Golf Betting Update; Zurich Classic with the bookmakers making Perry their 14/1 favourite

Added: (Wed Apr 22 2009)

Pressbox (Press Release) - WHERE: Tournament Players Course, Louisiana, Avondale, La

COURSE CHARACTERISTICS: A 7,500yd par-72 monster set among the swamps and bayous of southern Louisiana, it’s a world of wetlands and old growth cypress trees where the alligator is still king. Another Pete Dye masterpiece with the help of tour pros Steve Elkington and Kelly Gibson. As usual there are wide dramatically undulating fairways which are very inviting, but if missed players will pay for it. The back nine can be particularly tough if the weather worsens, as it did in 2008 when the third round was delayed and carried over to the Sunday, but when the sun shines it’s a green and pleasant land of lakes and wide open greens. The 377yd par four 13th boasts one of the largest bunkers on the course and as it completely dominates the view from the tee it can make club selection a little difficult. The 16th can be interesting to play as there’s reportedly a 12-foot alligator living in the swampy area just to the back left of the green, while the 17th is regarded as ‘one of the hardest short holes on the tour’. The 18th is undoubtedly the signature hole as it has Pete Dye’s stamp all over it. Water is in play down the entire right side and makes it a true risk-reward gambling par five at 589yds long. Last year the sixth was the hardest on the course while the seventh played the easiest.

THE MAIN MEN


NICK WATNEY: Shot four sub-70 rounds when going 15-under to land the first prize two years ago and looked on course to mount another challenge as defending champion when lying in fourth place after two days in 2008. An eagle at the par five seventh on his way to a 67 helped to jump-start his campaign but he failed to sustain that level o form over the weekend and had to sign for rounds of 76 and 71 and slipped back to 42nd. But at least he was in the top-10 for driving distance and putts per round and just outside for putts per GIR. Landed the second title of his career when coming from five shots off the pace to win the Buick Invitational with a two-foot birdie putt on the final shot of the tournament having not dropped a stroke over the final 11 holes and was the only player to post all four rounds below par. Continued his good form in the WGC-CA Championship when chasing home Phil Mickelson having shared the third round lead. However, went agonisingly close to forcing a play-off there as his putt from the fringe only needed to take another rotation to fall in the hole at the 18th. Closed with a 68 to tie for fourth at Bay Hill but would have produced a stronger challenge but for middle rounds of 71 and 73 respectively. At least his stats were pretty good as he came out top for birdies and tied second for GIR, while his putting saw him into the top-20 in both categories. Began the final round of the US Masters in 10th place but could make no further headway on the final day and just managed to stay inside the top-20. That confirmed that he remains in top form and he’ll be hoping he can celebrate his birthday on Saturday in style with another victory. BEST PRICE: 16-1

STEVE STRICKER: His record shows four top-20s in the tournament since the turn of the century with a fourth in 2000 being the best, while an 11th two years ago coming in second. Came home strongly in 2007 with a 67 to climb 25 places and that was the year the TPC became the new home for the event. The Wisconsin-born golfer is having a pretty good year so far with four finishes in the top six, including his last time out sixth in the US Masters, his best result so far in the year’s first major. When chasing home Phil Mickelson in the Northern Trust Open in February he was one of only four players to post all four rounds in the 60s, that was the ninth runner-up finish of his career. Earlier he had looked on course for his first win since the 2007 Barclays when he took a three-shot lead into the fifth and final round of the Bob Hope Classic, but a dismal 77 ended his hopes and he had to settle for third. At Augusta a couple of weeks ago he managed to complete his campaign without going over par and made only three bogeys and one double throughout the four days of competition. In fact he signed for more pars than eventual winner Angel Cabrera. He has course and distance form in the book and obviously has his game in good shape and with a week off to recover from the Masters he should be able to contend in this. BEST PRICE: 18-1

JOHN MERRICK: Only played in this tournament twice but he’s produced a couple of decent finishes with an 18th on his debut two years ago and a seventh in 2008. His effort 12 months ago was ultimately disappointing as he went into the fourth round with a one-shot lead after blasting a brilliant 67 in the third thanks to five birdies. But two bogeys and only one birdie blighted his scorecard in the final stage and he had to sign for a 73. However, he did come out top for GIR and was inside the top-10 for pars, while he tied 17th for driving accuracy. The Zurich result was one of four top-10s he posted in 2008 as he doubled his earnings on the tour and surpassed $1.3m and although he shared third place in the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico his sixth in the US Open was undoubtedly the highlight. After finishing down the field in the Sony Open, his first start in 2009, he came up trumps in the Bob Hope Classic where he posted a career-best 63 in the third round on his way to second spot behind Pat Perez. He went a bit quiet after that before a fair sixth in the Puerto Rico Open but, with disrespect to that event, when he occupied the same finishing position in the US Masters he achieved far more. The 66 he shot on the last day at Augusta was the best final-round score and included four consecutive birdies on the back nine. A repetition of that level of form will surely see him go close to finally breaking his duck on the PGA tour. BEST PRICE: 33-1

ANDRES ROMERO: Returns to the scene of his sole PGA tour victory which he achieved in his rookie year when beating Peter Lonard by a stroke in the rain-affected tournament. That was just his 12th start on the main circuit in the States and he secured his win in style as he only made one bogey over the last 36 holes and overcame a shocking start when beginning the contest with a 73. The key to his success was his excellent iron play as a tied sixth for GIR demonstrates, but then it needed to be as his accuracy off the tee left a little to be desired. The turning point for the Argentinean was probably his birdie at the 16th as that took him to 13-under which looked a winning score at the time, and so it proved to be the case. That was the obviously the highlight of his first season playing in the US but there was also a tied eighth on his debut in the US Masters and a seventh in the USPGA Championship. Rounded off 2008 with a decent 13th in the Volvo Masters in Andalucia but hadn’t really found his touch until arriving at the Riviera Country Club in February for the Northern Trust Open. His third round 65 there was his best Stateside since carding the same score in this tournament and it helped him to secure third place. There were a couple of good stats to take from that event as he was second for driving distance and tied 16th for GIR. Hasn’t really contended since then despite opening with a 67 at Doral and making the weekend at Augusta. Obviously a very talented golfer who is more than capable of showing sudden bursts of inspiration. BEST PRICE: 33-1

STEPHEN AMES: Has played in this tournament six times and has only missed the cut once, which was his latest outing in 2006, however, he’s secured three top-10s this century with a scoring average of just under 69 and 14 out of 22 rounds in the 60s. The only negative is that he has not played at the TPC in Louisiana before. Normally he’s a fairly consistent player who churns out the top-10s with regularity but has so only posted a lone high finish. That was in the Bob Hope Classic towards the end of January when his five-round score included two 63s with the one on the last day being the best in that round and included eagles at the second and 11th, both par fives. He ended up with top-10s for birdies and putts per GIR, while he tied 17th for GIR. So dismal results followed in the next four outings but he looked on his way back to form when signing for a 66 on the first day of the Transitions Championship and second place going into the second round. Although he played steadily for the next three days he could never match that effort and just sneaked into the top-20. A missed cut in the Arnold Palmer Invitational followed and that didn’t bode well for his trip to Augusta but he proved that form all wrong as he came away from Georgia with a share of 20th place and a confidence-boosting round of 68 on the Friday of the competition, while he tucked away 12 birdies throughout the four-day contest. There are signs that the Trinidad-born Canadian resident is beginning to fire again and has to be one for the short-list as he’s usually a very consistent performer. BEST PRICE: 40-1

LUCAS GLOVER: Missed the cut badly last year but prior to that he had recorded three successive finishes in the top eight with a third in 2005 when the TPC was used for the first time. That year he shot all four rounds at or below 70 and made the fewest bogeys, while he was also tied third for GIR and in the top-20 in both driving categories. It was only a disappointing 74 on third day that prevented him from mounting a stronger challenge two years ago as he opened with rounds of 67 and 69 to lie in second spot before eventually finishing eighth. Made a solid start to the new season when sneaking into the top-20 in the Bob Hope Classic, where his five rounds in the 60s included a 65 on the first day. Looked as though he was going to carry that form into his next outing when posting the same score to lead after the first round of the FBR Open but lost his way and although he rounded off the contest with a 69 he fell out of the top-40. Bounced right back in the Buick Invitational where a seven-under weekend, the lowest score over the final 36 holes, helped him to tie for third place and also to join eventual winner Nick Watney as the only players to record three sub-70 rounds for the week. A bit of a barren spell followed before things picked up again when he arrived at Bay Hill for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. In difficult conditions he ground out a highly respectable 11th with a sound performance of one-under par in the third round and a tied for second place for pars made. The latter effort and his earlier one at Torrey Pines along with his previous course and distance form makes him a definite for any short-list. BEST PRICE: 40-1

