Golf Events / Tareq Quiroz / 29 April 2009 / Leave a Comment

The favourite simply needs to be backed at [4.2] this week, says Tareq Quiroz.

What can you say about the difference between last week and this? It is simply from the ridiculous to the sublime. Jerry Kelly winning another PGA Tour event had to be seen to be believed but fortunately we can all confine that to the memory banks and concentrate on the awesome field that is assembled this week in North Carolina.

The Course
Previously known as the Wachovia Championship this event is now known as the same name as the course itself. Quail Hollow GC has hosted this tournament on six previous occasions and it is a course that never fails to deliver. It is a pretty lengthy track at almost 7,500 yards and if your selection is slightly off his game, forget about it! The three hardest holes are the final three, so you can expect a terrific finish on Sunday evening.

The Favourite
After a slightly disappointing US Masters Tiger is back and he will try as hard as ever to get back in the winner's circle. There is a world class field assembled so he will have to be on top of his game if he is to come through. He won this event in 2007 so has good memories and the way this course sets up he will be very confident. There is no doubt in my mind that Tiger will be back better than ever so it is a dangerous game opposing him and something that I am not prepared to do. This may be as good a field as you will see for a normal PGA Tour event but it is fair to say a lot of them are in average form. I fancy Tiger will really show his game this week and take this field apart. The current odds of [4.2] are just too tempting to refuse.

The Next Best Bets
In the second half of last season it was Vijay Singh who stepped into the void left by the injured Tiger. Unfortunately for the Fijian he too had to have some surgery on a knee and has taken some time to get back to his best. There were definite signs of just that in the Masters and I expect him to be a real factor this week. He has a win and a second place here so there is plenty of reason to think he will find his form. At odds of around [70.0] he represents value just outside the top echelons of the market.

If you fancy someone a little closer to the top of the market then I would be tempted by Anthony Kim. He was a very impressive winner here last year and after a mixed season so far he showed a decent bit of form at Augusta. A man for the big occasion he will have lots of support at odds of [28.0].

The Massive Outsider
It is not difficult to find decent priced outsiders in this field but there aren't many who have any sort of chance. The stand out selection for me would have to be Stuart Appleby. The Aussie has shown glimpses of form in the last few weeks and if he can just take that to the next level then he isn't scared of competing with the best. The course should suit him and with a bit of luck the [190.0] currently on offer will start to look very generous after a flying start.

I really quite fancied Justin Rose last week but after a decent first round he collapsed badly in round two. It takes a brave punter to see past those sorts of things but take that one round out of it and he is a man nearing top form. At odds of [170.0] I think he deserves another chance this week and at such a big price he certainly merits at least a saver.

Interesting Info
A fantastic 19 major winners line-up this week in a true representation of how strong the field is this week. Joey Sindelar is the only previous winner not competing this week and the other five are all in the top 15 of the betting.

Post a comment

Name:

Email Address:

URL:

Remember personal info?

Comment: