Oh Me, Oh My! What a roller-coaster ride we have had in recent weeks. It started with our headline selection, Scottie Scheffler’s imperious triumph at the Players. It was followed by our man Cameron Young’s dramatic implosion (but with an e-w payout) in the final round of the Valspar. Next came the Houston Open and Scottie again, this time standing over a 5-foot putt on the final green to force a play-off with eventual winner Stephen Jaeger. Caramba!
It was time to seek refuge in a darkened place, and where could have been better than Barbados’ magnificent Globe, the last remaining drive-in cinema in the entire Caribbean? The sight of Kung Fu Panda mashing up every baddie in sight, as the stars glistened in the sky above us, was massively therapeutic, as was the later discovery that Tony Finau, another of our picks, had snuck into a T2 position, thus securing some robust damage limitation to our portfolio.
Onwards and upwards to possibly my least favourite tournament of the year, the Valero Texas Open at TPC San Antonio, a par-72 parkland course. Coming a week before the Masters, this event can be a minefield for punters—lots of big names competing with a bunch of nearly-men. Historically, the latter group have, on the whole, proved stronger because many of the ‘big-ups’, as the Bajans call them, are often more focussed on Magnolia Drive than the Lone Star State.
With all this in mind, here are my BIg 5 Selections: Name and Best General Price; (5p with Bet365 ¼ odds – 8 places generally at 1/5 odds – 10p with Coral).
Ludvig Aberg 14/1: The Swedish sensation is a good bet to take his game to a new level here. This wonderful ball-striker, now up to #9 in the world, will love the course. His recent 8th placing on debut in the Players was remarkable.
Matt Fitzpatrick 25/1: The World #11 has been steadily getting closer to a big win. His 5th place in the Players was something to behold and ticked stacks of my stats boxes.
Byeong Hun An 33/1: Regular readers know all about my admiration for the young South Korean. With 2 top tens in four appearances here, need I say more?
Charley Hoffman 150/1 (Sky – 120/1 generally): Sensational event form and a blistering 2nd place at Sawgrass. What’s not to like at juicy odds?
Billy Horschell 33/1: Billy Boy is a perfect fit and needs to win this to sneak into Augusta.
Throw in the bang-in form Alex Noren (30/1) and stake 1pt each way on all. After 54 holes, watch out for course super-specialist Correy Conners (22/1) and past winner over the course, Davis Riley (80/1), who burst back into form last week after a long spell in the doldrums.
Good Luck – Sandy Lane
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