K J CHOI: The South Korean star landed this title in 2002 when coming home four shots clear of Dudley Hart and Geoff Ogilvy and tied for seventh two years later. That victory seven years ago was a very polished performance as he hadn’t been on the PGA tour that long and, after taking the lead with a 65 in the second round, remained calm and focussed to fire a respectable 71 on the Saturday. As the final round approached he never seemed hassled as he practiced on the driving range and that demeanour remained in place during play as he played a very reserved game, hitting lots of fairways and greens and making all of the putts that counted. He never looked in any real trouble, found 10 out of 14 fairways, only missed five greens and wrapped up the title in fine style. After a wedge on the 16th that stopped inches from the hole, he chipped in for birdie at the next to seal the win. So the New Orleans contest has special memories for the man from Wando Island off the coast of Korea as it launched his career in America. Since then of course he has developed into a world-class golfer who has picked up a title in each of the last four years on the tour. If he is to continue that trend and produce a repeat of his 2002 win he’s going to need to bounce to back to form as he has missed three successive cuts, including the US Masters. However, it’s not all doom and gloom as there were some encouragement to be gleaned from his third in the Northern Trust Open in February where he shot four rounds in the 60s and was one of only four players to achieve that feat and he was in the top-10 for driving accuracy, GIR and pars. Not a player to dismiss lightly despite his current run of form. BEST PRICE: 45-1

CHARLES HOWELL: The Georgia-born golfer loves to fly the flag for the Southern States and is equally at home in Louisiana as he is in his own backyard. Hasn’t missed a cut in six appearances in New Orleans and has a 50 per cent strike-rate having secured three top-10s during that time. However, he has not been a visitor to the Big Easy since 2006 but he should have fond memories of the place as he was tied for second that year, one-shot adrift of Chris Couch. He made a determined challenge to overhaul his playing partner Couch with his seven-under 65 at the English Turn course on the Sunday being one of the best of the round with only two other players bettering it. The New Orleans air obviously agrees with him as his other outings there have produced rounds of 63 in 2001 and three years later he reeled off 66 and 64 on his way to fifth place. The season so far has proved very profitable with just one missed cut from 11 starts with the highlights being a seventh in the Sony Open and a runner-up finish in the Transitions Championship, which remains his best effort since landing the 2007 Nissan Open. He was in a position to win at Copperhead as he tied the lead with four holes to play but two straight bogeys followed and allowed Retief Goosen to walk off with the first prize. However, his numbers were pretty solid as he made it into the top-10 for birdies, driving accuracy, GIR and putts per GIR with the only negative being that he seems to have lost some of his distance off the tee. Hasn’t really been in contention in three subsequent outings but still worth bearing in mind with that result still relatively fresh being only just over a month ago. BEST PRICE: 50-1

SCOTT VERPLANK: Although he has only managed to register two top-10s from 13 starts in the contest both of those were this century and he has not missed a cut since 2000. Looked on course to victory in 2003 but the tournament became the one that he ‘threw away’ and allowed Steve Flesch and Bob Estes to steal his thunder. Having taken control of the event at the halfway mark thanks to rounds of 63 and 67, he entered the final day with a three-shot lead. He was still two up with four to play when he bogeyed the 16th and double-bogeyed the finishing hole to let the title slip from his grasp as he sunk back to third place. On the plus side, he was tied fourth for total putting, although that was at the English Turn course. Got 2009 off to a slow start by missing the cut in his first two events but got back on track with finishes of 13-15-4 with the latter being in the Arnold Palmer Invitational three outings ago where he closed with a one-under par 69, which was only two shots worse than eventual winner Tiger Woods. He came out top for driving accuracy at Bay Hill and was inside the top-10 for pars and putts per GIR and he was one of the few to fire a bogey-free round on the Sunday of that contest. Was in a handy position to mount a challenge at the halfway stage of the Verizon Heritage tournament last week when he posted a five-under 66, his best at Harbour Town in 17 starts, but failed to sustain that level of form over the next two days and dropped back to finish just outside the top-20. But once again his pinpoint accuracy from the tee secured him a tied third in that category, while his work on the greens was up to scratch as he was seventh for putts per GIR. BEST PRICE: 50-1

