In only its’ second year at the London Golf Club, The European Open is probably not the best tournament to use course history as a guide to picking your winner, but that said last years winner Ross Fisher might just be an exception to this rule.  Second last week to another man in great from, Paul Casey, Fisher has the game and the head to repeat last years victory (maybe not so emphatically as 7 shots again) and will no doubt be many pundits fancy this week and looks certain to start as a strong favourite.  That said, he is well worth a punt at anywhere near the 10/1 mark as if he were more renowned you would probably be looking at him going off around the 5/1 mark.

With the obvious pick now out of the way we can have a look at trying to find a bigger priced winner.  With three second places already this year and an eleventh place last week (which included a second round 77), talented Spaniard Gonzalo Fdez-Castano is well worth an e/w bet at anywhere around the 40/1 mark.  Despite a T59 finish here last year, his first round 4-under par 68 shows that he can score on this course if he puts his mind to it, and his 4 previous wins on the European Tour show that he can also handle the pressure associated with going well in a tournament.  With so many of the big names over in the US this week (including man of the moment Paul Casey) and so few of the ‘big names’ currently playing well I think he offers a great each-way bet and if he gets off to a good start I expect him to be there or thereabouts.

In the spirit of all good things coming in 3’s I am going to throw in Soren Hansen around the 40/1 mark again.  Although I usually like to throw in a big-priced player as my final selection, no-one really jumps out at me, so I shall so with the stats, and a T21 last week and T5 here last year is good enough for Hansen to get the nod over the rest.  That said I may still have something small on Paul McGinley at bigger odds as he can play here and it’s always nice to have the added interest of backing a home player.

This year’s Masters promises to be an absolute cracker, with Woods returning to form and so many of the top ten showing signs of form in recent weeks.  My only regret writing this is that I have been on holidays and had every intention of talking up Paul Casey’s chance before he won last week, but with his price now demolished and the chances of back-to-back wins so small I am going to overlook Casey as I try and repeat last year’s winning selection of Trevor Immelman.

Obviously Woods is the first name that jumps out at you but I still find it hard to ‘tip’ a golfer that is such a strong favourite (even if he does win).  Other obvious picks are Phil Mickelson, who has a great record at Augusta, and Padraig Harrington who is looking for his third major in a row and showed good form last week.  However, it is these three that top the market and for this reason I am going to look elsewhere.

On the back of a good week last time out in Houston, world number 13, Lee Westwood at 50/1 shall be my bet of the week.  Tied 11th here last time along with this tied third in the US Open last year, Westwood has shown that he has the mental capability to perform at a high level in major competitions.  If any further proof is needed then a look at his Ryder Cup record will show that he can beat the best.  His stroke average for 2009 so far is 70.04, the lowest of his career so far, and although the year is only 4 months old, a repeat of this average should see him sneak into a place (especially here as we are going 6 places) and a repeat of last week’s form (excluding his final round) should see him battling for the top spot, even if Tiger is on form.  For a small e/w bet I am also going to have a look at Louis Oosthuizen, whose form this season has been incredible and simply cannot be overlooked, especially at a whopping 150/1.

As always in the majors, there are plenty of extra markets to get the juices flowing and they have often come as a saviour to many a discerned punter.  For those who can’t see past a Woods victory but still fancy a winner at a big price, there is the W/O Woods market to have a look at.  The market that jumps out at me is Top Us player W/O Woods, with Mickelson heading the market at 2/1.  Although he is clearly a valid favourite on his course form, recent efforts have not been so great and with the market offering 4 places, there is still hope in making some profit even if he does show up.  One player who jumps out at me in this market is Pat Perez.  Currently  8th in the FedEx Cup standings, Perez is a player at the top of his game and when you look at some of the names ahead of him in the market (Couples and Perry spring to mind), in my opinion he is far too big a price and I would be truely surprised if he did not give you a decent run for your money.  With 1/4 the odds for the first four places, Perez at 40/1 represents a great opportunity to pick up some profit for the week.

