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Past Champions Are Contenders This Week – By Ian Hudson

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The expansion of the European Tour to make it global except for the PGA Tour in the United States is getting ridiculous. The Oman Open offers one of the smallest prize funds of the season which explains why the favourite, Joost Luiten, is at number 71 in the world rankings and the highest ranked player in the field. Europe’s best players have deserted their home tour to play for more money, in better fields and in front of more fans in the United States. This week’s Honda Classic offers four times as much prize money as the Oman Open.

There are four Europeans in the top 10 of the current world rankings and Europe won the Ryder Cup last September. However, other than the Open Championship and to a lesser extent the PGA Championship most of the winning Ryder Cup team will not be playing too often on the European Tour this season. This week’s event in Omar has been marketed by saying the field contains a major champion and Ryder Cup player. Paul Lawrie did win the Open in 1999 and has played in the Ryder Cup but when he is your headline attraction you are in a bit of trouble.

The bread and butter players may welcome a low grade tournament that offers a two year exemption to the winner. However, this week’s event in Oman is little more than a Challenge Tour event with a sprinkling of Asia’s better players. Selecting potential winners is fraught with danger in the second renewal of the event. Luiten is the defending champion and is proven on the course. On rankings he is the best player in the field so he must have a great chance of winning the tournament again.

By contrast to the tournament in Asia the field for the Honda Classic contains two players from the top four in the world rankings and another player in the top 10. Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler head the betting followed by Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia. Granted there is little strength in depth after these players but the first prize is almost $1.2 million. The winner also gets a two year exemption but for the PGA Tour which is much more lucrative than any of the others.

The Honda Classic is the first leg of the Florida Swing which is characterised by windy conditions. However, the forecast suggests still weather this week and scoring should be relatively high. The regular host course is PGA National Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens. It’s a par 70 track that produced a scoring average of over 72 last year which is the highest compared to par for any non-majors in the last two years. The degree of difficulty goes up in wind but calm conditions are expected.

However, the fast undulating greens will still provide a tough test and hitting the putting surfaces in the correct number of shots will be an important skill. The last three winners are Thomas, Fowler and Scott with scores of 8, 12 and 9 under. The lowest winning score over the last 10 years is 13 under and there have been three playoffs in that spell. Nine US players have won the tournament this century which means that 10 players from overseas have prevailed. 

There is a great deal to like about Thomas’s chances this week. The defending champion leads the Tour in strokes gained from tee to green and was ninth in the WGC Mexico Championship last week. However, Scott is preferred on the basis of being another past champion and four top 15s in as many starts. He has gained strokes putting on the rest of the field in his last four tournaments so can win the Honda Classic for the second time. The double on Luiten and Scott pays 175/1.    

Rahm And Wallace Can Go Well This Week – By Ian Hudson

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There are two great tournaments on the main tours this week but the locations and atmospheres will be like chalk and cheese. The Phoenix Open on the PGA Tour attracts huge and boisterous crowds. The Saudi International will be played in front of a smaller and more restrained audience. However, it steals the show in terms of the field because the winners from last week have both entered. Bryson Dechambeau and Justin Rose won their events and head the betting in Saudi Arabia this week. 

The field for the Phoenix Open is not too shabby and the players will be aware of the unique demands of the tournament. Jon Rahm has the personality to cope with the crowd and can continue his fine run of form by winning for the third time on the PGA Tour. He has a good all round game but was not able to beat Rose mainly at the top of his game in the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday. The tournament attracted decent crowds but the atmosphere was sedate compared to this week in Phoenix.

The tournament has had a few title sponsors but one common feature since 1987 is the host course at the TPC of Scottsdale in Arizona. The event has since become renowned for the numbers that turn up, especially over the weekend. Over 500,000 spectators attend over four days. Particularly notorious are those in the grandstands around the par 3 16th where players hit their tee shots to a sudden explosion of noise from the well lubricated galleries. Rahm loves desert golf and has made the top 11 in three outings on the course. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona.   

The TPC at Scottsdale is a stadium course in the desert. There are lots of bunkers and waste areas and water is in play on several holes. The exposed stretch around the turn is the most difficult and the last three holes are demanding. Any player in contention will be straining not to drop shots. The greens are mainly Bermuda in composition and above average in size. Rahm played well last week but couldn’t hole anything in the final round and never quite got on level terms with Rose. The world number one has travelled so Saudi Arabia so Rahm can be the desert king.   

 

Rose is the joint favourite with Dechambeau who has won four times in his last nine starts. He applies a very scientific approach to golf which is paying dividends. The market leaders will be competing against winners of three of the four majors last season. Patrick Reed won the US Masters and Brooks Koepka won the US Open and PGA Championship. Only Open champion Francesco Molinari is missing from the current holders of the four majors. Matt Wallace is good enough to win at this level and the English player will not lack for self belief.  

The tournament is being staged for the first time and the sponsors have been rewarded with an outstanding field for this time of the year in the Middle East. Four of the top five players in the world are competing and the line-up also includes eight major champions and nine players from last year’s Ryder Cup. The organisers have invited a varied cast of local talent and professionals from the international game. Wallace can beat the world class seasoned pros and the inexperienced rookies. He has the talent and confidence to win his fifth European Tour event in less than two years.     

Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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Manchester City Can Win Premier League Showdown 

For a season and a half Manchester City have been the best team in the Premier League. In winning the title in 2017/18 they scored 22 more goals than Liverpool and won 25 more points. Despite improvements in personal at the back and in goal Liverpool have not closed the gap. Granted they are unbeaten after 20 matches but City are still in striking distance despite three defeats in their last five matches. There is no need to hype this meeting because it is the most important match of the season to date. It’s a must win for City and a draw would be a great result for Liverpool.

City have played five games against the top six this season and these matches have produced nine goals. The reverse fixture at Anfield was goalless but the visitors missed a penalty late on. However, the 40 matches involving both sides this season have produced 102 goals but only 24 of those have been scored by the opposition. Before losing to Crystal Palace at the Eithad City won all nine matches at home scoring 33 goals and conceding six. Liverpool have dropped just two points in 10 fixtures on the road but MANCHESTER CITY are tipped at 11/10. 

It’s the first day of the Tournament of Champions which brings together the winners on the US PGA Tour from last season. The key attribute for success is power and on the long track with wide fairways driving distance is more important than driving accuracy. Francesco Molinari won the Open and five points at the Ryder Cup but his game is based on accuracy. JASON DAY is a powerhouse so he can outscore Molinari over 18 holes in the first round today at 5/6 with bet365. 

The All-Weather track at Chelmsford City offers decent prize money for racing on an artificial surface during the winter. The course is now attracting quality horses some of which then move on to Dubai for their lucrative meetings leading up to the Dubai World Cup. The richest race of the day is the Class 2 handicap over five furlongs at 5.55. VERNE CASTLE has won on the course five times and ran respectably at Lingfield last time out so is the nap at 4/1 with Ladbrokes. 

Will Tiger Woods Win A Major In 2019? – By Ian Hudson

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Golf is now almost a 12 month sport and no sooner has one season ended than the next one begins. In fact the Race to Dubai on the European Tour and Money List on the PGA Tour for 2019 have already begun. The core seasons begin in January and John Rahm in Europe and Brooks Koepka in the States are the players to back to be top dogs on their main tours. Tiger Woods is 7/2 to win a major next year and that is not the worst price in the world.  

Woods looked tired and demotivated at the Ryder Cup but that was one week too many at the end of such a great season. The former world number won contended in the last two majors of the season and won the Tour Championship. Woods then had to travel to Paris for the Ryder Cup but he was emotionally and physically drained. Even in his halcyon days he underperformed in the matches so playing so poorly this time should not be of great concern to his fans and backers.   

Woods led the British Open at the start of the back nine on the Sunday but one poor hole cost him dear. He almost chased down Koepka at the PGA Championship but just came up short. However, his ability to still compete at the highest level was displayed when he beat the best other 29 PGA tour players in the season finale. It was a Woods master class thanks to a great swing, iron play and putting. The 14 times major champion is now good enough to add to that tally.

He is chasing Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors but he has not won one of the four titles that matter most since 2008. Nicklaus won his last major aged 46 and Woods turns 43 at the end of the year. That means he will have 16 more chances to win more majors before passing the age at which Nicklaus won one. Given no more injuries and operations Woods could be competitive until he reaches 50 which doubles his opportunities to get to 15 majors and beyond. However, you have to think if he comes up short in 2019 Nicklaus’s total will not be overhauled.    

The US Masters is Woods’ best chance to win another major. He is a four times winner and the course is ideally suited to his game. Woods won his first major in the Masters Tournament in 1997 and the fairways provide some scope for wayward driving. Putting under pressure was always a strength and the greens at Augusta are amongst the fastest and most challenging on the tour. The second most successful player in major championship golf can bring the house down by winning the 2019 US Masters. Woods in his prime won more than one major some seasons.

Koepka has now won three of the last seven majors and that is Woods-esque when he was winning them for fun at the start of the century. He defended the US Open title and then won the PGA Championship. Koepka played on the Challenge Tour and European Tour at the start of his career so his game is more than one-dimensional. He overpowers courses of the tee and his confidence must be sky high. Kopeka has won more majors than regular tournaments but if he can start winning in the less demanding weeks the Money List is within his scope.          

Rory McIlroy is thinking about focusing on the US PGA Tour in a concerted effort to win more majors. The logic is that he will be competing against the best players more often. Rahm is more loyal to the European Tour and money won in the majors and WGC events counts. However, Rahm will play enough regular tournaments in Europe to boost his prize money and make him a leading contender for the Race to Dubai which he can win in 2019.   

Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

Harry Is Odds-On To Win In The Jungle

Is it possible to resist backing Manchester United to win a match at Old Trafford at odds of almost 2/1? During the Alex Ferguson era that proposition was unheard of even when Arsenal were in town. Some bookmakers are offering much lower odds for a home win so it will be interesting to see how the betting market reacts from now until kick-off at 8pm. Jose Mourinho’s job could be on the line. 

Mark Hughes has not let his backers down by winning the next-manager-to-leave market but Mourinho is the new favourite. However, he has a habit of getting a result when he needs it most. There is a good chance that could be on the cards by half-time because Arsenal have not been in the lead at the break in any match this season. The logical bet is MANCHESTER UNITED/DRAW at 14/1 with bet365.

Harry Redknapp’s name is not appearing in any lists for the next manager of a club. He has been in charge at Southampton and there is a vacancy now that Hughes has gone. It’s questionable whether Redknapp can be taken seriously as a football manager as his main role in the jungle appears to be cleaning out the dunny. REDKNAPP is 4/7 to be the winner of I’m A Celebrity.    

Southampton have appointed a caretaker manager and the temporary role begins with a Premier League fixture against Tottenham at Wembley. I wonder if Mauricio Pochettino will now rest players so his squad peaks for the FA Cup third round tie at Southport or Tranmere early next month. The home team won the fixture 5-2 last season so anything similar makes TOTTENHAM -1 the bet at Evens with Betfair.   

There is an early evening All-Weather meeting at Kempton but it’s debatable whether the place will be packed out for the Class 5 race that opens the fixture at 3.55 on a working day. The fifth race at 6pm is a Class 2 handicap over six furlongs and there is a decent prize up for grabs. TROPICS is the top weight but the horse has performed well on artificial surfaces over the last year and is the nap at 11/1 with Ladbrokes.  

Will Tiger Woods Win A Major In 2019? – By Ian Hudson

Golf is now almost a 12 month sport and no sooner has one season ended than the next one begins. In fact the Race to Dubai on the European Tour and Money List on the PGA Tour for 2019 have already begun. The core seasons begin in January and John Rahm in Europe and Brooks Koepka in the States are the players to back to be top dogs on their main tours. Tiger Woods is 7/2 to win a major next year and that is not the worst price in the world.  

Woods looked tired and demotivated at the Ryder Cup but that was one week too many at the end of such a great season. The former world number won contended in the last two majors of the season and won the Tour Championship. Woods then had to travel to Paris for the Ryder Cup but he was emotionally and physically drained. Even in his halcyon days he underperformed in the matches so playing so poorly this time should not be of great concern to his fans and backers.   

Woods led the British Open at the start of the back nine on the Sunday but one poor hole cost him dear. He almost chased down Koepka at the PGA Championship but just came up short. However, his ability to still compete at the highest level was displayed when he beat the best other 29 PGA tour players in the season finale. It was a Woods master class thanks to a great swing, iron play and putting. The 14 times major champion is now good enough to add to that tally.

He is chasing Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors but he has not won one of the four titles that matter most since 2008. Nicklaus won his last major aged 46 and Woods turns 43 at the end of the year. That means he will have 16 more chances to win more majors before passing the age at which Nicklaus won one. Given no more injuries and operations Woods could be competitive until he reaches 50 which doubles his opportunities to get to 15 majors and beyond. However, you have to think if he comes up short in 2019 Nicklaus’s total will not be overhauled.    

