Golf Bets / Mike Norman / 14 October 2009 / Leave a comment

European Tour golf is full of sunshine and birdies at this time of the year says "Mystical" Mike Norman, and he thinks it's impossible for Lee Westwood not to be in contention over in Portugal come Sunday afternoon.

"It seems crazy that, given his consistency and class, he hasn’t registered a win on the European Tour in either of the last two seasons. But seven top ten finishes from his last eight starts on his home tour show that Westwood is still in fine fettle."

I find it hard to agree with Mark Twain's sentiments that golf is a good walk spoiled, especially when the European Tour schedule gets to this time of the year.

True, walking the links courses of windswept Scotland a few weeks ago can't have been fun, but it's difficult to imagine a finer stroll than the ones to be had in sun-drenched Madrid last week and the glorious surroundings of the Algarve this week.

The scenic Oceanico Victoria Golf Course is the venue for this week's Portugal Masters where Spaniard Alvaro Quiros will have to fend off a high class field if he is to defend the title he won last year. Top Europeans Lee Westwood, Ross Fisher, Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy are all teeing it up on Thursday, so too are recent winners Simon Dyson and Ross McGowan, two-time US Open winner Retief Goosen, and Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie.

The greens will be lightening fast, so with four reachable Par-5s and one, possibly two, driveable Par-4s in play, anyone holding a hot putter this week will go a long way to winning.

One man who will definitely find the greens to his liking will be England's Lee Westwood - available to back at [19.0] in the Winner market. It seems crazy that, given his consistency and class, he hasn't registered a win on the European Tour in either of the last two seasons. But seven top ten finishes from his last eight starts on his home tour show that Westwood is still in fine fettle. He has finished third and 16th in his two visits to this course and he simply must contend this week if his game is anywhere near its best.

Westwood is also available to back at [2.7] in the Top 10 Finish market - not much of a price some may argue, but personally I think it's a licence to print money. Get on.

An outsider who catches my eye this week is Frenchman Michael Lorenzo-Vera, who very encouragingly going into this tournament is tied first in Putts per Round and fifth in Putts per GIR. What's more he has finished 15th, 19th, 21st and 10th in four of his last six events suggesting a win is not too far away. He is unlikely to be up to winning in this class, but at odds in excess of [200.0] he is worth a small 'back to lay' investment.

Bradley Dredge ([75.0]) completes my selections this week, the Welshman is coming out of a barren spell by making his last seven cuts including two top ten finishes. He has also gone well on this course previously, finishing 12th in 2007 and 16th in 2008.

Three of the hottest players on tour right now are undoubtedly Dyson ([28.0]), McGowan ([55.0]) and Alexander Noren ([34.0]). I wouldn't put anyone off backing them for more glory, but just feel that they are priced up on recent form rather than overall ability.

To get your week's 'In-Play' money then look no further than Paul McGinley ([2.56]) in Thursday morning's first round three-Balls. The Irishman regularly seems to start tournaments well and looks to be in good shape following his top ten finish at the Alfred Dunhill a few weeks back. I can see him outscoring the out-of-form duo of Thomas Levet ([2.52]) and Richard Finch ([3.4]) in day one's glorious sunshine.

Best Bets

1 pt win Lee Westwood @ [19.0] in Winner market
0.5 pts win Bradley Dredge @ [75.0] in Winner market
0.25 pts win Michael Lorenzo-Vera @ [200.0] in Winner market
3 pts win Lee Westwood @ [2.7] in Top 10 Finish market
3 pts win Paul McGinley @ [2.56] in First Round 3-Balls

Tags: Bradley Dredge, Colin Montgomerie, European Tour, European Tour Betting, Lee Westwood, Michael Lorenzo-Vera, Paul McGinley, Retief Goosen, Rory Mcllroy, Simon Dyson