After some success in recent weeks, the hunt for a decent Masters bankroll continues with the Madeira Island Open in Europe and the Transitions Championship in the US.  With many of the big names playing in the Tavistock Cup, both tournaments are wide open and this notion is mirrored in the betting with 14/1 and 12/1 favourites respectively (as I type), so we again find ourselves with a great opportunity of finding a big priced winner.  Unfortunately, some of the previous posts were mysteriously erased over Cheltenham, but I have been assured that this will not happen again, so here’s hoping that these words are not in vain again…

We shall start by taking a look at the Madeira Open in Spain, being played on the Seve Ballesteros designed Porto Santo course.  The fact that the event was moved from Santo De Serra renders the tournaments previous results pretty much useful and paves the way for those players in good form or from the surrounding area when making your selection.  That said, the two names that jump out at me are Rafael Cabrera Bello and Ignacio Garrido.  At 25/1 and 28/1 they find themselves firmly at the top of the market but you would be unlucky if you did not get a decent run for your money from at least one of them.  Both have been performing consistently all season and their top ten finishes in recent weeks should stand them well as they compete on familiar soil for the first time this year.  If 28/1 is still too short for you and you fancy having a cheeky go on an outsider then I suggest you take a look at Jean van de Velde at 100/1.  His 5 over par, tied 64th last time out might not exactly jump out of the page at you but with 3 steady rounds of 72, 71 and 69, a top ten finish was not out of the question if you overlook his third round 81.  Given the Frenchman’s history for erratic play this is perhaps expected, but 4 steady rounds this week could see very well see van de Velde in contention come Sunday, and at 100/1 he is perhaps a bit overpriced.

Across the water in America, the first name that jumps out is John Senden, who has finished 2nd here the last two years, and at a price of 50/1 this is form that cannot be ignored.  Pre-tournament favourite is Jim Furyk at 12/1 and although a very obvious pick, his proven track record when in form on US soil means that he will be my big bet this week.  Of the outsiders who have a good chance, I would lean towards DJ Trahan for much the same reason as I did for van de Velde - bar his opening round 77 he would have been battling for a top ten spot, and although this may not seem like title winning form, the fact that the majority of those players that made up that top ten are not playing, his price of 66/1 means that even a place will leave you in profit for the week.

after a great day for the irish at cheltenham on tuesday with four winners lets see if we can help you all reinvest wisely on wednesday!

NATIONAL HUNT CHASE

THE AMATEUR 4 MILE CHASE KICKS US OFF TODAY.AND I AM GOING FOR KORNATI KID HERE AT 8/1.HE IS A VERY SOUND JUMPER AND WILL GET EVERY YARD OF THE 4 MILES HERE AND THE BOOKING OF ROBBIE MCNAMARA HERE INCREASES CONFIDENCE.

BALLYMORE NOVICE HURDLE

I’M EXPECTING A VERY BIG SHOW HERE FROM A VERY BIG HORSE MAD MAX IS ABOUT 18 HANDS AND HE HAS LOOKED AWESOME SO FAR I CAN SEE THIS CHAP ONE DAY LINING UP IN A GOLD CUP AND 6/1 LOOKS A VERY FAIR PRICE COMING FROM A YARD IN GREAT FORM.

SUN ALLIANCE CHASE

I LIKE THE LOOK OF CARRUTHERS HERE AFTER A VERY GOOD FRONT RUNNING PERFORMANCE AT ASCOT HE WILL GET EVERY YARD OF THE TRIP HERE AND IF ALLOWED TO DICTATE THINGS FROM THE FRONT END THE 11/2 ABOUT HIM EVEN HAS ME PULLING UP THE FLOOR BOARDS TO DIP INTO THE RAINY DAY MONEY!

CHAMPION CHASE

WHAT CAN WE SAY ABOUT MASTER MINDED THAT HAS NOT ALREADY BEEN SAID THIS LAD COULD FALL AND STILL WIN.SO FOR A BET HERE WE NEED TO LOOK IN THE BETTING WITHOUT MARKET AND WELL CHIEF AT 4/1 COULD BE A STEAL. SURELY IF HE WASNT SHOWING HIS OLD SPARKLE AT POND HOUSE THEY WOULD NOT CONTEMPLATE RUNNING HIM HERE.

CORAL CUP

I COULD SEE THIS EVENT GOING TO SEVEN BARROWS THE POLOMOCHE SHOWED HIS WELL BEING IN A RECENT GALLOP AT KEMPTON WITH BINOCULAR AND NICKY HAS HAD THIS RACE AS HIS TARGET ALL YEAR AND 10/1 IS INVITING ME IN HERE.

FRED WINTER HURDLE 

ALEXANDER SEVERUS HAS BEN THE SUBJECT OF HEAVY SUPPORT SINCE HIS EYECATCHING RUN AT LEOPARDSTOWN AND IN WHAT LOOKS ONE OF THE WEAKEST RACES AT THE FESTIVAL I COULD SEE PLENTY OF IRISH PUNTERS REINVESTING IN THIS CHAP 5/1 AVAILABLE AT THE MOMENT SHOULD BE TAKEN AS I CAN SEE THIS FELLOW GOING TO POST AS SHORT AS 5/2.

CHAMPION BUMPER

AND NO LADS ITS NOT A QUESTION OF WHICH ONE OF WILLIES WINS HERE ITS A QUESTION OF HOW FAR DUNGUIB WINS HERE A PROPER HORSE TRAINED BY PHILP FENTON WHO KNOWS WHAT IT TAKES TO PREPARE A CHELTENHAM WINNER AFTER BEING WITH EDDIE O’GRADY FOR SO MANY YEARS.PHILIP HAS NOT TRIED TO HIDE HIS ADMIRATION FOR THIS HORSE AND AFTER A SPARKLING PIECE OF WORK LAST WEEK THIS FELLOW IS THE BET OF THE DAY WADE IN LADS WITH NO FEAR!!!

Team Europe had their final practice today, with captain Nick Faldo using the lead pairings that he unwittingly flashed to the entire world yesterday.  It was either the greatest bluff in all of history or another in a series of blunders (I am speaking of Darren Clarkes ommission here) from the record breaking Englishman-only time will tell, but something tells me it shall be the later.  With the teams due to be announced in a few hours we shall not have long to wait to find out and as soon as they are we shall post them here.  In the meantime why not have a look at the stats of the players involved over the weekend, they make interesting reading..

[world rankings in brackets]

USA: (Won-Lost-Halved)
[2] P.Mickelson Overall:(9-8-3) , Fourballs(4-4-1), Foursomes(2-2-2), Singles (3-2-0).
[9] J.Furyk Overall: (4-10-2) , Fourballs(0-5-1), Foursomes (1-4-0), Singles(3-1-1).
[10] S.Cink Overall: (3-5-4), Fourballs(1-0-3), Foursomes (1-3-1), Singles(1-2-0).
[23] J.Leonard Overall: (0-3-5), Fourballs(0-1-2), Foursomes(0-2-1), Singles (0-0-2).
[57] C.Campbell Overall: (1-3-2), Fourballs(0-2-0), Foursomes(0-0-2), Singles (1-1-0).
[17] K.Perry Overall: (0-2-0), Fourballs (0-0-0), Foursomes(0-1-0), Singles (0-1-0).
6xRookies: Weekley [35], Holmes [56], Stricker [8], Mahan [36], Kim [11] and Curtis [32].

USA total: 22-31-16

Europe:
[12] L.Westwood Overall: (14-8-3) , Fourballs(6-3-1), Foursomes (6-2-2), Singles (2-3-0)
[5] S.Garcia Overall: (14-4-2) , Fourballs (5-1-2), Foursomes (8-0-0), Singles (1-3-0).
[4] P.Harrington Overall: (7-8-2), Fourballs (2-4-0), Foursomes (2-3-2), Singles (3-1-0).
[19] M.A.Jimenez Overall: (2-5-2), Fourballs(2-0-1), Foursomes (0-3-1), Singles (0-2-0).
[38] P.Casey Overall: (3-1-2), Fourballs (1-0-2), Foursomes (1-0-0), Singles(1-1-0).
[22] R.Karlsson Overall: (0-1-2), Fourballs (0-0-2), Foursomes (0-0-0), Singles (0-1-0).
[6] H.Stenson Overall: (1-1-1), Fourballs (0-1-0), Foursomes (0-0-1), Singles (1-0-0).
[28] I.Poulter Overall: (1-1-0), Fourballs (0-1-0), Foursomes (0-0-0), Singles (1-0-0).
4xRookies: Hansen [43], McDowell [30], Rose [14] and Wilson [48].

