Betfair Official Blog

Find Me a 100 Winner - Nick Flanagan

Paul Krishnamurty attempts to find a big price winner for you ... and for his quest to land the Betfair Golf Forum tipsters' competition!

Not only does this week see the first full-field events of 2008, but it also heralds the first counting event towards the most prestigious prize in golf betting - the Betfair Golf Forum Competition in which I shall be trying to improve on a desperate record. There are some seriously good judges around, and as I've discovered just making the first cut before the Masters is no mean feat. Ideally, a big-priced winner early in the year is needed to ensure you remain competitive during the inevitable losing runs.

Last year, I do recall somebody pulling off the amazing feat of picking Sony Open winner Paul Goydos, available at odds of at least [300.0] in the opening event though unfortunately the name of the forumite in question eludes me. Goydos aside, the Sony Open has normally produced top-class winners because the key to success at Waialae is ownership of a top-notch long game. Hopefully though I've found the ideal candidate - an outsider with a long game to die for. It also gives me an early opportunity to back one of my players to follow in 2008 - Nick Flanagan.

Flanagan first sprung to prominence as a teenager four years ago when becoming the first overseas winner of the US Amateur Open for 32 years. Considering the venue was Oakmont, one of the toughest courses in the world, and that only Tiger has ever won that event at a younger age, it was obvious that here was a serious player. He began to fulfil that promise last year, earning his place on the PGA Tour with three victories on the competitive Nationwide Tour. And in his first two events following graduation, Flanagan's superb long game again took the eye in promising top-25 finishes.

Though Waialae is a tough test, rookies have prospered there in the past. Flanagan's profile is quite similar to compatriot Aaron Baddeley, who took Ernie Els to a play-off in 2003 on one of his earliest PGA Tour starts. Baddeley too was widely tipped for the top after amazing feats as a teenage amateur, and while he did take a while to consistently deliver, punters who stayed loyal eventually reaped rich rewards. So even it isn't this week, while Flanagan is available at odds of around [240.0] he is definitely worth following.