Find Me A 100 Winner / Paul Krishnamurty / 08 April 2008 / Leave a Comment

It's a bumper week for Paul Krishnamurty's "Find Me A 100 Winner" as he picks out four to keep your eye on at the Augusta National this week.

As it's Masters week, it would be rude to pick just a single selection as usual, so instead I'm highlighting four players at three-figure odds.

Firstly at odds of [100.0], last year's runner-up Rory Sabbatini may have been under-estimated. On his third visit, that was by far his best finish at Augusta, and reflective of the wider improvement in Sabbatini's game. A few bad weeks in 2008 have lowered his profile going into the season's first Major, but given the ideal combination of a long course with fast greens he could well come to the fore now. And while many players would feel intimidated if faced with a Sunday showdown against Woods, this feisty South African would relish the confrontation.

Another whose heroics in the 2007 Majors warrants respect is emerging Argentinian Andres Romero. Hugely talented and erratic in equal measure, Romero has won twice since so nearly producing a massive shock at last year's Open Championship. The latest of those came just a fortnight ago in New Orleans, so we know he's approaching his Masters debut in good form.

As a massive hitter, he's quite capable of demolishing Augusta's par-5s, and this fine putter should also prosper on the greens more than most. Even if it isn't this year then I expect Romero will go close here at some stage in his career. For now, he's as likely to miss the cut such is his consistency, but given his proven form on proper golf courses and the fact he's shown he's not afraid to win, [180.0] could represent some trading value at least.

My other two selections are available at three-figures in both the outright and 'Without Woods' market. Hunter Mahan is very interesting at [200.0] and [100.0] respectively. Over the past year, Mahan has emerged as one of the few potentially top-class young Americans. In fact his profile is not dissimilar to Zach Johnson last year.

I'm encouraged by the fact that Mahan played really well on his sole previous Augusta visit. Back in 2003 Mahan came here as an amateur, played three good rounds out of four, and recorded a very respectable 28th place. Five years down the line he's a vastly improved player and a multiple winner on the PGA Tour. Once again, Mahan showed he can play well on a Major venue in 2007, finishing as top American at Carnoustie.

Finally, Jonathan Byrd can give us a run for our money at [400.0] and [180.0] in the two outright markets. He too made an excellent debut in 2003, finishing 8th, so should arrive with high hopes on his first visit in four seasons. He's another with plenty of winning experience on the PGA Tour, the latest of three titles coming in last year's John Deere Classic. Byrd comes here in decent form, finishing a fair 12th last time out in New Orleans. But his most impressive golf this year came against the big guns in the World Matchplay, where he produced some sublime stuff to demolish Els and Romero before losing a cracker to Henrik Stenson.

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comment: