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.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 3:21 pm and is filed under Golf, Hacketts bet tips, Sports Talk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.