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Donald Can Deliver Again In The Heritage – By Ian Hudson 

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The Law of Hilton Head applies this week and states that any player that was in contention at the US Masters must be opposed in the following week. The RBC Heritage has a regular date in the calendar in the week after the first major of the season. The players that are prominent in the betting played at Augusta National last Sunday so there could be some value in backing players at big odds. Luke Donald is a former world number one with an excellent bank of course form.

The tournament was known as the Heritage Classic for many years and it’s now sponsored by the Royal Bank of Canada. It was first played in 1969 and the host course has always been Harbour Town Golf Links at Hilton Head. The mid-April date means the field is generally moderate because the better players rest in the week after a major. World number one Dustin Johnson is an exception but he didn’t feel the heat of contending over the last round of a major at the Masters.

The course is relatively short and measures less than 7,100 yards and has a par of 71, made up of nines of 36 and 35. There are the usual quota of par 3s and par 4s but only one par 5 on the back nine. The venue is primarily a test of accuracy with some of the smallest greens on tour placing a premium on sound iron play. As a seaside location it is exposed if the wind is blowing when scores increase.

The Heritage is one of five PGA tournaments that has invitational status. There is reduced field of 132 players and no qualifying. The top 50 players in the world ranking get an optional place invite and PGA tournament winners are also invited. Ian Poulter won the Houston Open two weeks ago and now has full exempt status until the end of the 2020 season and has taken up his place. After some injury problems Poulter is now in the great position of picking and choosing where he plays for the best part of three years.

Masters contenders should be opposed due to the significant demands, especially mentally, of being in serious contention in the season’s first major. Mental letdown and reduced concentration can then apply. Harbour Town is very different to Augusta. In the US Masters the players face large, lightning-fast greens whereas in the Heritage the greens are less contoured, not as quick and much smaller. Donald never really got to grips with Augusta but he has been second five times at Hilton Head.

Donald’s rise to the summit of the world game was based on sound course management and excellent putting. At his best he was a leading contender for the majors but has never figured in the four tournaments that matter most. Donald has played in 54 majors and recorded just five top fives which is a poor record from somebody who was ranked the best player in the world. In 2011 Donald was the number one player on the PGA and European Tours and that was a first.

Despite winning 17 professional tournaments Donald has slumped to 196 in the world rankings. He has received an invitation based on his tournament form and not anything he has achieved over the last few years. Even during his slump Donald has been the runner-up for the last two years in the Heritage. Donald’s Ryder Cup team mate, Poulter, gave his career a tremendous boost by winning the Houston Open and Donald would do the same thing if he won the RBC Heritage this week.

Oppose The Open Contenders In Canada And Germany This Week

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Matt Kuchar is a man who you think would never let anyone down. He was scheduled to play in the Canadian Open this week but probably never thought he would have just taken part in one of the most amazing events in golf major championship history. Kuchar had one hand on the Claret Jug during the final round of the Open Championship at Royal Birkdale last Saturday but then Jordan Spieth played four holes in five under par!

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When this article was being written on Tuesday Kuchar appeared in the betting for the Canadian Open as the second favourite behind Dustin Johnson. He had to travel from Southport in England to Ontario in Canada so surely Kuchar is not a man to back this week. He did everything but win the Open and Spieth in the context of the moment had to play arguably the best four holes in the history of the sport to beat him.

It is often said that a player who contends in a major will be so mentally frazzled the following week that you should not back him with somebody else’s money. Kuchar was on the cusp of greatness and immortality after 13 holes of the fourth round at Birkdale and then Spieth went birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie. The Open champion is the second youngest player in the history of the sport after Jack Nicklaus to win three different majors. If he wins the USPGA Championship he becomes just the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam.

Kuchar did nothing wrong as the Open reached its climax. He kept his composure during the episode on the 13th hole which saw Spieth take 20 minutes to take a shot after a discussion about where he could play from after declaring an unplayable lie. Spieth got away with a bogey and there was then a momentum shift. Kuchar went from one in front to two behind without doing much wrong. Mental letdown must affect his chances in Canada this week and he has to be opposed.

Dustin Johnson is the favourite for the Canadian Open but he is also travelling from Merseyside to the Glen Abbey host course. He was on the periphery of the leader board all week at Birkdale but a double bogey on the first hole of his final round was one mistake too many. Johnson is not ideally suited to the host course which puts a premium on accuracy over distance. He can’t be backed with any confidence this week and at a much bigger price a chance should be taken on Tony Finau. He played all four rounds in the Open and is a top 10 player for greens in regulation.

Finau had a decent Open without feeling the heat of competition. He finished tied 27th at one over and any major played around level par is a good effort. Travelling will also be an issue but he didn’t have an intense Open and made the cut in the most prestigious tournament in the world. The Glen Abbey course should be right up his street, especially playing approach shots into the small greens. Finau can apply his iron play talents and contend in Canada this week.

The European Tour’s stop this week is Hamburg for the European Open. The host course called Green Eagle is a monster at 7,831 yards. The headline player is Patrick Reed who missed the cut at the Open but Charl Schwartzel is more suited to the course. The South African was at four under after the first round of the Open but four over following his second 18 holes. Schwartzel was one over for both rounds at the weekend so he eventually had a solid Open over the four days. Long driving is his forte so Schwartzel looks tailor made for this week’s test in Germany.

There is a lull in proceedings over the next two weeks but then it’s the USPGA Championship, the final major of the season. Spieth’s confidence must be sky high and if the celebrations don’t continue for too long he must have a great chance of joining the five players who have won each of the majors at least once.

Back next Thursday.

Best Wishes,

Ian Hudson

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Bet Enthusiast Report – This Weeks Golf

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The three shortest priced players for the Seniors Open have all won regular major championships but only Tom Lehman of him, Bernard Langer and Fred Couples have won the normal tour Open. The 12 players at the head of the betting for the Canadian Open have all travelled from Scotland after playing at Muirfield last week. The highest world ranked player competing in the Russian Open is Robert Rock and he is at number 155 in the current standings.

The week following a major and the Open Championship in particular often sees moderate fields and poorly attended tournaments. However, this year we have the Seniors Open at Royal Birkdale and the national championship of Canada that always attracts large crowds, rewarded this year with several players from the top 50 in the world rankings in attendance.

For many years the Dutch Open was always held on the European Tour the week after the Open. That event often benefited from the appearance of a few players that had played well in the previous week. Unfortunately, the Russian Open has not attracted any player from the top 30 at Muirfield last week. Simon Dyson won two tournaments on the European Tour in 2011 and is the favourite but as the headline act in Russia won’t attract a great deal of media interest.

The Russian Open is being played on a new course but a below average prize fund has done nothing to attract any player of note. However, it will give a lesser known player the opportunity to win a two year exemption to the European Tour so somebody will have a career changing week near Moscow. Robert Rock has the most eye catching recent form. He played in the last group with Tiger Woods at the Abu Dhabi Championship last January and won the tournament.

It often amazes me how poorly attended many European Tour events are and this is highlighted by the live television coverage on Sky. It really is a case of one man and his dog and in many cases even the dog doesn’t turn up. There is only one European Tour event played in England on a regular basis and that is the PGA Championship at Wentworth that attracts huge crowds.

The record attendance for any Open Championship was at Royal Holyoke across the Mersey from Liverpool in 2006. When the Open is played north of the river and along the coat at Birkdale in Southport above average crowds are reported. The north west of England is an absolute hotbed of sport with football, racing, cricket and golf all attracting huge crowds. Muirfield reported lower attendances last week than at their last Open in 2002 but Hoylake should again attract vast crowds when the Open returns to Royal Liverpool next year.

If the North West as a region with two major conurbations of Liverpool and Manchester has an unmatched sporting pedigree the seaside town of Southport has its own sporting claims to fame. Royal Birkdale is one of four championship course in the town, Red Rum was prepared for five Grand Nationals on its beach and ex-Southport FC player Jim Fryatt has scored the fastest goal ever.

The boys from the northern suburbs of Liverpool, stretching from the docklands in Bootle to the commuter towns at Crosby and Formby, will be out in force at Birkdale this week. Yes we do like a drink and all day drinking will be tempting for some but ultimately it’s the world class sport that will get the juices flowing.

The Seniors Open was first held in 1987 and it became part of the European Seniors Tour in 1992. Ten years later it earned major championship status and is now part of the Champions Tour. The field of 144 consists of 120 exempt players and qualifiers from a qualifying event held on the Monday of championship week. Players must be aged 50 or over on the first day of the tournament.

As befits a major championship the Seniors Open has attracted a strong field and only Kenny Perry of the top 20 oldies in the world is not travelling to Southport this week. Fred Couples is a former champion but despite a solid record in the Open never won a Claret Jug. Bernhard Langer won the US Masters twice during his regular career but he is another major champion who never quite won the Open Championship.

Tom Lehman is an interesting contender but this is to date the first year in six that he has not won on the Champions Tour. He was the Open champion at Royal Lytham in 1996 and made the cut at Muirfield last week. He clearly has a game well suited to links golf and scores highly in the key skill areas for decent scoring at Birkdale.

The Canadian Open now has a regular slot on the US Tour in the week after the Open. The tournament is generally taken to several courses around Canada but this year’s host course at Glen Abbey near Ontario has staged the tournament more than any other. It is one of just three national Opens on the US PGA Tour and as such is a prestigious prize.

In the context of contending in Canada this week mental letdown from the unique playing conditions at Muirfield last week must be a factor. At various stages of the Open Brandt Snedeker, Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan and Dustin Johnson all probably felt they had a chance to win. Snedeker’s third round spoilt his chances but he still managed a second successive top 20 finish in the third major of the season.

Luke Donald missed the cut by a mile last week so he is still striving for that elusive first major. At least Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter got in the mix but Donald and Justin Rose were never factors. Rose can be forgiven for mental letdown after his US Open win but Donald must have been gutted with such a poor effort. Graeme McDowell made the cut without contending and he is the only other player in the world to win on the two main Tours this year, alongside Phil Mickelson off course.

Ian Hudson
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