The US Masters is Woods’ best chance to win another major. He is a four times winner and the course is ideally suited to his game. Woods won his first major in the Masters Tournament in 1997 and the fairways provide some scope for wayward driving. Putting under pressure was always a strength and the greens at Augusta are amongst the fastest and most challenging on the tour. The second most successful player in major championship golf can bring the house down by winning the 2019 US Masters. Woods in his prime won more than one major some seasons.

Koepka has now won three of the last seven majors and that is Woods-esque when he was winning them for fun at the start of the century. He defended the US Open title and then won the PGA Championship. Koepka played on the Challenge Tour and European Tour at the start of his career so his game is more than one-dimensional. He overpowers courses of the tee and his confidence must be sky high. Kopeka has won more majors than regular tournaments but if he can start winning in the less demanding weeks the Money List is within his scope.          

Rory McIlroy is thinking about focusing on the US PGA Tour in a concerted effort to win more majors. The logic is that he will be competing against the best players more often. Rahm is more loyal to the European Tour and money won in the majors and WGC events counts. However, Rahm will play enough regular tournaments in Europe to boost his prize money and make him a leading contender for the Race to Dubai which he can win in 2019.   

Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

Harry Is Odds-On To Win In The Jungle

Is it possible to resist backing Manchester United to win a match at Old Trafford at odds of almost 2/1? During the Alex Ferguson era that proposition was unheard of even when Arsenal were in town. Some bookmakers are offering much lower odds for a home win so it will be interesting to see how the betting market reacts from now until kick-off at 8pm. Jose Mourinho’s job could be on the line. 

Mark Hughes has not let his backers down by winning the next-manager-to-leave market but Mourinho is the new favourite. However, he has a habit of getting a result when he needs it most. There is a good chance that could be on the cards by half-time because Arsenal have not been in the lead at the break in any match this season. The logical bet is MANCHESTER UNITED/DRAW at 14/1 with bet365.

Harry Redknapp’s name is not appearing in any lists for the next manager of a club. He has been in charge at Southampton and there is a vacancy now that Hughes has gone. It’s questionable whether Redknapp can be taken seriously as a football manager as his main role in the jungle appears to be cleaning out the dunny. REDKNAPP is 4/7 to be the winner of I’m A Celebrity.    

Southampton have appointed a caretaker manager and the temporary role begins with a Premier League fixture against Tottenham at Wembley. I wonder if Mauricio Pochettino will now rest players so his squad peaks for the FA Cup third round tie at Southport or Tranmere early next month. The home team won the fixture 5-2 last season so anything similar makes TOTTENHAM -1 the bet at Evens with Betfair.   

 

There is an early evening All-Weather meeting at Kempton but it’s debatable whether the place will be packed out for the Class 5 race that opens the fixture at 3.55 on a working day. The fifth race at 6pm is a Class 2 handicap over six furlongs and there is a decent prize up for grabs. TROPICS is the top weight but the horse has performed well on artificial surfaces over the last year and is the nap at 11/1 with Ladbrokes.  

 

Ryder Cup Pedigree Players Win In Turkey – By Ian Hudson

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The Turkish Airlines Open is the first of the three playoff events which will determine who wins the Race to Dubai and it would be appropriate if Francesco Molinari was the top dog in Europe this season. The Italian won the two most prestigious events played in Britain and won five points from five matches in the Ryder Cup. He leads the Race to Dubai by over 1.2 million points and the player in second place is his partner in crime, Tommy Fleetwood. 

Molinari and Fleetwood form golf’s most famous bromance and it would be great for European golf if they went head-to-head in Dubai over the weekend with the title up for grabs. Fleetwood was the European number one last season and a win this week with Molinari not playing would make the Race to Dubai interesting with just two remaining qualifying events. The Turkish Airlines Open is being played at a golf resort in Antayla for the third successive year. Justin Rose and Thorbjorn Olesen are the course winners taking part.    

The course is a par 71 and measures 7,159 yards. There is only one par 5 on the front nine and it measures over 600 yards. The two other long holes at 12 and 15 are reachable in two shots so there will be plenty of eagles and birdie opportunities. Seven of the par 4s measure less than 450 yards on a course that rewards accuracy over distance. The layout suits Rose more than Fleetwood but both players have had long and mentally demanding seasons and other players are preferred. 

Rose birdied the 72nd hole to clinch the Turkish Airlines Open in 2017. It was his second win in two weeks and 10th European Tour title. In the tournament’s five year history no player has won back-to-back and Rose needs a good week to get into contention for the Race to Dubai. He is over 2 million points behind Molinari and would have to win at least twice during the playoffs to overhaul the race leader. Rory McIlroy is fifth in the standings but is not playing in Turkey. 

The Turkish Airlines Open was added to the European Tour schedule in 2013 and every winner has been a past or future Ryder Cup player. Brooks Koepka won the tournament in 2014 and after winning two majors in 2018 is currently the world number one. The nature of the course and the prize money at stake means the cream rises to the top and one of the leading contenders prevails. The champion is of Ryder Cup calibre and Thorbjorn Olesen played for Europe in the match this year.        

In winning last year Rose was fifth for driving accuracy and 2nd for greens in regulation. He also finished in the top 15 for driving distance and GIR putting so clearly a player must have a good all-round game to contend. Olesen was fifth last year when he was first for putts per round and fifth for putting when finding the green in the correct number of shots. His driving and second shot accuracy falls short of the standard required to win this week but his putting could compensate. However, another Ryder Cup player has the game to beat the field. 

Ian Poulter has not played much golf in Europe this season because he has a PGA Tour card. He is based in the States and concentrates on the US tour. He had another good Ryder Cup in France last month and confidence restored he is not afraid to get in contention in the lucrative events. This week Poulter could become another Ryder Cup player to win the Turkish Airlines Open and start thinking about winning the Race to Dubai.     

Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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So England Can Beat Croatia Tonight. Yawn! 

The last time England played Croatia it all ended in tears but the match meant something. Tonight’s meeting in Rijeka in the UEFA Nations League is not only relatively meaningless in terms of the result there will be no fans in the stadium. Due to earlier transgressions the match is being played behind closed doors. If England beat Croatia in the next 100 glorified friendlies the disappointment of losing to them in the semi-finals of the World Cup this year will remain. Ironically ENGLAND can win this fixture at 19/10 with Ladbrokes. 

This evening’s match and the last four encounter in the World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium will be like chalk and cheese in terms of intensity. Avoiding the wooden spoon in the Nations League group is at stake rather than playing in the final of the football world championships. Team selection and motivation will be key for an occasion being played in front of a few hundred officials and dignitaries. In terms of goals the scoring could go one of two ways: lots of them or very few. Croatia will be without at least four of the World Cup regulars while Gareth Southgate could blood some kids. UNDER 2.5 GOALS is 8/13 with William Hill. 

It’s the second round of the British Masters. The course at Walton Heath rewards solid iron play and is a second shot track. The epitome of finding greens in regulation  is the Open champion and Ryder Cup hero, Francesco Molinari. However, he took six shots more than best mate Tommy Fleetwood in the first round yesterday. MATT WALACE has won three times this season but missed out on a Ryder Cup wildcard and is the in-play tip currently at 7/1 with bet365.    

It’s the first day of the Future Champions Festival at Newmarket and the highlight is the Group 1 Fillies’ Mile at 3.35 over the Rowley Mile course at HQ. This is a championship contest for female horses aged two and could identify the winter favourite for the 1,000 Guineas. On statistics and ratings it’s hard to ignore the claims of PRETTY POLLYANNA and if she gets the trip 7/2 with Coral is a steal. 

Westwood Can Win Rose’s Tournament – By Ian Hudson

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The British Masters is sponsored by Sky Sports and hosted by Justin Rose so it will be a great tournament at Walton Heath. Matt Wallace and Matthew Fitzpatrick might want to make a statement while three Ryder Cup colleagues have accepted Rose’s invitation to appear this week.  However, there could be life in one of the old dogs and Lee Westwood can bring back some memories by winning for the 24th time on the European tour and clinch his 43rd professional title. 

Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari are in the field and it would really be something if they challenged against each other over the weekend. They combined to win four points from four matches in the Ryder Cup. They became the first European pairing to win all four of their matches in the four balls and foursomes. Molinari is now the only European to go 5-0 in the Ryder Cup and he is the current Open champion. The Italian leads the Race to Dubai but mental letdown could be an issue. 

The British Masters returned to the European Tour schedule in 2015 with the backing of Sky Sports. One of the innovations was to designate a tournament host. Ian Poulter, Luke Donald and Westwood have performed the duty but Rose is the highest ranked player to host the week. He won the FedEx Cup and $10 million dollar bonus on the PGA Tour and is currently only behind Dustin Johnson in the world rankings. Duties off the course will keep Rose busy so winning this event looks beyond him. 

