Our record over the last two years has been good with victories in 2014 and 2015 so we have been working hard to try and keep the winning streak alive for the best golf tournament in the world
There is no other golf course that every player knows this well. Even if they haven’t played the course before they have played it on line, in a golf net or watched every hole since they were old enough to carry a golf bag. So course knowledge is all about the greens rather than the fairways. Being in the right place on the green to make a putt is the key to success and the various ways to do that is to ensure you are as close to the green as possible when you are hitting your approach or just be better at hitting great approaches or putt lights out for four days. Any two of these three normally gets it done.
So who qualifies in our short list and how do we compile it?
Firstly we need someone who has played well in the last 2 tournaments. Preferably a top ten and certainly a top 20. They need to have done it in America as well. We want length off the tee and surprisingly for an open course we want accuracy as well, it just makes the second shot so much easier if you are in the right place on the short grass, particularly on the par 5’s which are all birdie holes as a minimum and some, definite eagle chances. This is also a tournament, these days, where the best players perform really well. Its a bit like the Grand National since they lowered the fences, no big priced winners and less fallers. So it is with the August greens, they used to be a lottery but now they are slower and fairer because of it, which tells me the new bosses at Augusta are all punters.
So now we start to draw up the likely list and it looks like this : –
Rory McIlroy – he is playing well and no-one currently is hitting it further or straighter. His putting is OK if not dynamic and if he really fires then he could walk it. At 9-1 with William Hill he has to be backed. He has the temperament, a spring in his step and total belief in his ability. 2 units e/w
Adam Scott – everyone said the short putter would kill him, how wrong they were. He seems incredibly happy in his play and is putting as well as ever. Not that his best putting was ever brilliant but he gives himself so many good looks with such accurate wedge play and he has a brain. Frustrating when you back him because you think he should make birdies every hole but don’t worry he gets lots of chances and he’s done it now so the pressure is off. 14-1 with William Hill for 1 unit each way
Dustin Johnson – ohh so long and currently really straight. Has his mental problems but so do most and he looks good at the moment with a 3rd last time out of the box and an impressive 6th last year with one miserable hole when the tournament was his for the taking. He is 20/1 with William Hill and will be hard to keep out of the frame for 1 unit e/w
Ian Poulter – finished 6th last year and was 3rd in a recent tournament. He just needs to believe and if he does it will all fall in to place at a huge price. He can do it all and really gets up for the big ones. He is 150/1 with William Hill for a half unit e/w
That’s our four against the field. These should all give us a good run for our money and a chance to get a good shout in.
Now we look at players we want to be against and they include
- Bubba Watson. 2 times winner but his putting isn’t great at the moment and his game isn’t where it was when we tipped him up two years ago to win. He is too short in our opinion.
- Jason Day – has suffered with his health and didn’t play because of it recently. I’m a layer.
