Grand Slam of Golf Betting Preview: Side with the steady Eddies

Golf Events / Paul Krishnamurty / 20 October 2009 / Leave a Comment

Not only did he beat Tiger Woods down the stretch at the US Open but Yang is also the only player of the four to have won twice in 2009.

"By far the best of these in that team event was Yang, scoring 2.5 points out of a possible five, even despite being given the worst possible draw in the singles when pitched against Tiger Woods. My fellow columnist The Punter spotted this guy long before the rest of us, and it seems that he is still seriously under-rated by market makers."

Different opinions, different angles, different bets. That's what betting is all about and what Betfair is all about. Paul Krishnamurty tells us why he disagrees with fellow golf columnist The Punter and thinks "El Pato" is worth ducking for the Grand Slam of golf.

There's a little extra this afternoon for golf punters who can't wait until Thursday comes, in the form of the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Played over 36 holes, this annual event is reserved for the winners of the season's four majors.

As 2009 saw four 100/1+ outsiders claim the honours, this will be by far the weakest line-up ever. Still, at least the four players are actually all defending major champions, as most recent years have required a reserve to be called up, either due to a withdrawal or because somebody had won more than one of the four majors. Indeed, last year this was won by one of the two reserves, Jim Furyk.

Given the limited profiles of these players, this is a particularly tricky puzzle to solve. None could exactly be described as having cast-iron credentials, and with that in mind, my initial temptation was to just back the outsider of four, Y.E. Yang, purely because he's the biggest price.

Nor does it help our case that we have no previous course form to study, as Port Royal GC, Bermuda, hosts the 'Slam' for the first time. First impressions of this short par-70 suggest that it won't present too tough a test, with exposure to the wind providing the course's main defence. Anyone keeping the ball in play looks likely to set up a string of birdie opportunities.

For me, that really doesn't bode well for the favourite, Masters champion Angel Cabrera. I suspect the Argentinian owes this status to the fact he's the only one of these to have won two major titles, and because he has already won this event two years ago; after a dramatic late turnaround which will have stayed in the memory of anyone who watched the extraordinary trading swings.

Cabrera at his best is a class act, without doubt, but he's only shown it sporadically over the past couple of years. Hence why he started at what seem like the crazy odds of [150.0] at Augusta. He's only made three top-10s in 2009; all of which came on courses where his power off the tee was particularly advantageous. I very much doubt that will be the case here, and that makes me a layer at [3.3].

Rather, Stewart Cink looks a more plausible candidate. Nobody wins an Open Championship without being able to thrive in windy conditions, and that wasn't the first time by any means he'd exhibited those credentials. I can see a vague resemblance between this well-touted course and Harbour Town Golf Links, home to the Heritage Classic. Cink has won that event twice before, and registered five top-10s.

On the basis of his overall 2009 form, Lucas Glover could be overpriced at [4.3]. Glover landed the mother of all shocks at [400.0] in the US Open, but confirmed that was no fluke with a series of decent finishes on championship golf courses. On the downside, Glover looked the weakest of these four at the Presidents Cup a fortnight ago; the only recent form we have to go on.

By far the best of these in that team event was Yang, scoring 2.5 points out of a possible five, even despite being given the worst possible draw in the singles when pitched against Tiger Woods. My fellow columnist The Punter spotted this guy long before the rest of us, and it seems that he is still seriously under-rated by market makers.

Yang is the only one of these to have won two titles in 2009, and for my money his performance in beating Tiger head to head for the PGA Championship was the highlight of the season. He simply doesn't deserve to be clear outsider at [5.0] in this moderate line-up.

My plan, then, is to back Cink and Yang at [3.6] and [5.0], which combines to roughly an even-money chance.