Europe total:  42-29-14

These win-lose-draw stats show us that not only do Europe have more experience in the event, but also a much better record.  Home advantage will obviously be a factor to consider before placing your bets but it really is hard to look past a European victory.  I know that I have a history of getting things wrong on here and with so many pundits tipping up a US victory, history will probably repeat itself but I am predicting a European victory, with Graeme McDowell sinking the winning putt from 40 feet (you never know) .  With 6 rookies on the US team the above stats could be slightly misleading but if you look at each teams combined world rankings you will see that the US grand total is 296, compared to Europe’s total of 269,  making Europe 27 times better at golf by my calculations.  Whatever happens it promises to be a great weekend for golf fans everywhere and even if golf is not your thing, it’s always good to see the US getting beat at something they consider themselves to be the best at.

The fixtures are in and sticking to my great world ranking theory the results should be as follows:

Friday’s foursomes: (BST times)
1305 Phil Mickelson & Anthony Kim v Padraig Harrington & Robert Karlsson - USA
1320 Justin Leonard & Hunter Mahan v Henrik Stenson & Paul Casey - Europe
1335 Stewart Cink & Chad Campbell v Justin Rose & Ian Poulter - Europe
1350 Kenny Perry & Jim Furyk v Lee Westwood & Sergio Garcia - Europe

So it’s a 3-1 victory to team Europe. I’ll definately take that.

The Ryder Cup is merely days away and after all of the talk over the past week about both captain’s picks (especially Faldo’s), it will be nice to actually sit down and see some balls being hit.  As current holders, a tie will suffice for Europe to keep the trophy, and to celebrate this fact Hacketts will refund all losing single outright bets* on the Ryder Cup if the match ends in a tie.  This offer applies to all pre-tournament bets and is just our way of showing support for our golfing heroes.  We also have a host of other markets available for the tournament, which promises to be one of the closest battles in years, so what are you waiting for, get stuck in!

Remember, Eur always onto a winner with Hacketts!

*Max Refund €300

For golf fans everywhere, it’s coming to that sad time of year again when the majors come to an end with the USPGA Championship.  This year’s championship promises to be an exiting affair, with a certain defending champion and World Number 1 not competing and valuable Ryder Cup points also at stake, many players will fancy their chances.  In an added twist, the tournament is being held at Oakland Hills, home of Europe’s famous victory in the Ryder Cup 4 years ago where we (yes I was involved) battered the U.S. 18.5 to 9.5. 

Of the 12 who competed there 4 years ago, 8 return, with Donald missing out through injury (which may see him miss this years Ryder Cup also), and Howell, Levet and McGinley all failing to qualify.  That leaves Harrington, Casey, Clarke, Jimenez, Montgomerie, Poulter, Westwood and Garcia representing 2004’s team - not a bad bunch I think you will agree, and if recent results are anything to go by, there is a very good chance that your winner will come from this group of players as each has good form coming into the competition and good course-form to boot.  Of this bunch I am going to go for Lee Westwood, who despite letting me down in the Open (and in doing so ruining my perfect record in the majors this year), is still the man representing best value.  Top European points scorer 4 years ago (with 4.5 points from an available 5) and unlucky last week not to win, he is a man at the top of his game who has finally shown that he can handle the pressure associated with still being in contention for a big title walking down the last few holes.  At 25/1 and no Tiger lurking in the bushes (and no Bren to disagree with me as he has taken the week off to enjoy the golf from the comfort of his couch) he is my bet of the month and shall be hopefully funding my trip to play St. Andrews next year. 

Of the Americans who can challenge, it is hard to look past Mickelson, whose game is perfectly suited to the course and has a recent victory under his belt.  Others with chances are the usual suspects - Singh, Goosen and Furyk who all have what it takes to win if in form.  I am going to stand by my selection though, but for added interest I shall be having a look at some of the other markets available.  Top US player I am going to go for Cink e/w at 16/1 and for Top Continental European player, Garcia at 5/2. 

I am prepared for the backlash that shall no doubt accompany my selections should they fail to give people a run for their money but if you disagree with me, you can just do what a colleague of mine is planning on doing - holding out for someone who claims to be injured and then lumping on.