Paul Dunne is the defending champion but bookmakers are suggesting he won’t win again. He has not had a great season and not looked like adding to his first win on the European Tour. However, he did win the Golf Sixes tournament in May but that wasn’t a regular individual 72 hole stroke play tournament. Dunne has positive mental associations with the event and his nine under par round of 61 clinched the title last season when Rory McIlroy was in contention.         

Rose has a say in the course and venue and the three previous hosts chose layouts close to their heart which one part of the benefits of hosting the British Masters. It will never have the prestige of the US equivalent but Sky make it a special week with a number of unique features. Walton Heath has two demanding heath land courses and it will take a good all round game for decent scoring this week. The Old Course is being used with a par of 72 over 7.394 yards which is about average in distance.    

Thomas Bjorn made the right calls with his wildcard picks for the Ryder Cup. He had to take into account the five rookies who qualified by right so he went for experience. His four picks all contributed points (as did each member of the team) but also brought a wealth of Ryder Cup experience to the environment. Jim Furyk’s picks gave very little so Bjorn made the right choices. Wallace and Fitzpatrick were in the running for a pick so may feel slightly aggrieved they didn’t get the call. Winning the British Masters would be compensation and both players are in good form. 

Westwood is a former world number one and multiple winner in Europe and the rest of the world. It would be churlish to say he has underachieved because he has not won a major. Westwood has finished in the top three in all four majors and has won over €34 million in prize money in Europe and more than $19 million on the PGA Tour. He won the English Open in 1998 so it would be appropriate if Westwood won a second British Masters 20 years after his first win on home soil. 

Rick’s Sports Betting: Will Tiger Woods Win More Majors?  By Rick Elliott

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Tiger Woods won the last of his 14 majors in 2008 aged 32. After winning the US Open that year he looked a certainty to overhaul Jack Nicklaus’s tally in the four championships that matter most. However, Tiger’s personal life all went pear shaped and he lost his best game on the course. A succession of severe injuries and operations meant Woods had to put his career on hold and Nicklaus’s record seemed safe.

At the end of the 2018 regular season and FedEx Cup playoffs there was plenty of discussion about Woods’ prospects in the majors over the next five years. Nicklaus himself speculated that Woods could be competitive in another 40 majors but that would take him into his 50’s. His sixth Masters title came in Nicklaus’s 47th year so we can assume Woods has another five years to win majors. 

Nicklaus won 18 of the big ones and at least three of all those majors. His biggest losing run was between the USPGA Championship in 1980 and that Masters at the age of 46. There will be 20 majors from 2019 to 2023 and Woods must win one in four to reach the record of 19. Its debateable whether his body can handle the rigours of professional golf for more than another five years.

The key to more success in the majors for Woods could be managing his schedule.  He had no idea how 2018 would pan out so he took it week-by-week. He played seven events in nine weeks and that schedule caught up with him at the Ryder Cup. Woods was brilliant in winning the Tour Championship but looked like a physical and mental wreck the following week at the Ryder Cup. He did not win any points in the losing US team. Woods looked every day his 42 years and he needs a break. 

The former world number one has the luxury of planning a schedule in 2019. He can pick and choose his tournaments and would be welcome in any event around the world. However, he can stay close to home and gear the early season around the Masters Tournament in April. Augusta is a perfect fit for his game and provides his best chance of winning a 15th major championship.  

The other three venues for majors in 2019 suit the Woods game. If he doesn’t add to his tally next year the target of 19 looks beyond him. The young players at the top of the game have never competed against Woods at his best. Rory McIlroy couldn’t cope with partnering Woods in the final round of the Tour Championship. He wasn’t intimidated but certainly playing with his hero affected his game. Going head-to-head at the business end of a major would be a huge test.

Woods seemed to be suffering with ailments at the Ryder Cup. However, it was cold on the first two days and all the injuries, operations and busy schedule caught up with Woods. Winning the Tour Championship was more indicative of his prospects in majors. Woods can win at least one more major and the most likely week is when the US Masters is played in April 2019

Wood And Lowry Can Profit From A Ryder Cup Hangover – By Ian Hudson

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For 51 weeks of the year golf is an individual sport and a dog-eat-dog world in which one man’s feast is another man’s famine. The better a golfer plays the more prize money he wins and the law of the jungle applies. Anybody that misses the cut earns nothing and the higher the finishing position the better the financial rewards. This week’s Dunhill Links Championship is slightly different to a regular tournament but its still about performing and earning money. The Ryder Cup is the one genuine event in which money is not the object. The Americans couldn’t buy the trophy last week. 

