open). He skipped last year, missed the cut in 2011 and in three other starts he has missed the cut (2009), tied 58th (2008) and tied 36th (2007). Despite his recent good form, his record here would suggest he’s a cracking bet to finish outside the Top 5, and should be taken on accordingly.
Dustin Johnson (right) has already won this event twice (2009, 2010) and finished in the top 10 in his six starts at Pebble Beach.
He’s also won on the tour this year at the Hyundai Tournament of Champions and despite a T-51 at the Farmers Insurance Open, his length off the tee and precise iron play to this course’s notoriously small greens mark him as a potential winner again.
Nick Watney recorded five Top 20 finishes in a row – including a T-2 at Torrey Pines – before last week’s 43rd in the Phoenix Open. He finished tied for sixth place at Pebble Beach in 2011 and the local boy will have the crowd behind him. Watney looks a fair bet at a big price to contend.
Padraig Harrington began the 2013 season with a very good T-9 in Arizona and is another who likes this course. The Irishman is attacking the pins more and he has the pedigree to be among the leaders, with three finishes in the top 16 since 2008, including a T-7 showing last year. He’s worth a wager in the BETDAQ Top European Player market.
There are some interesting BETDAQ Tournament Match Bets to get stuck in to. Take Jimmy Walker to beat Aaron Baddeley.
Walker has made 13 cuts in a row, including a T-4 showing at Torrey Pines –and finished T-9 in this event in each of the last two years. Baddeley is coming off a poor showing in Phoenix, which was a little surprising after his 68-69 at Torrey Pines. While he has been inside the top six at Pebble Beach in each of the last two years, Walker is expected to finish in front of the Aussie.
Have a look at BETDAQ’S Two-Balls market on Thursday, where Bob Estes, who rallied with a Sunday 63 at Humana for a T-16 finish in his seasonal debut, might get his nose in front of Rory Sabbatini. Estes has been inside the top 16 in each of three starts at Pebble Beach since 2009, including a T-4 result four years ago.
Joburg Open
The European Tour is back in South Africa on Thursday for the Joburg Open and the home favourites are expected to challenge at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington GC.
Although winless on the European Tour, George Coetzee (right) has been threatening to make a big breakthrough and he’s been in good early-season form, with a T-9 finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship followed by a superb T-2 to Chris Wood at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. That was his third Top 10 finish of the season.
He was tied for 14th in 2011 and tied for seventh in 2012 in this event, and was a good second to Henrik Stenson in the South African Open Championship last year.
South Africa currently has four players under the age of 30 who rank in the world’s top 50: Louis Oosthuizen (fifth), Charl Schwartzel (18th), Branden Grace (29th) and Coetzee (42nd).
Coetzee is going to break his European Tour duck sooner rather than later and he looks a good bet to finish in the Top 10 at worst.
Schwartzel, who tees it up for the first time after six weeks off, heads the BETDAQ outright market from defending champion Grace, but Danny Willett, who recorded top five finishes in 2009 and 2010, could be worth backing again. He heads the BETDAQ Top GB and Ireland Player market with Steve Webster.
Suggestions:
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am
Outright – D. Johnson, N. Watney
Top 5 Finish – B. Snedeker (Lay)
Top 10 Finish – P Mickelson (Back), Bob Estes (Back)
Top European Player – P. Harrington (Back)
Match Bet – J Walker to beat A. Baddeley
Thursday Two-Ball – B. Estes to beat R. Sabbatini
Joburg Open
Outright – G. Coetzee
Top GB & Ireland Player – D. Willett
Did you know that as well as checking the realtime prices on BETDAQ below – you can also log into your account and place your bets directly into BETDAQ from BETDAQ TIPS.
Bet via BETDAQ mobile below
