Find Me A 100 Winner: George McNeill

Find Me A 100 Winner / Paul Krishnamurty / 17 February 2009 / Leave a Comment

He's long and straight and at [150.0] to win this week's Northern Trust Open he's Paul Krishnamurty's bid for three-figure winning bet glory.

Recent events at the legendary old course at Riviera have suggested that the most important statistical requirements here are driving the ball long, and avoiding trouble by hitting plenty of greens in regulation. That combination could make George McNeill a decent value bet at around [150.0] to land the Northern Trust Open, as very few in this field score better across those two stats than the 33 year-old from Florida.

It took McNeill a long time to make an impact as a professional, but he seems to have improved considerably since landing his maiden title at the 2007 Frys.com Open, and is now well set as an accomplished leading PGA Tour player. He finished the 2008 season well, with three top-15s from his last four starts, and nearly won a second title when finishing runner-up in the Ginn Sur Mer Classic.

McNeill's 2009 campaign also started with promise, starting with a close-up seventh in the Sony Open. He's had a couple of lacklustre efforts since then, but they are reflected in odds that are markedly bigger than recent weeks. Both previous visits to Riviera only produced mid-division finishes, but this is a course that takes some learning, so given his wider improvement, I'm confident he can substantially better last year's 36th place.