Welcome to Texas, and The Valero Open, as the PGA strolls into town for its latest Tour event. This event is being held on the Oaks golf course, designed by Greg Norman and Sergio Garcia. Itâs a flattish course with a kind of Links look to it. In the main this is a course that will give shots up if itâs playing with a kind breeze, but once the wind gets up it will show a different kind of course. Martin Laird won this last year shooting an impressive -14 under to take the Texas Open by 2 shots on Rory, his only Tour win last year, and he is back again to try and defend his title. Itâs not one of the hardest tracks they play on the Tour but itâs all about positioning the ball on the greens. Some holes you donât want to hit the middle of the greens if the pins are put in the corners, and on some of the greens the target can be a very small space in order not to come off with a 3 putt hole⦠So with this in mind ive gone with the following⦠Charlie Hoffman â He has a top record at this event where he has finished in the top 15 for his last 5 attempts here, T3rd last year and T2nd behind Brendan Steele in 2011. He has 2 top 10âs to name so far this year and he obviously likes it around here⦠Kevin Chappell â Had his best finish on the Tour last week, and I think he can carry that form into this event in Texas. He shot 4 sub par rounds last week at Bay Hill, with his GIR and Approach shots placing him in the top 10 for the whole week. Can he continue this form into Texas, well letâs hope⦠Will Mackenzie â In the last 4 Tour events only 4 players have featured in the top 10 twice. Matt Every who won last week in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, G-Mac, Luke Donald and Will Mackenzie. He finished 2 shots behind the 4-way play-off in the Honda Classic 4 weeks ago, and finished 3 shots behind John Senden in the Valspar Championship 2 weeks later. He is obviously in tune with his game and he sits 4th in the All Round Game stat. Has good GIR and Approach stats on the Tour this year and I think he is another who will be adding to the list of debutant winners that we are seeing recently⦠Cameron Tringale â Someone who I had my eye on last year but never took him on, Tringale came 3rd at the Tampa Bay event last year but never seemed to kick on from that. He still hasnât reached the heights he would have liked but im hoping a return to a venue where he has finished T8th in 2012 and T5th in 2011 will spark a bit of life into him. His putter has been his biggest strength these past 8 events where he has made the cut in all of them and I think he will continue that here as long as he brings his A-game⦠Charlie Hoffman @ 28/1⦠Kevin Chappell @ 33/1⦠Will Mackenzie @ 45/1⦠Cameron Tringale @ 60/1⦠All done in the usual £2.5 e/w bet⦠PadPow pay ¼ odds top 6â¦
Pat Perez @ 50/1 Ryo Ishikawa @ 50/1 Few speculative punts this week with the Masters now looming it's time to start testing the waters. Good luck men
Jordan Speith 20/1 - Larger e/w bet Sueng Yul-Noh 80/1 - £2 e/w Brendon De Jonge 90/1 - £2 e/w Geoff Ogilvy 125/1 - £2 e/w This is geoffs week
I've gone for a £4m quad at 50p ew and 25p each way trebles and doubles on: Valero Texas Open - Nicolas Colsaerts @ 100/1 LPGA Kia Classic - Anna Nordqvist @ 50/1 Chitimacha Louisiana Open - Bill Lunde @ 66/1 EurAsia Cup - Top Combined Points Scorer - Miguel Angel Jimenez @ 22/1
Yul Noh it's Geoff'a week Smokin after a few holes, look's like Jordan has Spieth the dummy out (sorry)
Leaderboard after the 1st round... Pat Perez @ -4... T1 - Pat Perez, -4 T4 - Will MacKenzie, -3 T4 - Seung-Yul Noh, -3 T10 - Charley Hoffman, -2 T30 - Cameron Tringale, -1 T70 - Brendon de Jonge, +1 T70 - Geoff Ogilvy, +1 T85 - Nicolas Colsaerts, +2 T85 - Kevin Chappell, +2 T85 - Ryo Ishikawa, +2 T105 - Jordan Spieth, +3 Good start for Perez, lets hope the rest of our picks can stay with him...
I hope Perez stay's with himself, he's alway's only one poor shot away from going into meltdown, hopefully he continues to play solid as they would say. Spieth ain't too bad either after a dreadful start, if he could shoot -4 or -5 today he will be back in contention, very congested leaderboard.
Leaderboard after the 2nd round... Leader - Steven Bowditch @ -8 T4 - Pat Perez, -5 T9 - Will MacKenzie, -3 T25 - Geoff Ogilvy, -1 T43 - Cameron Tringale, +1 T43 - Brendon de Jonge, +1 T43 - Jordan Spieth, +1 T43 - Charley Hoffman, +1 T43 - Seung-Yul Noh, +1 CUT - Nicolas Colsaerts, +4 CUT - Ryo Ishikawa, +6 CUT - Kevin Chappell, +9 Well, +1 looks a popular score to be on for our picks... Looks like the wind got up and knocked the lads out late in the 2nd round back a peg or 4 at the end... No more than my pick Will Mackenzie...!!! Lets hope for calmer weather in the next 2 rounds and our picks to pull their proverbial fingers out...
The pace of play is brutal. My man Perez is doing the cardinal sin and shooting a + round on a Sunday...come on Pat, you can do eeeeet!!
Not gonna make 3 hours for the front 9, that is desperate. I've got 18 in before in that length I see he got put on the clock and his whole group didn't which say's it all really as usually the 3 of them would be watched.
Steven Bowditch won the Texas Open even after having a last round of +4 to beat the field by 1 shot. He was a 300/1 shot before the event so if anyone said they found him they are either his mother, best mate or lying...!!! Anyway, Will Mackenzie got me some returns for his T2nd, £30.62, so im happy... Not so for you STH... Pat Perez had a shocker of a last round, and as you say, don't do it on the last day after getting our hopes up... And as for the that Loupe bloke, he was sending my loopy watching him... Jeesuzz, he makes Jason Braddley look normal with his pre shot routine, posing, preening, practice swings over and over and over and over and over again... Feckkin eeejit...!!!!! He should be put on the clock after his first shot that idiot, and even though I was very happily drunk last night after watching the footy and the golf, I felt like smashing the tv every time he came into shot... Not good for the game is this blatent time wasting, and if I was playing with him, id be fekkin telling him as well...!!!!!! Anyway, onwards to the next event, the Shell Houston Open...
McKenzie has been so consistent this year. Seems to be thereabouts every week. I have been on him most weeks so well and truly convinced he was going to win one of the few weeks I wasn't invested! 25p win double up on Nordvquest and Jiminez, gutted Lunde could only manage 3 over for his weekend, 9 under after friday, eventual winner at -14. Treble would have been huge! :-(