RYAN MOORE: A solitary outing in this tournament produced an 11th two years ago and a promising 68 to finish off his four-day campaign. Like Mallinger he is also searching for that elusive first PGA tour win but he has gone close finishing runner-up on four occasions with one occurring in each of the last four seasons. Nearly pulled it off in 2008 when taking on Adam Scott in a play-off for the Byron Nelson Championship only to see the Australian take the title with an unbelievable 48-foot birdie putt at the third extra hole. After missing the cut in successive seasons at the FBR Open the Las Vegas grad bounced back with four rounds in the 60s to tie for sixth spot with Brian Gay, Matt Kuchar and Scott Piercy. There was a disappointing end to his Houston Open campaign as he started the final round sharing the lead having fired six birdies when going five-under for a 67. The final stage of that contest proved a disaster as he holed out for five bogeys and a double-bogey and dropped out of contention with a 76 and a share of 11th, but he was in the top-20 for putting and GIR which augurs well for the upcoming week. BEST PRICE: 55-1

TIM WILKINSON: The young New Zealander had a fairly satisfactory first season on the tour in 2008 when posting three top-10s, one of which was a third in this tournament a week after finishing sixth in the Puerto Rico Open. Came up two shots shy of Romero 12 months ago after going five-under through 10 holes but couldn’t maintain that momentum and par at the next eight was not quite good enough to threaten the eventual winner. However, his final round of 67 was only bettered by one other player and his stats were useful as he made it into the top-10 for driving accuracy and pars made, while also being in the top-20 for birdies, GIR and putts per GIR. His best performance last term, however, came in the closing weeks of the season when second in the Texas Open and there were four rounds in the 60s with the last two days producing a 63 and 64. The season after a rookie year can be tough and he’s found that to be the case so in 2009 but his game seemed to bounce back to life at Hilton Head last week where a 65 on the third day saw him lying in second place going into the last round before eventually posting a highly-promising sixth. The Zurich Classic has proved a fertile hunting ground for those looking for their first tour win with Romero last year being the fourth consecutive player to achieve such a feat and the sixth in the last eight years, while overseas golfers have also enjoyed their visits to the Big Easy. So the left-hander from Palmerston has plenty to look forward to if history is anything to go by. BEST PRICE: 66-1

BOB ESTES: Will be making his 11th appearance in a tournament in which he has occupied a position inside the top-10 on three occasions and come closest to winning when losing out in a play-off to Steve Flesch in 2003. He had started the final day that year three shots adrift of eventual third Scott Verplank and as the latter fell apart he continued to play his straight-hitting (tied first for GIR and first for driving accuracy) game, although it was only with a crucial sand save at the ultra-difficult 18th that he forced a play-off. After Flesch had holed a 30-footer he was still in with a shout as he was 15ft closer to the cup than the latter but unfortunately he missed his birdie putt and the first prize. Finished eighth two years ago after closing with a 69 and that season he was joint-second for putting and seven-under of the par fives. Missed two cuts from nine outings this year so far but did secure a fourth in the rain-affected AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am where he wrapped up his finishing position with a round of 67 and topped the GIR charts. Respectable 13th last time out in the Verizon Heritage although Sunday could have gone better for the Texan as he began it in 10th spot but two bogeys on the outward nine and another on the way in didn’t help his cause. But his numbers were satisfactory as he recorded top-10s for driving accuracy and pars and a 13th for GIR. Although he has remained winless for seven years he has bits and pieces of form that make worthy of consideration this week. BEST PRICE: 70-1

JOHN MALLINGER: First came to prominence in his rookie year of 2007 when recording three top-10s, which of which were top fives and one was a third in this event. His final round in the Zurich Classic that year was a five-under par 67, the second best of the round, and included an eagle at the second to finish alongside Anthony Kim and four shots adrift of winner Nick Watney. Although still a maiden he has been knocking on the door having posted five third place finishes and gave notice that he could be finding his form when playing well in Houston a couple of weeks ago. Overcame a horrible start at Redstone when shooting a 75 on the first day but went 11-under in the last three rounds for a eight-under par total of 280 and a share of sixth despite the 18th hole being his nemesis as he was five-over par on that hole for the week. Apart from that blip on his scorecard he was fourth for putts per GIR, joint-fifth for birdies and shared 18th spot for GIR. The young Californian is worth considering despite his last time out missed cut. BEST PRICE: 80-1


SELECTIONS: Charles Howell, Lucas Glover, John Mallinger, Tim Wilkinson.



• All prices correct at time of writing.

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