Golf Betting Tips
The Irish Open, Women's British Open and Greenbrier Classic Golf betting tips
by Ian Hudson
Since 2007 Irish golfers have won six majors between them, an unprecedented number from countries of such small populations. Padraig Harrington was the first to win a major when he won the Open Championship in 2007. He successfully defended that title and then won the US PGA Championship to bring his tally of majors to three.
Graeme McDowell won the US Open in 2010 and Rory McIlroy followed that win by totally annihilating the field in this year's renewal. With all these relatively young fellows doing so well the senior member of the quartet won the British Open 2 weeks ago, namely Darren Clarke.
Each of these major winners is in the field for the Irish Open that is being held at the Killarney Golf Club for the second successive year. Ross Fisher won the tournament last year with a score of 18 under. Harrington scored a 64 in the final round but he still trailed the winner by two shots.
Fisher was 3rd for driving distance and in the same position for hitting greens in regulation. He was also 6th for total putts when he hit the greens in the correct number of shots. Harrington was 23rd for driving distance and 3rd for putts per green hit in regulation. We can conclude that the course favours players with good distance off the tee and decent putting stats.
Harrington is in the top 10 for driving distance and putts when hitting the green in the correct number of shots. He also has course form and before the British Open found some of the form that earned him three majors. He is my pick for this tournament as there are persuasive reasons to swerve the other 3 Irish major champions. Get 1/4 Odds a Place 1,2,3,4,5, & 6 at BoyleSports on The Irish Open.
Rory McIlroy didn't play between the US Open and British Open. He played moderately at Sandwich and I sensed he was not a great fan of links golf. It would take a tremendous effort for Darren Clarke to perform well following the extended celebrations of his Open win. Graeme McDowell played poorly at Sandwich and his recent form suggests he is not ready to win again.
The Women's British Open is usually played on a links course, though the inland course at Sunningdale is also on the rota. Carnoustie will be a tough test for the best female golfers in the world. The weather forecast suggests there will be rain and below average temperatures on Thursday and Friday with some sunshine over the weekend.
Yani Tseng won the championship at Birkdale last year and she is currently number one in the world rankings. She has also won two regular tournaments on the US Tour in the last 4 weeks. Carnoustie is known for its penal rough so the key to scoring well will be hitting the fairways off the tee. Once the fairways have been reached good iron play is required to find the greens in the correct number of shots.
Tseng is rightly the favourite to win the fourth major of the season but I think Cristie Kerr has stronger credentials. Kerr won the US Open in 2007 which is her only major title to date. However, she is a regular contender in the four tournaments that matter. She finished in the top 10 of the last two Opens and has strong stats for the challenge presented by Carnoustie, in the areas of driving accuracy and greens in regulation.
Paula Creamer is also a major champion and has contended for the British Open on several occasions. She has made the cut in the last five tournaments she has played and had a solid week at the Evian Masters last week. Creamer leads the stats for hitting greens in regulation and is 12th for driving accuracy. She is also an excellent scrambler when she calls upon this skill if a green is missed.
The Greenbrier Classic on the US Tour returns to the White Sulphur course in West Virginia which it hosted for the first time last year. That means there is only one year of course form to assess. Stuart Appleby won the tournament last year when a final round 59 meant he came well off the pace to head the leaderboard at the close of play.
Phil Mickelson is the favourite to win this tournament but I think he is a favourite worth opposing. When last seen in competitive play Mickelson was storming up the leader at the Open by playing the front nine of the final round at Sandwich in 30 strokes. However, a lapse of concentration caused him to miss a 2 foot putt and he proceeded to play the back nine in 3 over.
The winning score on the course in 2010 was 22 under. Clearly the tournament developed into a birdiefest so good putters can prosper this week. Brendon de Jonge was five shots behind the winner a year ago. His current form is decent and he is the top 30 for total putts.
Andres Romero is the highest ranked played for total putts of the top 20 players in the betting. He was second in the Canadian Open last week, showing the quality of play that almost won him the Open at Carnoustie in 2007. Romero is a talented player who can apply the strengths of his game to figure over the weekend in this tournament.
Ian Hudson
25th July 2011