The Dunhill event combines a stroke play tournament for professionals with a Pro-Am. The best score on each hole from a pair counts and the amateurs receive strokes based on their handicap. After three rounds 60 professionals qualify for the final round and the leading 20 Pro-Am teams also compete on the Sunday. It’s appropriate that the defending champion is Tyrell Hatton who played for Europe in the Ryder Cup last week and contributed a point. In fact Hatton also won the tournament in 2016 so is going for a three-peat but must beat a friend and some foes. 

The 2017 winner is fourth in the betting behind Brooks Koepka, Tony Finau and Tommy Fleetwood.  It’s debateable if these three players will be totally focused and prepared for the job in hand. Koepka and Finau probably had a quite Sunday night in France. But if I was a betting man I’d bet a few quid that Fleetwood had a late night. He was the joint leading rookie with Justin Thomas of the United States and won four matches with Francesco Molinari. The Open champion went five-for-five in the Ryder Cup and showed more animation than when he won his first major.    

We can probably dismiss the four players who competed in the Ryder Cup and focus on links specialists further down the betting. This week’s event is being played at the Old Course at St Andrews, the Championship Course at Carnoustie and Kingsbarns Golf Links. The courses are played in rotation on the first three days and the qualifiers from the pro event and Pro-Am play the Old Course again on Sunday. Chris Wood and Shane Lowry did not play in the Ryder Cup and excel at links golf.  

The Old Course has wide-open fairways and despite its fame as the “Home of Golf” is relatively easy when there is no wind. The four short par 4s means the true par is 70 and not 72 but the degree of difficulty goes up when its not still. Carnoustie staged the Open this summer so it’s a demanding test. Kingsbarns is exposed to the wind so the better links exponents will have an advantage. Wood and Lowry are great wind players and excellent golfers by the sea. At least one should make the payout places.

However, you must bear in mind that luck can play a major part in this event because a player can play a course in the worst of the weather one day and then find his competitors face the same challenge in benign conditions the following day. Although it’s not necessary for success its advantageous to play St Andrews on Saturday in round three so that a player can carry forward the feel for the course from the Saturday to Sunday. At the time of writing the tee times were not available. My guess is that the headline acts will be playing their third rounds at St Andrews. 

In any normal week you’d fancy one of the Ryder Cup players to prevail. However, mental letdown, physical and mental fatigue and recovery from the party muddy the waters so Wood and Lowry can benefit. Hatton would be a worthy winner again but it’s asking too much after the Ryder Cup and the links specialists are preferred.

Today’s Sports Betting Preview – By Rick Elliott

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You Can Now Cash Out On Europe To Win The Ryder Cup

Both teams have come back from a four point deficit heading in to the singles and won the Ryder Cup in the current format whereby 28 points are up for grabs. However, the United Stars only need to tie the match to retain the trophy. Europe lead 10-6 but they must reach 14.5 points to win the 2018 Ryder Cup. If the US win the singles 8-4 the match is tied so they avoid defeat and take the Cup back home.

Their superior average world ranking could come into play but winning the event outright looks beyond them. We have been tipping Europe all week and at 1/6 backers are now in a great trading position. You can cash out your bets to guarantee a profit or back the DRAW at 14/1 with Betfair and have a saver on another miracle comeback and so the UNITED STATES at 10/1 with the same firm.

Jose Mourinho’s days as manager of Manchester United look numbered and MAURICIO POCHETTINO is 14/1 with Paddy Power to be the club’s next manager. That would be this fan’s desired option as long as bringing Harry Kane to Old Trafford was part of the deal. Maybe Dele Alli would also travel north as part of a multi-million pounds move. A safer betting option is to bet on the DRAW at 2/1 with William Hill when Cardiff play Burnley at home today in the Premier League.

Naas stages its most lucrative Flat meeting of the season with €400,000 up for grabs The richest race of the fixture is the Group 1 Beresford Stakes over one mile at 5.05. This is one of the many major races in Ireland that take place on Sunday and towards the end of the card, both rare in Britain. Mount Everest is the favourite for this juvenile race but SOVEREIGN is the value bet at 9/2 with bet365.